How Do I Make LaTeX Documents Accessible?

To make LaTeX documents accessible, you need to produce tagged PDF output using the tagpdf package with LuaLaTeX, add alternative text for equations and figures, define proper document structure through semantic markup, and validate your output against the PDF/UA standard. While LaTeX was not designed with accessibility in mind, recent developments in the LaTeX ecosystem have made it possible to generate compliant, screen-reader-friendly documents directly from your .tex source files.

Why LaTeX PDFs Are Often Inaccessible

LaTeX is the gold standard for academic typesetting, particularly in STEM fields. But the PDFs it produces are, by default, fundamentally inaccessible. Here is why:

• No structure tags. A standard LaTeX PDF is a flat stream of glyphs and coordinates. Screen readers cannot distinguish headings from body text, or a table from a paragraph.
• Equations are invisible. Mathematical notation is rendered as visual shapes with no semantic meaning. A screen reader encountering an inline equation might read nothing at all, or produce a meaningless string of characters.
• No reading order. Two-column layouts, floats, and margin notes create ambiguity about the intended reading sequence. Without explicit tagging, assistive technology has to guess.
• Missing alt text. Figures, diagrams, and charts are embedded as images with no descriptions.

The result is that millions of academic papers, lecture notes, problem sets, and syllabi are effectively invisible to readers who rely on assistive technology. With the April 2027 DOJ ADA Title II deadline (extended from 2026 via the IFR) approaching, universities can no longer treat this as a niche concern.

Step 1: Switch to LuaLaTeX

The first and most important change is to compile your documents with LuaLaTeX instead of pdfLaTeX. LuaLaTeX provides the low-level PDF manipulation capabilities that accessibility tagging requires. If you are using Overleaf, you can switch the compiler in your project settings. From the command line, simply replace pdflatex with lualatex.

lualatex mydocument.tex

LuaLaTeX is fully compatible with most existing LaTeX packages, so the transition is usually straightforward.

Step 2: Enable Structure Tagging with tagpdf

The tagpdf package, actively developed by the LaTeX Project team, adds PDF structure tags to your output. Add it to your preamble:

\usepackage[activate-all]{tagpdf}
\tagpdfsetup{
  role/new-tag = {Formula} {math},
  interwordspace = true,
  paratagging = true,
  tabsorder = structure
}

This configuration enables paragraph tagging, preserves inter-word spaces for screen readers, and sets the tab order to follow the document structure. The tagpdf package maps standard LaTeX commands like \section, \subsection, and \paragraph to their corresponding PDF structure tags (H1, H2, H3, P, etc.) automatically.

Note: tagpdf is under active development. As of early 2026, it handles most common document structures well, but complex layouts may require manual adjustments.

Step 3: Add Alt Text for Equations

Mathematical equations need alternative text so screen readers can convey their meaning. You can provide alt text using the tagpdf interface:

\tagpdfparaOff
\tagstructbegin{tag=Formula,alt={The quadratic formula: x equals negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared minus 4 a c, all divided by 2 a}}
  \[ x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a} \]
\tagstructend
\tagpdfparaOn

Writing alt text for equations takes practice. Aim for clarity over literal transcription. A student using a screen reader needs to understand the mathematical relationship, not hear every symbol spelled out.

Step 4: Describe Your Figures

Every figure needs a meaningful description. LaTeX captions help, but they are often too brief to serve as proper alt text. Use the \tagstructbegin approach to attach descriptions:

\tagstructbegin{tag=Figure,alt={Bar chart showing student enrollment by department from 2020 to 2025, with Computer Science growing from 450 to 820 students}}
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{enrollment-chart.pdf}
\tagstructend

Write descriptions that convey the information the figure is meant to communicate, not just what it looks like.

Step 5: Set Document Metadata and Language

Screen readers and PDF validators need proper metadata. Add these to your preamble:

\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{
  pdftitle={Your Document Title},
  pdfauthor={Your Name},
  pdflang={en},
  pdfstandard={ua-2}
}

Setting pdflang is critical. Without a declared language, screen readers cannot select the correct pronunciation rules.

Step 6: Consider MathML and MathJax Alternatives

If your primary distribution channel is the web rather than print, consider whether PDF is the right format at all. MathJax and MathML render equations in HTML with built-in accessibility support. Tools like LaTeXML and tex4ht can convert LaTeX source to accessible HTML with MathML, preserving the semantic structure of your equations.

For documents that must remain as PDFs, such as formal publications or archived records, tagged PDF is the way forward. For lecture notes, problem sets, and course materials, an accessible HTML version alongside the PDF gives students the best experience. Learn more about accessible PDF workflows and how they complement web-based alternatives.

Step 7: Validate Your Output

Generating tagged PDFs is only half the battle. You need to verify the result:

1. PAC 2024 (PDF Accessibility Checker) validates against the PDF/UA standard and generates detailed reports.
2. Screen reader testing with NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (macOS) reveals real-world usability issues that automated checkers miss.
3. Adobe Acrobat Pro provides a built-in accessibility checker and allows manual tag editing for fixing issues after the fact.

Check the reading order, verify that all equations have alt text, and confirm that the heading hierarchy is logical. Our guide on making PDFs accessible covers the validation process in detail.

The Practical Reality

Let's be honest: making LaTeX documents fully accessible is still harder than it should be. The tagpdf package has made enormous progress, but the workflow requires care and testing. For faculty producing dozens of documents per semester, manually tagging every equation and figure is a significant time investment.

This is exactly the kind of challenge that benefits from automation. Aelira's LaTeX accessibility tools can scan your compiled PDFs, identify untagged structures and missing alt text, and auto-remediate common issues, so you can focus on your content rather than your markup. If you are preparing for the 2026 compliance deadline and have a library of LaTeX documents to address, it is worth exploring how much of the process can be handled automatically.

Accessible documents are not just a compliance requirement. They are better documents, period: searchable, well-structured, and usable by everyone in your classroom.