Accessibility Conformance Report

Introduction

All apps and services must publish and maintain an Accessibility Conformance Report that states current compliance in order to comply with the Intelligence Community Digital Accessibility Policy .

An Accessibility Conformance Report is used for accurate and consistent reporting of accessibility status in apps and services.

Download the IC Design System's Accessibility Conformance Report .

The standard Report checks that an app or service meets each applicable WCAG success criteria. A small number of apps or services might need to meet the EN 301 549 standard. If that's the case, use that version of the Report instead.

Use the full range of accessibility testing methods to make sure your app or service is accessible to everyone. Just filling in a Report as a checklist won't give a full picture of how accessible (to WCAG or EN 301 549) your app or service is.

If an accessibility problem is found in the app or service that doesn't fit into the Report, it must be recorded in the Accessibility Statement.

Update as you go

Update the Report during the lifecycle of the app or service.

Automated and manual accessibility testing is needed to fill in the Reports. Whenever new features are added, tested and problems are found, they need to be reflected in the Report.

Which report template to use

A common checklist for testing and reporting is the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template® (VPAT®) . When filled in, the VPAT® becomes the app or service's Accessibility Conformance Report.

Use the correct VPAT® depending on the type of app or service:

Use the WCAG (VPAT®) template for apps and services with only a user interface (browser-based or otherwise).
Use the EN 301 549 (VPAT®) template for apps and services that include hardware. It includes all the WCAG criteria, so only one Report is needed.

If a Report is produced or available from auditors or vendors, use their reports even if it's not called a 'VPAT®'. If configuration/customisation has been applied to the vendor's software, then a supplementary Report must be provided that covers any user experience changes caused by this modification.

If the app or service is modified from the original version — or does not fully represent conformance to the requirements — an updated Report version must be produced. Accessibility Conformance Reports must match the latest Accessibility Statement and app version.

All reports need to explain conformance to all WCAG or EN 301 549 success criteria or explain why it's not applicable.

How to fill in the report

To make the Report useful for everyone:

Update the Report as you do manual and automated accessibility testing .
Write in plain English and avoid technical jargon so that everyone can understand it.
Ensure there is a Conformance Level and supporting comment in 'Remarks and Explanations' for each success criteria, even if it's 'not applicable'.
For any 'Supports' and 'Partially Supports' levels, explain why the app or service meets that specific success criteria.
For any 'Not Applicable' levels, explain why they aren't applicable to that specific success criteria.

Last reviewed 18 January 2024 .