PowerPoint Accessibility

When publishing PowerPoint presentations to state websites, it’s important to ensure the files meet accessibility requirements under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

PowerPoint files are considered official public content—just like web pages and PDFs—and must be usable by people with disabilities. PowerPoint includes an Accessibility Checker that automatically reviews your presentation and flags potential issues, explaining why they matter and how to fix them. If issues are detected, a reminder will appear in the status bar. 

To manually run the Accessibility Checker, go to: Review > Check Accessibility. This opens the Accessibility pane, where you can review and resolve any issues.

Before exporting a PPT to PDF, please make sure the slide deck itself is accessible. 

Best Practices

The following includes key best practices for creating PowerPoint presentations that are accessible to people with disabilities:

  • Add alt text to all meaningful visuals 
  • Set a logical reading order for slide content 
  • Use descriptive, meaningful hyperlink text 
  • Ensure sufficient color contrast 
  • Give every slide a unique title 
  • Use tables only for tabular data and include table headers 
  • Add captions to videos 

If you plan to convert your PPT to a PDF, run the Accessibility Checker first and correct any issues. Then export the file as a PDF using the “Best for electronic distribution and accessibility” option. 

For additional guidance and best practices, you can visit Microsoft PPT’s official accessibility support page.

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