PDF/UA-1 · CLAUSE 7.18.1
Annotation is not tagged or described
An annotation is not nested in an Annot tag, has no Contents or Alt description, or uses a subtype that PDF/UA forbids.
Why it matters
Comments, stamps, and other annotations are either skipped entirely or announced with no explanation of what they are.
How to fix it
- Nest annotations inside an Annot structure element, except Widget, Link, and PrinterMark annotations.
- Give every visible annotation a Contents value describing it.
- Remove TrapNet annotations and mark printer marks as artifacts.
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A)
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)
What the standard says
An annotation (except Widget annotations or hidden annotations, or those having rectangle outside the crop-box) shall have either Contents key or an Alt entry in the enclosing structure element
Check your own PDF
Validate a file against PDF/UA-1 and see whether this rule fails in your document.
curl -sS -X POST "https://api.ua1.dev/api/validate?format=compact&profile=ua1" \ -F "file=@document.pdf"