Accessibility Conformance Report

An ACR commonly uses the Information Technology Industry Council’s Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) to evaluate a product against relevant provisions such as WCAG or Section 508. The completed report records whether the evaluated product supports, partially supports or does not support particular criteria, often with explanations and testing details. A blank VPAT template is not an ACR until the assessment has been completed.

Buyers may request an ACR when comparing procurement options, while product teams use one to communicate known accessibility support and limitations. Meaningful reports identify the product version, evaluation methods, applicable standard and date, because accessibility changes as interfaces and dependencies evolve. A claim of full conformance should reflect actual evidence, not an automatically generated badge.

An ACR is a disclosure and evaluation document, not a magic certificate of legal compliance or an alternative to user testing. Organizations should review which edition or standard their procurement context requires. This concept is broader than email accessibility: it describes an organized assessment of an entire digital product or service.