What is VPAT, and Why is it Important?

Sometimes, while wading into the waters of digital accessibility compliance, the terminology can seem a bit murky,  so we’ll help clear up any confusion you may have around the term VPAT. 

To begin with, VPAT is short for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, which is just the name of a form that is a fillable, useable template that companies can use to prepare an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). The ACR plays a role in ensuring that important accessibility standards are adhered to across industries, including online commerce. Sounds simple enough, right? But let’s break it down. 

To Understand a VPAT, Start by Understanding the ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted to provide a broad scope of legal protections to people with disabilities, including the right to have equal access to public spaces and businesses. In real terms, this means that people with disabilities have the right to get to spaces of public commerce and to enjoy spaces of public commerce. For example, under the ADA, sidewalks that meet at an intersection should have curb ramps to allow wheelchair users to cross the street freely. Stores must make reasonable accommodations to allow wheelchair users to access and move around easily within the store, allowing them to shop just as any other customer would. They must be able to easily navigate the aisles and shelves, have the ability to access products, and check out without hassle. 

In the digital world, a website is basically a store (or organization) that is accessed virtually. So, in the same way that an actual brick-and-mortar store must be accessible in the real world, ADA compliance in the world of e-commerce requires online stores to also be accessible and easy to move around with ease. Of course, because online shopping and engagement are built with a focus more on sight and hearing, ensuring accessibility to web-based businesses means making sure that users who have low or no vision or hearing still have equal access to the full functionality of the site.

If we use our brick-and-mortar storefront analogy, it means that it isn’t enough just to ensure that web users with visual or auditory disabilities can get into the store; they must also be able to move freely around the store and access (with ease) all of the same things that any other user can. This includes an emphasis on the same overall goals- they must be able to easily navigate the aisles and shelves (webpages), have the ability to access products (be able to accurately identify and understand product descriptions), and check out without hassle. 

What is Section 508, and What Role Does it Play?

Section 508 is one segment of a federal law called the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. While it says many different things, for our purposes, it is a law that applies these same ADA requirements to the federal government itself. So, just as our previous example discussed access to stores, Section 508 says that government buildings must also be accessible. For example, a Federal Courthouse must be accessible to wheelchair users, from street-level entry all the way through to the various courtrooms, bathrooms, conference rooms, chambers, etc. 

Just as the ADA also applies this standard of accessibility to businesses that operate websites, Section 508 applies this standard of accessibility to agencies and branches of the Federal government that operate websites. For example, a website operated by a Federal Court system must be similarly accessible and navigable by users with no or low vision or hearing. 

How Does Section 508 Impact Online Businesses?

This is a great question. If Section 508 applies the standards of the ADA to the federal government, what does it have to do with private online business? 

The federal government, of course, doesn’t operate in a vacuum, nor does it do all of its own work or make all of the products it uses. It still needs to enter into contracts and purchase agreements with private industry every single day. And because the federal government must comply with the accessibility standards of Section 508, it will only contract with private businesses that also meet the baseline Section 508 compliance standards. 

For example, in the brick-and-mortar world, a construction or engineering firm hoping to get a federal contract for a bridge construction project must conform to any recognized accessibility standards within the industry. Or, in the online world, a business looking to sell software to the government must show that the platform it’s offering similarly conforms to the relevant online accessibility standards. 

WCAG Standards Can Apply As Well

Similar to the ADA and Section 508 standards, an international accessibility standard was established. Called the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines, this standard aims to drive consistency of digital accessibility initiatives on a global scale. 

What is an ACR, and How Does the VPAT Come Into Play?

In the U.S., any business that wants to secure federal government sales or service contracts has to demonstrate that it conforms to the standards under Section 508. Globally, businesses may also have to demonstrate that they conform to the WCAG standards. Regardless of which standards are implicated, the way businesses demonstrate that they meet the compliance requirements is by putting together a report. 

This report is called an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), which is a perfectly apt name for a report that demonstrates conformance with accessibility standards. This report addresses all of the criteria for meeting the standards, highlighting conformance and discussing shortcomings and plans for improvement. It allows the federal government (or another entity or business) to assess whether a particular website, service, or product substantially meets the accessibility requirements or has the capability of correcting any gaps. 

The VPAT

Drafting an ACR can be a complicated process initially since so many variables and metrics have to be identified and discussed. The VPAT, which, again, stands for the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, is simply a form that makes putting together an ACR easier. 

This template lays out in a pre-planned format all of the categories and subcategories of information that need to be addressed in the ACR. There is not one singular VPAT. An individual business can create its own VPAT if it wants. It is essentially like building an outline for a report. 

The VPAT breaks down all of the information that is needed in an organized, efficient, and helpful order. It also ensures that no aspects of the compliance standards are missed when building the report. 

One thing that frequently confuses people about this form is its name. Why is it called the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template if meeting the standards is mandatory? This is a totally reasonable question with a fairly straightforward answer. Meeting the accessibility standards is mandatory, and the report (the ACR) about how a business, product, or service complies with the standards is also mandatory. But whether or not you use a template (VPAT) as an outline for creating your report is up to you! The template itself is voluntary, even if you use a standardized one that is available to everyone. 

Is There More You Need to Understand About the VPAT? 

Yes! In that way humans do, we have complicated the simple VPAT situation in two main ways:

1. Using the VPAT as the ACR. Many businesses have gotten into the habit of just using the VPAT as the report itself. So, rather than refer to the VPAT as the template (or outline) it was meant to be, this becomes the document submitted as the final report. There is nothing wrong with this, per se, but it does muddy the waters a bit.

2. Referring to the VPAT and the ACR interchangeably. This makes sense, given that the two documents are being used interchangeably. So, in your efforts to understand the VPAT, the ACR, and what’s expected of you, you may come across a website or talk to someone who refers to or talks about them as one thing. They might advise that you have to submit a VPAT or refer to the actual VPAT as an ACR. Though technically incorrect, it is also just part of the industry norm to causally reference these as though they are the same thing, so just be aware of this and don’t let it confuse you. They are two pieces of the same puzzle, though. One is mandatory (the ACR), and one is voluntary (the use of the VPAT to create the ACR). Phew! You get it now. 

You should also know that you’re not alone in needing some clarification on this topic. Even NASA put together a primer on “Demystifying Section 508,” which includes sections on understanding the VPAT! If you still have lingering questions, reach out to AllyADA for answers.