What Is an Accessibility VPAT and Do I Need One?
The VPAT is a reporting template; the completed ACR describes a product version and evaluation scope. Request supporting evidence and test critical workflows.
A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a template used to report accessibility conformance. A completed report is an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). Request an ACR for the product version and workflows the institution will use, with supporting evaluation evidence.
Choose the relevant edition
The Information Technology Industry Council publishes current templates and edition guidance. Standards and template versions change, so use that source rather than assuming an older release is current. WCAG, Revised Section 508, European and international editions address different reporting needs.
Section 508 concerns federal ICT requirements. Receiving federal funding does not by itself make every university procurement subject to Section 508; Section 504 and other obligations require separate analysis. Identify applicable law, policy and contract requirements before specifying a report edition.
Read the evaluation details
Check product version, evaluation date, platforms, methods and assistive technologies. For each criterion, read the remarks behind Supports, Partially Supports, Does Not Support or Not Applicable. Ask about exclusions, known barriers and planned corrections.
An ACR is not a certification by a central authority. It can be produced by a vendor or an external evaluator. Full support claims are not automatically dishonest, but they need a clear scope and credible evidence. A missing or stale report creates an evaluation gap to resolve, rather than proving an inaccessible product by itself.
Test the institution's critical tasks
Evaluate login, navigation, assessments, document download and other consequential workflows using the intended roles and environment. Check vendor-generated documents separately from the platform interface. Define remediation commitments and usable interim access where necessary.
An ACR can support procurement due diligence, but the report and its underlying evidence do not replace the institution's obligations or guarantee a legal outcome.
Aelira Core is beta software. Supported workflows can apply eligible partial fixes and record outcomes, but some inputs need manual work or cannot produce a downloadable remediated file. Review the actual saved output, unresolved findings and content preservation before publication. Automated scores describe implemented checks rather than accessibility conformance. Inspect the public source and release documentation and evaluate a representative authorized sample before planning a rollout.
Aelira Team
•Accessibility EngineersThe Aelira team is building beta accessibility tools for higher education. Institutions can evaluate selected checks and partial fixes on their own files, with human review required before publication.
Related Articles
What Procurement Should Demand in an Accessibility AI Contract: A Due-Diligence Checklist
Eleven proposed due-diligence terms for AI-assisted accessibility procurement. Adapt acceptance, evidence, data-flow and exit commitments to institutional needs.
FERPA, Cloud Inference, and the Data-Sovereignty Question Procurement Should Be Asking
Map document and inference data flows, review FERPA conditions and contract terms, and verify what a self-hosted deployment actually sends outside the institution.
What Accessibility Scores Establish — and Why Review Records Matter
Use scanner scores within their measured scope, and retain review records tied to exact files. Neither a score nor an audit trail guarantees conformance or an investigation outcome.