Accessible Fillable PDF Forms

This is a 10 hour, self-paced online course.

This course is for anyone who has been working with tagged PDF documents and wants to take their skills to the next level. We start with an accessible PDF document and turn it into an accessible fillable PDF form. By adding the form controls to an already accessible PDF document, people who are blind, have a visual, learning, cognitive or print disability will be able to independently fill out forms for your organization. This is NOT a course on how to Tag or remediate PDF documents. This course starts after you’ve tagged PDF documents.


Your Instructor


Karen McCall, M.Ed.
Karen McCall, M.Ed.

Karen wrote the first book on creating and working with tagged PDF documents (2005) and the first book on creating and remediating more accessible Word documents (2005). Her PDF book is currently in its fourth edition (2017). There have been several iterations of the Word book, the latest, "Styles in Word: A Primer for Accessible Document Design" was published in 2017.In 2018, she published "Accessible Fillable PDF forms".

Karen has been a Microsoft MVP for Word since 2009 and a Microsoft Accessibility MVP since the additional category was created in 2014. Until August 2018, she was a Canadian delegate to the ISO 32000 (PDF) and ISO 14289 (PDF/UA) committees for over 8 years.

Content in this course is copyright Karen McCall.


Course Curriculum


  Information About the Course
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  Form Design Basics
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  Text Form Controls
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  Lists
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  Check Boxes
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  Radio Buttons
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  Barcode and Picture Form Controls
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  Digital Signatures
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  Adding the Form Controls to a Tagged PDF
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  Add Form Controls to an Untagged PDF
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  Finishing the Accessible PDF Form
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now, as soon as you enroll! You'll have access to the content for as long as you need or want it. I'm hoping to be able to update content when new techniques are available. However, this is your individual copy of the course and the Styles in Word book and is not to be used for training other staff.
Why should I care about accessible document design and making digital content accessible for people with disabilities?
In 2018 there are more than 1 Billion people in the world with a disability. It is a common misconception that if something is digital, someone who is blind, visually disabled, has a learning cognitive or print disability can "read" it. This is NOT true. You have to adhere to the principles of universal design and create more accessible digital content. It is not only good for business, in an increasing number of countries, it is the law.
How accessible is the course for those of us with disabilities?
I contacted Teachable before signing up wth them to find out what A11Y standards they use, if any. The response was that they use WAI-ARIA as the standard. Having said that, there are some accessibility barriers. I am not able to add Alt text to the videos so have added the text just before the videos. The text can be quite light but I'm working on finding a way to provide better contrast.

Get started now!