Accessibility Checking in Word

When done editing your Word document, run Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker to find any issues.

Important: Documents need to be checked for accessibility every time you make a change. Whether you add an image or remove some text, you will need to run the Accessibility Checker in Word followed by running the Accessibility Report in Adobe Acrobat. Checking for accessibility is an ongoing process!

Make sure you’ve included the following to create an accessible base document:

  1. Added a title to the document.
  2. Used proper heading structure.
  3. Applied list styles.
    • Also, applied the correct type of list – bulleted or ordered.
  4. Use proper contrast – black text on a white background. Refer to our page on text color for additional information.
  5. Ensured all images have meaningful alt text.

When you are done editing your document, review your document to ensure that it meets WCAG 2.0 AA requirements. There are a number of checklists available to assist with this. Run Word’s built-in Accessibility Checker. WebAIM’s Word and PowerPoint checklist includes explanations of some of the alerts you might get from Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker. You can also find helpful information to ensure an accessible Word document in Microsoft Word Accessibility Reference (PDF), by the US Department of Health and Human Services, and Quick Reference Guide: Basic PDF Accessibility (PDF), by Deque University.

Microsoft Office’s Accessibility Checker

When done, check your document with Microsoft Office’s accessibility checker tool.

  1. Screenshot of the "Check for Issues" options on Microsoft's "Info" section under File from the tool ribbon.
    Figure 1
    Click File from the tool ribbon.
  2. From Info, click “Check for Issues” to drop down the menu. Select “Check Accessibility.” (See Figure 1.)
  3. In the Accessibility Checker task pane, click on the items under Errors and Warnings for information on how to resolve the issues.

Note: Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker does not follow WCAG standards. Therefore, it is important to review your document based on a checklist that does, such as those previously mentioned by WebAIM and HHS.