From 2025 the European Accessibility Act requires accessible e-books from many publishers. But accessibility is more than a checkbox in the export dialog — it decides whether millions of people can read your book at all. And it’s technically harder than most think.
What accessibility really means
An accessible book can be read aloud by screen readers, navigated by keyboard and displayed at any font size. That requires clean semantic structure: headings as headings, not as big bold paragraphs. Images with alt text. A logical reading order that holds even when no one sees the layout.
PDF/UA-1 — structured, tagged PDF standard
PDF/A-2a — long-term archiving with tags
Alt text for every meaningful image
Logical reading order independent of layout
Accessibility isn’t a constraint on design — it’s proof that the structure is sound.
Why verification is essential
Accessibility can’t be claimed, it has to be proven. Tools like veraPDF check whether an export actually meets the standards — tag by tag, image by image. A book that calls itself “accessible” but fails the check helps no one and risks rejection in regulated markets.
The unexpected side effect
An accessible book is almost always a better-structured book too. The discipline of marking up every heading correctly and describing every image improves quality for all readers — not just those relying on assistive technology. Accessibility and craft are two sides of the same coin.