VPAT certification: what buyers want and what an ACR delivers

What people mean by “VPAT certification”

There is no VPAT certification. The Information Technology Industry Council publishes the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, and its own FAQ answers the question twice: “No, there is no VPAT certification,” and, to the follow-up about getting “certified,” “There is no certification for VPAT.” Asked whether it checks what suppliers publish, ITI answers: “No, ITI does not review or approve VPATs. ITI provides the VPAT templates as a free resource for anyone to use.”

So no one issues a VPAT certificate and no authority stamps one. What a buyer who asks for “VPAT certification” wants is a document. You complete the template for an information and communication technology (ICT) product such as software, hardware, electronic content, or support documentation, and ITI calls the completed version an Accessibility Conformance Report, or ACR. It is the product owner’s own statement about the product, measured against a published standard. Our guide to what each accessibility proof actually attests sets the ACR beside the credentials that really are certifications, such as the DHS Trusted Tester program.

Which standard depends on the edition you complete. ITI publishes VPAT 2.5Rev (April 2025) in four editions: 508 for the Revised Section 508 Standards, WCAG for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, EU for EN 301 549, and INT for all three at once.

Inside the report, each applicable criterion is answered as supports, partially supports, does not support, or not applicable, with remarks. ITI is explicit that “There is no ‘pass/fail’ scale for determining whether a product is accessible or inaccessible.” There is no score, no grade, and nothing to hang a badge on.

An ACR should be written well enough to enable ICT buyers of the product or service to make informed decisions before purchasing. A useful report helps buyers do the following:

• Understand how the product or service measures against the Section 508 Standards or the other criteria in the edition used.
• Make a comparison of conformance among similar products and services from different vendors.
• Choose the product or service that best meets the set accessibility standards as well as the organization’s functional and legal requirements.
• Plan on how to acquire equally effective access when the desired accessible product or service is not available. This includes requests for changes to products or services that fall short of the set accessibility standards.

A buyer may take the report at face value rather than run an independent evaluation of the product, which is exactly why accuracy in the report does the work that no certificate could.

Failing to provide adequate details and explanatory remarks for accessibility issues in a product or service will most likely deter buyers from purchasing it.

When you fill in the template, make sure that details such as features that exist and how they support the accessibility criteria, and features that are missing and how they will be addressed, are articulately captured.

That significantly contributes to the purchase decision-making process by the buyer. The report should be complete and accurate enough to provide a quick initial assessment of the product or service under consideration.

Buyers want to read concise information about a product or service’s accessibility features and its conformance with the Section 508 Standards in order to decide whether they will purchase it or not.

Practical observations about VPAT assessments

A report is only as good as the assessment behind it. That assessment tests the product or service against the criteria in the edition you selected, and those criteria change as the underlying standards are revised: Section 508, WCAG, and EN 301 549.

Technically, this is a complex piece of work, and it presents challenges to both vendors and buyers.

On the vendor’s side, vendors do not want to be too detailed about the accessibility deficits in their products and services, especially if those deficits are small and are being worked on.

On the buyers’ side, buyers do not want to do a full-blown accessibility evaluation of a product or service. They simply want to take the report at face value.

ITI notes that a third-party audit is optional and is not required unless a specific solicitation asks for one. That is where a mindful business invests in an experienced evaluator who can deploy practical experience in deciding how much detail to include, so the report holds up when a procurement officer reads it closely.

What a completed ACR actually earns a business

Start with what it is not. An ACR is not a legal requirement in its own right, and it is not a legal defense. Section 508 binds federal agencies, which must procure ICT that conforms to the Revised 508 Standards, so a federal solicitation can require a supplier to document in writing how its product measures up. The ACR is the document that answers that request. Publishing one does not make a product accessible, and no report protects a vendor whose product fails to do what the report claims.

With that boundary drawn, a well-made report does real work for a business:

• Opens the business’ prospects for working with the federal government

If a business wants to work with a federal agency or offer any form of service to it, it needs to be able to answer accessibility questions in writing. Completing the current template, VPAT 2.5Rev in the 508 or INT edition, produces that answer.

This will not only help a company to understand the accessibility features of its products but also give agency officials the information they need to buy from the company.

• Spot the accessibility issues in products and services

While filling in the form, businesses account for the features present or missing in their products or services. That becomes a very apt self-assessment that helps the business identify any accessibility issues associated with the product or service.

If a business engages the services of seasoned VPAT and ACR specialists like ADA Compliance Pros, the experts can pinpoint which criteria come back as partially supports or does not support, and what it would take to move each one to supports.

• Access to bespoke compliance and product development services

Working through the template shows a business which areas of its products or services require specialized attention to make them accessible.

That enables the business to focus on those areas when seeking experts to help improve the product or service. This targeted resourcing ensures customized service delivery and product development excellence that lifts the accessibility of the product or service.

It also helps businesses to reduce compliance service time, which makes the process more profitable.

• Improved business prospects and profitability

An accurate report increases a business’s chances of winning bids, because it lets prospects make informed choices about the business’s products and services.

In a bidding process, a vendor that can hand over a current, honest ACR is easier to buy from than one that has nothing to show, which translates into better business prospects and profitability.

• Enhanced business credibility, reputation, and brand image

A business that demonstrates going out of its way to show the features of its products and services and how accessible they are to people with disabilities, as well as being honest about features that have accessibility issues that they are working on, reaps significantly in terms of reputation, credibility, and brand image.

Because the report is a self-disclosure, the honesty in it is the signal. Businesses that are candid about the features that have accessibility issues, and about the efforts they are making to fix them, earn the trust and respect of buyers.

That is because buyers prefer to purchase products and services from trustworthy vendors.

Need help completing a VPAT and publishing an ACR?

If a solicitation has asked you for a “VPAT certification” and you are not sure what to send back, do not let that distract you from your core business. You can get help today.

One of the things that our clients have found illuminating is our VPAT explainer and how we can turn the work of completing a template into an accessibility improvement program for the product itself.

To get started, get in touch or call (626) 486-2201 today to talk to one of our experienced VPAT and ACR specialists.