Possible inappropriate use of "sect" structure element on a manual List Item

Hello ​@cmvarga5 ,


Thank you for reaching out. Sorry for the delayed response.

Based on your description, the PAC warning is expected in this scenario. The numbered items (for example, “3.” and “4.”) appear to represent form sections rather than a true list structure.

In PDF accessibility standards, the <L> (List) and <LI> (List Item) Tags should only be used when the content represents a semantic list, such as a series of related items. When numbering is used only to indicate sections or sequence within a form, it should not be tagged as a list.

To resolve the warning, you may consider the following approach:

• Remove the <L> and <LI> tags associated with these elements

• Treat each numbered item as part of the document structure, for example:

  • Use a heading tag (such as <H1>, <H2>, etc.) if the numbers represent sections

  • Or use a standard paragraph (<P>) tags if they are simply labels within the form

• Ensure that form fields are properly tagged using form field tags and that labels are programmatically associated (for example, through tooltips or accessible names)

This approach aligns with Adobe’s accessibility guidance, which states that structure tags should reflect the content's meaning, not just its visual appearance.

Once the list structure is removed and replaced with appropriate semantic tags, the PAC warning related to “inappropriate use of ‘Sect’ structure element on a manual list item” should no longer appear.

Let us know if that answers your question.

~Tariq