Google Docs accessibility checker: what's built in and what to add

Google Docs and Google Slides don't have a full built-in accessibility checker like the one in Microsoft Office. You can still make accessible documents with Google's own tools, such as heading styles, alt text and the document outline, and you can add a checker from the Google Workspace Marketplace, such as Grackle. Be careful with PDFs: Google improved the tags in PDFs downloaded from Docs in early 2025, but the export still may not carry everything screen readers need, such as table headers, so always check the PDF itself before you post it.

What's built in

Google's accessibility features help you build an accessible document, even without an automatic checker:

Google notes that some images get alt text automatically, and recommends checking that it's correct. Google also suggests using an outside tool, such as a web-based contrast checker, to test color contrast.

Google Slides

Slides has no checker either. Build accessibility in as you go:

• Use layouts with title placeholders, and give every slide a unique title.
• Add alt text to images, charts and diagrams the same way as in Docs, and keep text in text boxes rather than in images.
• Mind the order. Screen readers read objects in the order they were added, so build each slide top to bottom, or rebuild slides whose order matters.
• Check contrast, especially text placed over photos.
• Use captions when you present. Slides can show automatic captions of the speaker's words during a presentation.
• Offer the HTML view. Google provides a text-based view of a presentation (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + P), which some screen reader users find easier to navigate.

Google Sheets

Sheets has no checker either, and the same principles as Excel apply:

• Name every sheet for what it contains, and delete empty ones.
• Put one header row at the top of each table, and freeze it (View > Freeze) so it stays visible.
• Avoid merged cells and blank rows or columns inside your data.
• Add alt text to charts and images. For an image, select it and choose Alt text from its menu. For a chart, give it a clear title and keep its data next to it in the sheet. Our alt text for charts and graphs guide shows what to write.
• Don't rely on color alone, such as red cells for overdue items. Add a status column in words.

Sharing without a PDF

Often the most accessible option is not to make a PDF at all:

• Share the Google Doc itself with view-only access. Google designs Docs, Sheets and Slides to work with screen readers.
• Publish to the web (File > Share > Publish to web) to create a simple web page version of a document.
• Share the HTML view of a presentation for people who find slides hard to navigate with a screen reader.

If you work for a state or local government, public school or public college, content you post is covered by the ADA Title II rule whatever its format, so the same accessibility checks apply. See our ADA Title II guide.

Add-on checkers

Several third-party add-ons in the Google Workspace Marketplace check Docs, Slides and Sheets for accessibility issues. Grackle is one of the best known. Its Grackle Workspace subscription works inside Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, checks content against WCAG and PDF/UA requirements such as alt text and heading structure, and helps you export accessible PDFs. Before installing any add-on, check the permissions it asks for and your organization's policy on third-party apps, because add-ons can read your documents.

A manual check for Google Docs

Downloading a PDF from Google Docs

For years, File > Download > PDF Document produced PDFs with little or no structure, so even a well-built Google Doc lost its headings and alt text on the way out. That has improved. In December 2024, Google announced better tagging in PDFs exported from Google Docs, covering paragraphs, headings, links, image alt text and lists, with the rollout expected to finish by mid-January 2025. In March 2025, Google added tags for tables, equations and checkboxes.

That's real progress, but it doesn't cover everything:

• Table headers need checking. Tables are now tagged, but independent tests found header cells only when the header row was pinned (View > Freeze), with no way to mark row headers. Check that header rows come through as header cells.
• Styles still matter. Text that only looks like a heading (bigger or bold) won't be tagged as one. Use the heading styles.
• The title and language are worth confirming in the PDF's properties.
• Slides and Sheets weren't part of the announcements, so check PDFs from those apps especially carefully.

Whatever you use, check the downloaded PDF with a PDF checker before posting it. You have three practical options:

1. Download and check. Download the PDF, run it through our free checker or PAC, and fix what's missing.
2. Go through Word. Choose File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx), open the file in Word, run Word's checker, and export a tagged PDF from Word. See our Word accessibility checker guide.
3. Use an add-on that exports tagged PDFs. Some accessibility add-ons, including Grackle Workspace, offer accessible PDF export. Check the result the same way.

Better still, ask whether the content needs to be a PDF at all. A Google Doc shared as a link, or the same content on a web page, is often easier to read on a phone and with assistive technology.

Fix it automatically

Includoc checks Word, PowerPoint and PDF files, so it works with Google Docs and Slides through their downloads. Download your document as a .docx or .pptx file, or as a PDF, and upload it. You'll get a plain-English report against WCAG 2.1 AA and PDF/UA. When you fix it, Includoc tags the PDF or updates the Office file, fixes the structure, sets the title and language, and drafts alt text for you to approve. You get back a tagged PDF ready to post.

Standards

Sources

• Google: Make your document, presentation, sheets and videos more accessible (opens another website)
• Google: Use Google Docs Editors with a screen reader (opens another website)
• Google Workspace Updates, December 6, 2024: Adding improved accessibility tagging to PDFs exported from Google Docs (opens another website)
• Google Workspace Updates, March 14, 2025: Additional accessibility tags for Tables, Equations, and Checkboxes in PDFs exported from Google Docs (opens another website)
• GrackleDocs: Grackle Workspace (opens another website)
• W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (opens another website)
• W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (opens another website)
• W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (opens another website)