What is VPAT certification?

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) certification is the objective reporting of accessibility and usability characteristics for various information and communication technology (ICT) products or services based on Section 508 Standards. It serves as the main medium for expressing how closely a good or service complies with the Section 508 accessibility checklist.

VPAT certification can best be understood as a yardstick for measuring products or services at the highest level, in a way that makes it easy for the conformance of the products or services to Section 508 to be easily interpreted by Section 508 professionals, product acquisition teams, and even non-technical people.

Also known as Section 508 Ada Compliance in Finance, VPAT certification proves compliance with the various accessibility guidelines underpinning Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Suffice it to highlight that failing to comply with Section 508 compliance certification guidelines has serious legal consequences. VPAT certification, therefore, protects a business from both legal and financial actions.

To make sense of the impact of VPAT certification on buyers and potential buyers of ICT products or services, entities that are focused on VPAT accessibility use the Section 508 compliance VPAT to draft the Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for their products and services.

It is noteworthy to point out that VPAT certification is rapidly being embraced, such that it is not just embraced by federal government agencies and federally funded organizations, but is becoming a standard for private corporations that are increasingly choosing to buy accessible ICT products and services.

Getting VPAT certification

Finding and downloading a blank VPAT template online is the first step toward getting your VPAT certification. You might ask anyone in your business or group to fill it out after you have downloaded it.

The downloaded VPAT document will guide the person you have identified to fill it out by going through the various listed Ada Compliance Banking requirements and using them to describe the accessibility feature of your ICT product or service.

The final report you produce after creating the product descriptions based on the recommendations in the downloaded VPAT is referred to as the ACR. Each ICT product or service has an ACR that details how it satisfies the requirements for accessibility listed in the request for that product or service. Additionally, it gives an explanation of the evaluation techniques the business employed to validate the product or service's compliance with the Revised 308 Standards.

The downloaded VPAT can be completed by anyone in-house, but VPA certification demands a high level of accuracy. This is due to the possibility of costly legal action if accessibility criteria for an ICT item are not adequately represented. Because of this, it is always advised that companies and organizations use professionals who have received specialized training in order to manage the difficult and time-consuming process of VPAT accessibility reporting.

Considering that accessibility experts bring years of experience to the table when investigating the ins and outs of Section 508, hiring third-party experts offers both peace of mind and the assurance of accuracy. Third-party experts help businesses get VPAT certification. To accomplish this, they take the following actions:

• Unbiased and accurate audit of the targeted ICT products or services, based on the Revised Section 508 Standards.
• Improving the product or services’ compliance, based on the errors identified in the audit of the products and services’ technical requirements, functional performance, and support requirements.
• Generation of the requisite compliance data to create the VPAT ACR.

Get your VPAT certification now

Don’t be left behind in securing the benefits that come with VPAT accessibility and certification.ADA Compliance Pros can help you with all the information you need about VPATs. Reach out to them by clicking here orcall them at (626) 486-2201.