PacketReady

How to publish accessible board packets: a workflow for clerks

Most packet problems start upstream, in templates without styles, scanned attachments and files combined at the last minute. This routine fixes them once and keeps them fixed.

Reviewed September 23, 2026.

Why packets fail

Common causes of inaccessible packets include:

  • Untagged exports. A PDF made with a print driver such as "Microsoft Print to PDF" has no tags at all, even when the Word file was well structured.
  • Scanned attachments. Signed resolutions, letters, bid tabulations and engineering memos are often scanned, so the pages are pictures with no text.
  • Mixed packets. A tagged agenda combined with untagged attachments produces a file that says it is tagged but has whole sections screen readers skip.
  • Visual formatting instead of structure. Bold text instead of headings, typed numbers instead of numbered lists, and columns lined up with tabs instead of tables.
  • Missing descriptions. Location maps, site plans, charts and photos without alternate text.
  • Leftover metadata. A document title such as "Microsoft Word - agenda_final_v2.docx" and no language setting.

Start with accessible source templates

Time spent on the agenda and minutes templates pays off at every meeting. In Word (Google Docs works the same way):

  • Use Heading 1 for the meeting name and Heading 2 for agenda sections such as Consent Agenda, Old Business and New Business. Change how the styles look instead of formatting text by hand.
  • Number agenda items with Word's numbering button, not typed numbers, so they become real lists.
  • Use a real table for bills lists and consent items, with the top row set to repeat as a header row.
  • Give the seal or logo alternate text, or mark it as decorative if the body's name already appears as text.
  • Fill in the document title (File > Info > Properties) and set the proofing language.
  • Avoid text boxes and floating shapes for important content; they often fall out of the reading order.
  • Run Word's built-in Accessibility Checker (Review > Check Accessibility) before you export.

Export settings that keep the tags

  • Word for Windows: File > Save As (or Save a Copy), choose PDF, then More options > Options, and tick "Document structure tags for accessibility". Also choose "Create bookmarks using: Headings" (Microsoft support).
  • Word for Mac and Google Docs: the options differ by version. Export, then check the result; if it comes out untagged, export from Word for Windows or LibreOffice instead.
  • LibreOffice: File > Export as PDF, and tick "Universal Accessibility (PDF/UA)".
  • Agenda-management platforms such as BoardDocs, Granicus, CivicPlus, iCompass or eSCRIBE generate some PDFs for you. Check what your platform produces and ask your vendor how its output is tagged.

Whatever you use, never "print" to PDF when you want an accessible file.

Handle scanned attachments

  1. Ask for the digital original. A scan is often a printout of a digital document that was signed and scanned back in. Add a line to your submission instructions: "Send documents as Word files or PDFs saved from the original program; scans only when no digital version exists."
  2. Sign digitally where you can, or post the typed document with a note of who signed it, and keep the wet-ink original on file.
  3. When a scan is unavoidable, run text recognition (OCR), tag the result, and proofread numbers, names and dates. See scanned PDFs and OCR.

Third-party documents

Developer plans, engineering reports, audits, vendor quotes and consultant studies are part of the packet you post, so plan for them to be in scope (ADA.gov fact sheet). Three habits help:

  • Put an accessibility requirement in requests for proposals and contracts, for example that deliverables posted to the public must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
  • Ask applicants for a text summary of large drawings and plan sets; drawings themselves rarely become fully accessible, but the information in them can be described.
  • Check outside documents as soon as they arrive, not the night before the meeting, so there is time to ask for a better version.

Assemble the packet

You have two reasonable options. Posting each attachment as a separate PDF linked from the agenda keeps files small, makes problems easy to find and fix, and lets people download only what they need. Combining everything into one packet is convenient for readers who print it; if you combine, make sure every input file is tagged first, add a bookmark for each attachment, and give the combined file a real title such as "Village Board Packet, October 6, 2026" and a language.

A posting routine

  1. Export the agenda and staff reports as tagged PDFs from their source files.
  2. Collect attachments; replace scans with digital originals where possible.
  3. OCR, tag and proofread any remaining scans.
  4. Post attachments separately, or combine them with bookmarks and a real title.
  5. Run the whole folder through PacketReady and fix every "Likely fails" and "Needs work" result.
  6. Do the 10-minute manual check on the agenda and on any new kind of attachment.
  7. Post, and keep the downloaded report with your meeting records.
  8. Make sure your meetings page says how to request an accessible version.

Check your own files

PacketReady checks a whole packet folder in your browser, with nothing uploaded, and explains every fix in plain English.

Check PDFs now Get packets remediated

Related guides: ADA Title II and PDFs · Tagged PDF, explained · Alt text for meeting documents

Sources

  1. Create accessible PDFs. Microsoft Support
  2. Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro). Adobe
  3. Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments. ADA.gov
  4. PDF Techniques for WCAG 2.1. W3C