Accessible agendas and meeting minutes for small public bodies

Agendas, packets and minutes are some of the most-published documents on a government website, and they recur every month. Fixing the template fixes every future meeting.

Build one accessible template

• Use a Word template with real styles: Title, Heading 1 for each agenda item, list styles for lists.
• Set the document title and language in the template.
• Use a built-in table with a header row if you need a table.

Packets with attachments

Attachments such as reports and scanned letters are the usual problem. Ask contributors for Word or other editable source files and accessible exports. For scans, see scanned PDF accessibility.

A monthly routine

1. Export from the template with tags enabled.
2. Run the files through the checker.
3. Fix failures at the source and re-export.
4. Spot-check one document with a screen reader each quarter.

Check a PDF now

Guides last checked 2026-10-18. General information, not legal advice. Menu names can differ between software versions.