VPAT® WCAG 2.1 AA Request Explained: What You Need As a Seller
Many of our clients let us know in any number of ways that they need a VPAT and it needs to be for WCAG 2.1 AA.
If you’re new to accessibility, the terminology and process can seem confusing, but everything’s actually very straight forward. Here’s the ironed out VPAT request scenario:
First, you’ve been asked for a VPAT or ACR by a buyer because the buyer needs to see this documentation to consider your product for purchase. Even where you may not have been asked before, this is now policy for a product or service to even be eligible for purchase for many entities.
VPAT stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template and as the name indicates, this is quite literally a template that is filled in. When the VPAT is filled in and completed, it becomes an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). Despite this technicality, the two terms are often used interchangeably in the marketplace.
Second, there are four different editions of the VPAT:
- WCAG — for buyers strictly concerned with WCAG conformance
- 508 — selling to U.S. federal government
- EU — selling inside the European Union
- INT — combines the three previous editions
Each of these editions are tied to different technical standards. The WCAG edition is commonly used and accepted and provides a way to easily determine a product or service’s level of conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
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So if the buyer’s request is for WCAG 2.1 AA conformance, you’ll very likely need to have the WCAG edition of the VPAT filled in using an audit report where the audit was conducted using the WCAG 2.1 AA standard.
Note: You could just as easily use the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
Third, as mentioned above, we need to conduct an accessibility audit. Because we need to ensure the VPAT is both accurately and completely filled in, it is essential that someone who is a technical accessibility expert with experience in auditing conduct the audit report.
Fourth, once the audit report is completed, you’ll use the results to fill in the accessibility table in the VPAT.
Note that you don’t have to have an independent company audit and/or fill in the VPAT. You can do this internally. The only qualification is the information entered must be accurate and complete (hence why the expert is essential).
Fifth, once the VPAT is filled in and completed, it’s now an ACR that can be delivered to the buyer.
Final Thoughts
VPATs are fairly simple and straightforward.
The work involved in auditing is often highly technical, but this process is conceptually very easy: all we’re after is a report that enables buyers to quickly assess and compare our product or service’s accessibility.
If you need VPAT services, we’re happy to help. You’re welcome to send me a message at Accessible.org — we’ll be right back with you.
Also, if you have an audit report, you can auto generate a filled-in VPAT using Accessibility Tracker AI.
