Meeting the Policy
Meeting the Policy
Scope
All digital apps and services must follow at least some of these requirements. The type and age of the app or service changes what you need to do.
All documentation must be regularly reviewed, especially on substantial revisions to the app or service.
All apps and services
The team must create and commit to the
The Accessibility Statement must be updated whenever the conformance of the app or service changes, when accessibility problems are raised, or at least once every 12-months.
The Accessibility Statement must be published within the app or service, and be discoverable for potential users.
New or updated apps and services
New apps and services, or those that have been 'substantially revised' (see definition below) on or after 23 September 2019, must comply to all requirements.
These apps and services must:
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Publish and link to an Accessibility Statement (see above).
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Fully conform to the relevant standard;
WCAG 2.2 Level AA or EN 301 549. -
Publish and link to an
Accessibility Conformance Report documenting full, partial or non-conformance to the relevant WCAG or EN 301 549 standard. Update this whenever accessibility problems are raised, or when the user interface is changed.
Apps and services not changed since 23 September 2019
Apps and services that haven't been 'substantially revised' since 23 September 2019 are subject to an abridged accessibility requirement. If an app or service is later 'substantially revised' then additional requirements will then apply.
These apps and services must regularly publish an Accessibility Statement (see above).
It's recommended, but not required, that these apps and services regularly complete and publish an
Apps and services in this category will still need to provide reasonable adjustments where required, if accessibility problems are known.
Definition of substantially revised
A modification to an app or service is considered a ‘substantial revision’ when at least one of the following is true:
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Any new feature is added to the user interface or service.
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Any feature is modified within the user interface.
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Any refactoring of the code behind a user interface is carried out.
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A feature upgrade of an outsourced or COTS product where the user interface code was modified or it's unclear if the underlying user interface code was modified.
You should re-test all parts of an app or service that could be affected by a substantial revision.
Commercial and off-the-shelf
This requirement applies to commercial procurements or off-the-shelf (COTS) products.
In many cases, vendors or commercial organisations already publish the required documentation.
If you work for MI5, MI6 or GCHQ, search your intranet to learn more about our specific Policy Requirements.
For public-facing tools
This requirement also applies to public-facing websites
References
1.