What is a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)?
A VPAT is a document that describes how a digital product or service conforms to accessibility standards. It provides a detailed analysis of the accessibility features of the product, addressing various criteria and guidelines that ensure accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities.
The Purpose of VPATs
VPATs provide the city with your company’s assessment of the product or solution’s accessibility. The VPAT document is based on the State of Colorado’s accessibility law (HB21-1110), which adheres to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) level A and AA.
Why do I need to submit a VPAT?
A VPAT is required to demonstrate your digital product or service's compliance with the accessibility standards outlined in HB21-1110. Submitting a VPAT is part of the contract renewal process with our municipality, ensuring that all digital offerings are accessible to individuals with disabilities.
How To Complete a VPAT
It is recommended that you assign a staff member trained in accessibility to complete the VPAT. If there is no such person on your staff, consider working with a vendor who specializes in accessibility assessments to perform the task. Refer to the Resources section at the end of this document for additional information. Should the city enter into a contract with your company, your VPAT will be kept on file.
VPAT - Information Technology Industry Council (Scroll to the bottom to download the latest WCAG VPAT template)
General Process
VPATS are organized in tables with four columns:
- Criteria: Identifies the segment of the relevant standard.
- Conformance Level: Your product’s level of support for the technical requirement. This cannot be a yes or no answer. See “Recommended Language” below
- Remarks and Explanations: The rationale for your answer in the previous column.
Comments are Mandatory
Comments enable you to validate your answers in the Conformance Level column. The quality of the comments also indicate the skill level of the person who completed the document. This is a key indicator of the vendor’s approach toward accessibility.
Recommended Language
The recommended language is based on guidance from the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). There are five levels of:
- Supports
- Partially Supports
- Does not Support
- Not Applicable
- Not Evaluated
Conformance Level Definitions
| Conformance Level | Description |
|---|
| Supports | Product FULLY meets the letter and intent of the criteria. |
| Partially Supports | Product does not ENTIRELY meet the letter and intent of the criteria, but does provides some level of access. |
| Does not Support | Product does not meet the letter or intent of the criteria. |
| Not Applicable | The criteria is not relevant to the solution. |
| Not Evaluated | The solution has not been evaluated against the criterion. This can be used only for WCAG Level AAA criteria. |
Comment Level of Detail Examples
| Conformance Level | Comment Examples |
|---|
| Supports | List exactly what features of the solution do meet and describe how they are used to support the Criteria. |
| Partially Supports | List exactly what features of the solution do meet and describe how they are used to support the criteria.
AND
List exactly what features of the solution do not meet and describe how they fail to support the criteria. |
| Does not Support | Describe exactly how the solution does not support the criteria |
| Not Applicable | Describe exactly why the criteria is not applicable to the solution. |
| Not Evaluated | Can only be used for level AAA criteria.
Comment: The solution has not been evaluated against the criterion. |
