Five ways to make town documents accessible, compared

The five options at a glance

The five options differ in one main way: whether they fix the PDF itself, create a separate version, or change only the web page around it. They also differ in who checks the result, how you pay, and what record you keep. None of them is right for every town, and several can be combined.

Doing it in-house

Doing it in-house means your own staff fix files before they are posted: building agendas in Word with real headings, saving tagged PDFs, running OCR on scans and checking the result. It costs software and hours rather than a contract, and it builds skill in the office. It is hardest when packets are long and staff time is short.

In-house work suits short agendas and minutes that start in Word. Our step-by-step guide on making an agenda PDF accessible covers the workflow, and our free PDF checker gives a quick automated result. The weak spot is the packet: scanned letters, maps and plats from other departments, which need OCR and alt text. See our guides on scanned documents in packets and alt text for maps and site plans.

Per-page PDF remediation vendors

Per-page PDF remediation vendors take your files, tag them and send back fixed PDFs, charging by the page. The file itself is fixed, which is what a screen reader user downloads. The cost grows with volume, so a town that posts long packets every meeting pays for every page, including scanned attachments.

Prices vary by vendor and by page complexity. One vendor, Accessible.org, lists PDFs starting at $4.00 a page with a $250 minimum order. Another, accessibility.build, lists $3, $7 and $12 a page for standard, structured and complex pages, with a $150 minimum. Ask any vendor who checks the work, how fast they return files, and what record they give you.

Automated PDF to HTML conversion services

Automated PDF to HTML conversion services read each PDF on your site and generate a web page version of its text, which a reader can switch to. The original PDF usually stays posted. The appeal is scale and low effort: once connected, new files are converted without the clerk sending anything.

CivicPlus DocAccess is one such service. Its home page says it converts “all current and future PDFs into screen reader-friendly, WCAG 2.1 AA-aligned HTML transcripts,” and that users can “view your document in a print friendly version or turn on the accessible transcript.” It also says: “We regularly review high-complexity pages for accuracy.” Its pricing page lists no prices; it offers a free report and a call instead.

Before choosing any conversion service, read the next section with your attorney.

What the rules say about alternate versions

The federal and Colorado rules both limit when a separate accessible version can stand in for the original. The federal rule allows conforming alternate versions only where direct accessibility is not possible for technical or legal reasons. Colorado rule 11.8 uses the same test: not possible due to technical or legal limitations.

(a) A public entity may use conforming alternate versions of web content, as defined by WCAG 2.1, to comply with § 35.200 only where it is not possible to make web content directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations.

28 CFR 35.202(a)

A public entity may use conforming alternate versions of ICT to comply with these rules only where it is not possible to make the ICT directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations.

8 CCR 1501-11, rule 11.8

How a particular service fits these rules is a legal question. We do not answer it for any product; ask your attorney.

Overlay widgets

Overlay widgets are scripts added to a website that change how pages display, for example text size, contrast or a reading tool. They work on the web page in the browser. A PDF a resident downloads and opens in a reader is a separate file, and the script does not add tags, reading order or alt text to it.

In April 2025 the Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million. The FTC alleged the company claimed its accessWidget plug-in could make any website meet WCAG, and called those claims “false, misleading, or unsubstantiated.” The order bars such claims about its automated products without evidence to support them (FTC).

A monthly done-for-you service

A monthly done-for-you service finds what your office posted each month, fixes the files and returns them, for a flat fee. Readable Town is one: $1,500 a year per town. We fix the PDF itself, a person checks every file, and each step goes into a dated Readable Record.

The trade-off is scope. A monthly service covers the documents a town posts in a normal month. An unusually large file, such as a budget book of several hundred pages, may be quoted separately, so ask any provider what counts as normal. See how it works and pricing.

A worked example: one town, five choices

A worked example: a hypothetical town of 4,000 holds two council meetings a month and posts an agenda, a packet of about 60 pages and minutes for each. Its clerk also posts a few notices. The packets include scanned letters and a site plan most months, and the clerk has perhaps two spare hours a week.

In-house, the clerk can handle agendas and minutes, but the packets would take far more than two hours a week. A per-page vendor would fix the packets, and the bill would follow the page count. A conversion service would add HTML versions with little effort, subject to the attorney’s view on alternate versions. An overlay would leave the packets as they are. A monthly service would take the whole month’s files for a flat fee. Many towns mix: the clerk builds clean agendas in Word, and the packets go out.

How to choose

Choose by asking the same five questions of every option: is the file itself fixed, who checks it, what does a year cost at your real page count, what record do you get, and how many hours does it take from the clerk. Write the answers down and compare them side by side.

Start with facts about your own site. Run a free check or test a few posted files in our PDF checker, and count the pages you posted last year. Our guide on budgeting for document accessibility turns that count into a budget line.

What we do about it

What we do about it is the fifth option in the table. Each month we find the agendas, packets, minutes and notices your office posted, fix the PDF files themselves, have a person check every one, and log the work in a dated Readable Record. It costs $1,500 a year. See how it works.

This guide explains the rule in plain language. It is not legal advice. For decisions about your town, talk to your attorney.