ResourcesStandards and laws
VPATs and ACRs explained
Quick answer
A VPAT is a free blank template from the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). An ACR, or Accessibility Conformance Report, is that template filled in for one product. It is the vendor's own report, and ITI does not review or approve it.
Facts last checked
VPAT vs. ACR
VPAT
- Voluntary Product Accessibility Template
- A blank form, published by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
- Free to use. You don't need to be an ITI member.
- Current version: VPAT 2.5Rev, from 2025
ACR
- Accessibility Conformance Report
- The form filled in for one product and one version
- Completed by the vendor, with the results of testing
- Given to buyers or posted publicly
You will hear "VPAT" used for the finished report too. Yale, for one, asks vendors for an accessibility conformance report, "often called a VPAT".
Four editions
| Edition | Standards it covers |
|---|---|
| WCAG | WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 |
| 508 | The Revised Section 508 standards, which include WCAG 2.0 |
| EU | EN 301 549, the 2019 and 2021 versions, which include WCAG 2.1 |
| INT | All three of the above |
Source: ITI, VPAT 2.5Rev
Selling to the U.S. federal governmentSection508.gov says to use the 508 edition or the INT edition.
The five answers
Every row of an ACR is answered with one of these terms.
| Term | ITI's definition |
|---|---|
| Supports | The functionality of the product has at least one method that meets the criterion without known defects or meets with equivalent facilitation. |
| Partially Supports | Some functionality of the product does not meet the criterion. |
| Does Not Support | The majority of product functionality does not meet the criterion. |
| Not Applicable | The criterion is not relevant to the product. |
| Not Evaluated | The product has not been evaluated against the criterion. This can only be used in WCAG Level AAA criteria. |
Source: ITI, VPAT 2.5Rev template
The terms are not a yes-or-no verdict on the product. ITI says there is no yes-or-no scale "for determining whether a product is accessible or inaccessible".
How to read a row
Each table in an ACR has three columns: the criterion, the conformance term and the remarks.
| Criteria | Conformance level | Remarks and explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum), Level AA | Supports | (No remarks.) |
| 2.4.7 Focus Visible, Level AA | Supports | Every link, button and field in the booking flow shows a visible focus outline. Checked by a person using a keyboard. |
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum), Level AA | Partially Supports | Buttons and menu links meet the size. The time slots in the calendar are too small and too close together. |
What to look for in the remarksThe first row says Supports and nothing else, so there is nothing to check. The other two say what was tested and what falls short. The VPAT template asks for that: when a row is Partially Supports or Does Not Support, the remarks should name the features with issues and how they fall short.
Who asks for one
Federal
U.S. federal agencies
Section508.gov tells agencies to require a written ACR, based on the VPAT, for each off-the-shelf technology product.
State
State agencies
New York State policy says the vendor of pre-built software should supply a VPAT for review during purchasing.
Higher education
Universities
Yale asks for one from the vendor before purchase. UNC tells its units to try to get a VPAT when they buy.
These are examples from each buyer's own published rules. Ask your buyer which edition they want and how recent it has to be.
What makes one worth trusting
What we check when we read one, in order.
Product and date
The report names the product, its version and the report date.
Test methods
It says how the product was tested. The template has a field for evaluation methods.
Testing by people
The methods include a person using a keyboard and a screen reader, not a scan alone.
Honest gaps
Some rows say Partially Supports, and their remarks name what doesn't work.
Kept current
The date is recent. Some buyers set a limit: Yale expects documents dated within the past 18 months.
It is the vendor's own reportITI does not review or approve VPATs, and there is nowhere to submit one. A buyer can ask for a third-party review in its own terms, and a federal agency may test the product itself.
Sources
- Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), VPAT page and VPAT 2.5Rev templates (2025)
- Section508.gov, How to Create an ACR Using a VPAT (2026)
- Section508.gov, Request Accessibility Information (accessed 2026)
- New York State Office of Information Technology Services, policy NYS-P08-005 (2024)
- Yale Usability and Digital Accessibility, Procurement (accessed 2026)
- UNC Digital Accessibility Office, Procuring Accessible Digital Material (accessed 2026)
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (2024)
We provide technical accessibility services, not legal advice.
More guides
WCAG explained: principles, levels and versions
What WCAG is, what Levels A, AA and AAA mean, and which version the rules name, shown in charts and tables.
Accessibility laws at a glance
Which accessibility laws cover websites, who each one names, and the WCAG version and dates each one sets.
Accessibility requirements by industry
Which accessibility rules usually come up in each industry, the standard each one names and the website journeys that matter most.
Start with a free snapshot.
Tell us your website. We'll run an automated check of up to 10 key pages and walk you through what we found. It's an automated check that finds only some issues, not an audit.
Get a free snapshot