VPATs and Accessibility Statements: Home

A VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template®) is a document that explains how “Information and Communication Technology” (ICT) products meet or conform to Section 508 (U.S.), EN 301 549 (EU), and W3C/WAI WCAG standards for IT relevant accessibility . The purpose of the VPAT is to assist customers and buyers in making preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial ICT products and services with features that support accessibility. 

The Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) based on the ITI VPAT® is the leading global reporting format for assisting buyers and sellers in identifying information and communications technology (ICT) products and services with accessibility features. Version 2 of the VPAT was expanded to include the leading ICT accessibility standards: 

• A VPAT is a vendor generated statement (using the required template) that provides relevant information on how a vendor’s product or service claims to conform to the Section 508 Standards.
• The VPAT was designed to provide information on how a product or service conforms to the Section 508 Accessibility Standards (from the U.S. Access Board) for Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) in a consistent fashion and format. In general, Vendors should generate a VPAT whenever they develop products or services that are determined to be EIT compatible.

In each VPAT, the vendor is expected to make specific statements, in simple understandable (recommended) language, about how their product or service meets the requirements of the Section 508 Standards (section by section, and paragraph by paragraph).

*According to the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) , VPATs should contain the following: 

• Essential requirements to use the VPAT service mark and best practices which provide for consistent, uniform and more complete reporting by the manufacturer
• A description field for the product
• Evaluation Methods Used field describing methods used to test the product accessibility
• Notes field for the report and for each table to provide additional detail concerning product tested and evaluation methods
• Provided as a MS Word file

Adapted with permission from CUNY Office of Library Services VPATs and Accessibility Statements LibGuide (https://guides.cuny.edu/accessibility/vpats).
*Written by or adapted, with permission, from Dahlgren Memorial Library, Georgetown University Medical Center Accessibility and Disability LibGuide (https://guides.dml.georgetown.edu/accessibility/VPAT)