VPAT Preparation Guide: What It Is and How to Get Ready

Questions answered by this guide

• ?What is a VPAT?
• ?Does my organization need a VPAT for internal training?
• ?What's the difference between a VPAT and an ACR?
• ?Can A11yCheck generate a VPAT for my course?
• ?How do I prepare before filling out a VPAT?

What you'll learn

• A VPAT is a self-reported disclosure document, not a third-party certification or a pass/fail test
• The completed, published version is usually called an ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report)
• A11yCheck's findings can inform a VPAT's technical accuracy, it does not generate or submit a VPAT itself

What's inside

L&D and compliance teams asked to produce or update a VPAT for an eLearning course or platform

1. 01What a VPAT actually is
2. 02VPAT vs. ACR: the terms explained
3. 03What a VPAT typically covers
4. 04Preparing your evidence before you start
5. 05Where A11yCheck fits, and where it doesn't

Why it matters

A VPAT is often requested during procurement, a buyer, especially in government, education, or a large enterprise, wants to know how a product conforms to accessibility standards before purchasing it. Filling one out inaccurately, whether too optimistic or too vague, undermines the trust the document exists to build. Understanding what it actually is, and isn't, before starting prevents both problems.

When you'll encounter this

• A procurement team, especially in a government, education, or enterprise context, requests a VPAT before purchasing or renewing a course or platform.
• You're evaluating whether a purchased eLearning product or authoring tool meets your own organization's accessibility requirements.
• You're preparing accessibility documentation for a course library ahead of an audit or a client requirement.

Best practices

• Know the difference: VPAT is the template/format, ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report) is what the completed, published document is usually called once filled out.
• A VPAT typically reports conformance against one or more standards, WCAG 2.x, Section 508, or the EN 301 549 standard used in the EU, state clearly which standard(s) you're reporting against.
• Gather real evidence before filling anything out, actual testing results, not assumptions, since an inaccurate VPAT is worse for trust than a modest but honest one.
• Report per-criterion conformance honestly using the real terms: Supports, Partially Supports, Does Not Support, or Not Applicable, not a single blanket claim for the whole product.
• Revisit and update a VPAT when the product changes meaningfully, an outdated VPAT describing an old version is misleading even if it was accurate when written.

Common mistakes

• Treating a VPAT as a certification or a passed test, it's a self-report, not a third-party audit, and buyers increasingly know the difference.
• Claiming full conformance without real testing evidence behind the claim.
• Never updating a VPAT after the product it describes has changed.
• Assuming a VPAT is only relevant for government sales, private-sector and education buyers increasingly request one too.

Practical checklist

• You know which standard(s) you're reporting against (WCAG version and level, Section 508, or EN 301 549).
• You have real, recent testing evidence for the product or course the VPAT describes, not assumptions.
• Each criterion is reported honestly using Supports / Partially Supports / Does Not Support / Not Applicable.
• The VPAT is dated and tied to a specific product version.
• A plan exists to revisit the VPAT when the product changes.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

A VPAT is a self-reported accessibility disclosure, not a certification, most often requested during procurement. Preparing one well means gathering real testing evidence first and reporting per-criterion conformance honestly. A11yCheck's findings are one real input into that evidence, not a replacement for the document or the manual testing it typically requires.