How to produce accessible documents for the Department for Transport
Guidelines for organisations or contractors supplying documents for DfT to publish on GOV.UK.
Documents
Details
This guidance is for external authors who produce content for the Department for Transport (DfT) to publish on GOV.UK as PDF.
It is intended for authors who are not professional designers.
It explains how to create a Microsoft Word document that will make it easier to create a PDF that meets legal accessibility standards.
When you have completed your Word draft, you will need to pay for DfT’s independent accessibility experts to create a legally accessible PDF version of your document. Your contact at DfT can give you more details.
Professional designers
If you are a professional designer, you will need to arrange for your final document to be checked by our independent accessibility experts. They will charge for this service. Speak to your contact at DfT for details.
HTML documents
Most content that DfT publishes on GOV.UK is in web page (HTML) format.
HTML documents on GOV.UK are:
- accessible by default
- easier for most people to use
- easier to update or correct
This guidance will also help you to draft a document that we could publish as HTML. But HTML may not be the most suitable format for a long and complicated external report.
Ask your contact at DfT about publishing content in HTML.
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets must be accessible to the standard set out by WCAG 2.1.
Provide data in CSV files or provide multiple-tabbed spreadsheets and charts in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format – this is a GOV.UK standard.
Microsoft provides step-by-step instructions on saving in ODS format.
Writing accessible content
Follow the GDS guidance on writing content for GOV.UK.
Follow the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guidance on inclusive communication.