How Paridoc works.

You add one script tag to your website. From then on, when someone clicks a PDF link, they get an accessible HTML version of that document. Your PDFs stay exactly where they are.

1. Add the script tag

One line in your site's header, the same way you'd add analytics. It works with any content management system. If your site sets a Content-Security-Policy, you add Paridoc's address to it.

The viewer and the accessible documents are served from paridoc.net, with nothing else to set up. If you'd rather, serve everything from your own domain, such as accessible.youragency.gov, with one DNS record. Then the script, the viewer and the documents all come from your own address.

2. We find your documents

Paridoc's crawler reads your site and lists every PDF it links to. When a page loads, the script checks which of its links have an accessible version ready. The same file linked from ten pages is recognized as one document and converted once.

New documents are converted on the fly. When the script sees a link to a PDF we haven't converted yet, conversion starts right away, so a document you post this morning is accessible within minutes, without waiting for the next crawl.

3. Each PDF becomes a real accessible document

Why HTML? It reflows to any screen and zoom level and works with every screen reader, and federal policy tells agencies to prioritize it over PDF. More on HTML vs. PDF.

Paridoc reads the layout of each page to get the reading order right across columns, sidebars and footnotes, then rebuilds the content as HTML with real structure:

• headings in the right order, so screen reader users can jump between sections
• tables with proper header cells, so each value is read with its row and column
• lists, links and page numbers kept as they were
• descriptions for images, charts and signatures
• text recognized from scanned pages, which have no text to read at all as PDFs

Every converted document is checked in a real browser against the WCAG 2.2 AA rules with axe-core, the standard automated accessibility checker. WCAG 2.2 AA includes everything in WCAG 2.1 AA, the level the ADA Title II rule requires.

4. Residents get an accessible viewer

Clicking a document link opens Paridoc's viewer, which has:

• the accessible version, which works with screen readers, zoom, high contrast and phones
• the original PDF, one click away, for anyone who wants it
• an outline of the document's sections
• read-aloud
• a short summary
• translation into 12 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean
• downloads as accessible HTML, plain text or the original PDF

If nobody has opened a document yet and it hasn't been converted, the viewer shows the original at once and swaps in the accessible version when it's ready, usually within minutes. Nobody hits a dead end.

5. It keeps up with your site

New documents are converted as they appear. When a file changes, Paridoc spots the new version and converts it again. You don't re-upload or re-publish anything.

6. Flag a problem and we fix it

If your staff or a resident spots something wrong in an accessible version, flag it and our team fixes it. We review each document beside its original PDF, make the correction, and check it again. Every fix is recorded: what was reported, what changed, and when. That history is useful evidence of an ongoing accessibility program.

Questions

Do we have to upload our PDFs?

No. Paridoc finds them on your site, converts them, and notices when they change.

Does Paridoc change our PDFs or our website?

No. Your PDFs stay where they are, untouched. The script only changes where a document link takes the reader.

What if Paridoc is down?

Every link still opens the original PDF. The script changes a link only after Paridoc answers, so if Paridoc can't be reached, your links stay as they are.

How long does conversion take?

Usually a few minutes per document. Someone who opens a document that hasn't been converted yet sees the original right away, and the accessible version replaces it when it's ready.

Updated September 2026

Send us your website's address and we'll count your PDFs and send you a price: paridoc@efile.systems