Compliance and Online Forms

When deciding whether to publish a form as a web form or a PDF, it is important to consider the legal and modernization standards set by Texas House Bill 5195 (HB 5195). Under this law, state agencies must actively assess their digital services to simplify user access, ensure mobile responsiveness, and reduce paperwork where electronic alternatives exist.

Online forms are ideal for meeting these accessibility and modernization requirements. While PDF forms can technically be made compliant, doing so is a highly time-consuming process and still provides a less accessible, less mobile-friendly experience than a native web form. If you are interested in transitioning your PDF or paper forms to a modernized electronic format, please contact your webmaster or IT support personnel.

Learn about accessible PDFs

Comparing Online Forms vs. PDFs

Online Forms

  • Inherently more accessibleUsing semantic HTML forms is more accessible than a PDF.
  • Easier for respondents to accessnyone with web access can complete your form.
  • Easier to fill out.Respondents can skip past questions that don’t apply and choose from pre-populated answers when applicable.
  • Easier to edit.Adding questions and editing information can be done quickly and easily, even after publishing the form.
  • Instant access to responses.Collected data is immediately available, results can be monitored easily, and analysis can be done automatically.
  • Mobile-friendly.Web forms can be made to comply with the HB 5195 responsive web design mandate, working seamlessly on smartphones, tablets and desktops. PDFs do not scale dynamically on mobile devices.

PDF Forms

  • Time-consuming to make accessible.Requires making a tagged PDF that is “fillable” in-brower.
  • Harder for respondents to access.May require special software to fill out, or even a printer and scanner if the PDF isn’t fillable.
  • More complicated to fill out.PDF forms can’t support logic and are often more confusing on how to complete.
  • Harder to edit.Making changes to the form results in having to remediate the document again.
  • Manual access to responses.Collected data must be manually reviewed.
  • Poor mobile experience.Hard to read and fill out on mobile devices.

Accessibility Requirements for Online Forms

These requirements apply regardless of whether you use an online form or a PDF.

Form Design

  • Information within the form should be arranged in a simple, logical, and intuitive order.
  • All cues for filling out the form must be available to users of assistive technology, (e.g., mandatory fields, help boxes, error messages)
  • The tab order to reach the form and the tab order between form elements are logical and consistent with the normal and visual order of entering form data.
  • At least 12-point text should be utilized throughout, even if it means the form will be multiple pages.
  • Ensure adequate contrast and avoid putting information in shaded boxes.
  • Do not rely solely on color, icons or special characters to convey critical information. Always pair them with descriptive text.

Labels and Placeholders

  • Form inputs should have associated text labels.
  • Use unique form labels for all fields; provide differentiation between repeated fields.
  • Placeholder text, if used, should NOT be redundant or distracting to users of assistive technology.
  • Guidance should be provided within the form element’s label if a specific format, value, or length is required.
  • Form buttons should have a descriptive value.

Validation

  • Form field validation should be utilized on fields to help reduce errors.
  • Focus should be given to fields that have errors when submitted and make sure form fields are not cleared.
  • Form error messages must identify the error(s) to the user and describe them to the user in text in time with the action.

Tips for Developing Your Own Forms

There are additional technical considerations if you are developing your own HTML forms. Get detailed information on labeling, grouping controls, validating inputs and more in the W3C Forms Tutorial.

Access the Tutorial

Related Resources

Advanced Accessible PDFs (LinkedIn Learning)

This LinkedIn Learning Course covers advanced topics for creating an accessible PDF using Adobe Acrobat Pro, Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign, including covering tables and interactive forms.

Procurement

When considering using an online form platform, you must go through the appropriate procurement process to ensure the platform is accessible before purchasing or using the product.