Accessibility Partners Logo

VPAT Creation

Magnifying Glass Closely looking Over

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) Consulting and Authoring

What is a VPAT®? Why do I need one?

More than a document—it’s a conversational Q&A between you and your end-user. A document read for examination The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or colloquially referred to as a VPAT®, is an important document that records your your level of compliance to Section 508. Essentially, it describes how accessible or inaccessible your product is based on applicable provisions of Section 508.
A VPAT® is used by various organizations, including the Federal government, to record the level of compliance and guide their purchasing. To determine your Section 508 conformance, Accessibility Partners proposes that you audit your product, and allow us fill out a VPAT® for you. Accessibility Partners has worked with dozens of IT companies to create VPATs® that enabled them to meet their accessibility requirements. To create a VPAT®, our team will conduct a full accessibility audit, and check for all applicable portions of the Section 508, which includes the technical requirements, the functional performance criteria, and the information, documentation, and support requirements.

These are the following accepted compliance results for a VPAT:

Supports – The application fully meets the letter and intent of the criteria. This means that is accessible in respect of that provision.

Supports with Exceptions/Minor Exceptions – The application does not fully meet the letter and intent of the criteria, but provides some level of access relative to the criteria. It is partially accessible.

Supports through Equivalent Facilitation – The application provides an alternate way to meet the intent of the criteria, thus ensuring compliance.

Supports when Combined with Compatible AT – The application fully meets the letter and intent of the criteria when used in combination with Compatible AT.

Does Not Support – The application does not meet the letter or intent of the criteria.

Not Applicable – The criteria does not apply.

Not Applicable – Fundamental Alteration Exception Applies – A fundamental alteration of the application is required to meet the criteria.

Accessibility Partners also provides VPAT comparison services. With a larger number of companies and organizations creating VPATs for their products, your detailed VPAT can be used to help evaluate a single product or several products for a side-by-side comparison.