Document Is Empty
When Maria opens her county's budget report in JAWS, she hears two words: "Document is empty." The 47-page PDF is right there on screen — charts, tables, policy language — but to her screen reader, it does not exist. Maria is not an edge case. She is one of over 70 million American adults with a disability, and the documents she needs to participate in civic life are locked behind inaccessible formatting.
The Numbers Tell the Story
A 2023 survey by Equidox and the National Federation of the Blind, with over 250 respondents who use assistive technology daily, found the scope of the problem is enormous:
Over half of respondents reported struggling specifically with bank statements, utility bills, and insurance documents — the kind of essential paperwork that most people take for granted and never think twice about.
The Real Number
These are not edge cases. Over 14% of people who use screen readers report being blocked from essential tasks more than 20 times per month. That is not an inconvenience — it is a systematic barrier to participation.
In Their Own Words
Behind every statistic is a person. The survey collected direct accounts from people whose daily lives are shaped by whether document creators bothered to add proper structure:
“I miss out on information I would like to read, but cannot.
— Assistive technology user, Equidox/NFB Survey
“Inaccessible PDFs slow me down at work and sometimes I avoid reading documents because it's frustrating fighting with JAWS and Adobe.
— Assistive technology user, Equidox/NFB Survey
“Many PDF documents are forms I cannot fill out like sighted peers can. This extends to divorce documents in Iowa. I had to let my divorce default to my husband due to accessibility of PDF files.
— Assistive technology user, Equidox/NFB Survey
A Growing Population
Over 70 million U.S. adults have a disability — roughly 1 in 4 adults, according to CDC data from 2022. By 2030, people aged 65 and older will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history, and 2 in 5 adults over 65 have a disability.
The population affected by inaccessible documents is not shrinking. It is growing. Every inaccessible PDF published today will need to be remediated eventually — the only question is whether organizations do it now at low cost, or later under legal pressure at high cost.
What Accessible Documents Actually Look Like
- Proper tag structure so screen readers can parse headings, paragraphs, lists, and tables.
- Alt text on every image, chart, and graphic — describing what it conveys, not just what it is.
- Correct reading order that matches the visual layout.
- Table headers marked up so data cells are announced in context.
- Language metadata set so screen readers use the correct pronunciation.
- Fillable form fields with labels and instructions.
What Foresera Does
Our pipeline handles all six requirements automatically — structure tags, alt text, reading order, table headers, language metadata, and form labels — per document.
Key Takeaways
- Two-thirds of PDFs are partially or fully inaccessible to people who use screen readers.
- 72% of respondents say inaccessible PDFs hinder their job performance or education.
- The affected population is growing — 1 in 4 U.S. adults has a disability.
- Accessible documents are not a nice-to-have. They are how people participate in civic life.
Sources & References
She lost control of her own divorce because of a PDF. That is not an edge case. That is a format problem with a fix.
Every inaccessible document your organization publishes is a door that's closed to someone. Foresera opens it — structure tags, alt text, reading order, table headers, form labels — automatically. See what your documents look like to the people who need them most.