Ontario businesses & non-profits: the AODA reporting deadline is December 31, 2026. Check what applies to you
Procurement · European Accessibility Act

Selling into the EU? EN 301 549 is the edition procurement will ask for.

An independent ACR in the VPAT 2.5 INT edition, mapped to EN 301 549 alongside WCAG and Section 508. Evidence and fixes from the same person.

Scope your ACR See a sample ACR
  • Named practitionerThe person who scopes it does the testing
  • Independent third partyNot written by your own team
  • Fixes, not just findingsRemediation from the same person
Fit

Who this is for, and who it is not for

For

  • SaaS selling to EU customers or public bodies under the European Accessibility Act
  • A buyer or tender has asked for EN 301 549 conformance, an accessibility statement, or a VPAT
  • You have a tender deadline or a market surveillance inquiry

Not for

  • Consumer apps with no procurement exposure
  • Teams that want a self-attested document with no testing behind it. That document will not survive review.
Deliverables

What you receive

One engagement produces the document the buyer asked for and the evidence your engineering team needs to stand behind it.

  • Scoped audit of the product against WCAG 2.2 Level AA (the edition tested is stated in the report)
  • Completed ACR in the current ITI VPAT 2.5 template (WCAG, 508, or INT edition per package)
  • Engineering evidence report: every Partially Supports and Does Not Support entry tied to a finding with severity, user impact, and fix guidance
  • Remediation roadmap with effort ranges
  • One round of ACR revision after fixes, so the shipped document reflects the shipped product
Timeline

From scope sign-off to a document you can send

An ACR can be issued before remediation if the deal needs a document now. The entries will be accurate, including Partially Supports and Does Not Support where that is the truth, and the ACR is updated after fixes.

  1. Kickoff call

    Within 2 business days of scope sign-off. Confirms the screens in scope, test accounts, staging access, and the edition the buyer needs.

  2. Testing

    5 to 10 business days depending on screen count. Keyboard, screen reader, zoom and reflow, and manual review against every criterion in the edition.

  3. ACR draft with evidence report

    The completed ACR and the engineering evidence report arrive together. Every non-conforming entry points at a finding your developers can act on.

  4. Optional remediation, re-test, final ACR

    Fix the blockers with hourly support or a fixed block, then re-test. The revised ACR describes the product as shipped.

Packages

Three editions, published prices

For EU buyers the International package is the right fit, since it includes the EN 301 549 edition.

VPAT / ACR

WCAG edition

$4,500

Scoped audit, VPAT 2.5 WCAG edition, completed ACR, and the engineering evidence report.

Pick this when the buyer asks for a VPAT or WCAG conformance and no US federal or EU requirement is named.

Scope the WCAG edition package
VPAT / ACR

WCAG + Section 508

$6,000

Everything in the WCAG edition plus the Revised 508 Standards chapters (functional performance criteria, hardware, software, support documentation).

Pick this when a US federal, state, or local agency is the buyer, or the RFP cites Section 508.

Scope the WCAG + Section 508 package
Recommended for this context

International

$8,500

WCAG, Section 508, and EN 301 549 editions, each scoped individually, with one shared evidence report.

Pick this when you sell into the EU or need one document set that satisfies US and EU buyers.

Scope the International package

Compare all pricing

Independence

Why independent matters

Reviewers on the buyer side reject self-authored VPATs routinely. University accessibility offices and agency 508 coordinators read dozens of these documents a year, and a vendor grading its own product is the first thing they discount.

An ACR that says Supports on every row is a red flag, not a pass. Real products have Partially Supports entries, and a reviewer expects to see them with a remark that explains what fails and for whom.

The evidence report is what lets your engineering team answer follow-up questions without you. When the buyer asks what "Partially Supports" on 4.1.2 means in practice, the answer is already written down with the finding, the affected control, and the fix.

What the reviewer checks

Regulation cited
The European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882), in force since June 2025, and EN 301 549, the harmonised standard used to demonstrate conformance.
Who reviews the document
The buyer's procurement team, and beyond the deal, the national market surveillance authority in each member state where you sell.
The common rejection
The company has a WCAG edition ACR but the buyer requires the EN 301 549 mapping. WCAG covers clause 9 of EN 301 549 only; the standard also has clauses for software, documentation, and support.
Worked example
Typical shape of an engagement: a payments dashboard with 16 screens sold to EU merchants. Kickoff on day 2, testing across 8 business days, INT edition ACR covering WCAG, 508, and EN 301 549 with the evidence report on day 11. The same evidence supports the public accessibility statement the buyer also asks for.
After the ACR

Keeping the document true after release

Retainers cover release-gate reviews before each deploy, an annual ACR refresh, and help answering the accessibility questionnaires customers send after the deal closes.

Plans start at $1,650 per month. See ongoing support options.

FAQ

Questions buyers ask before they scope

What is the difference between a VPAT and an ACR?

The VPAT is the blank template published by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). The ACR, or Accessibility Conformance Report, is that template completed for a specific product and version. Buyers ask for a VPAT but what they need is the ACR. Read the full comparison.

How long does it take?

Kickoff is within 2 business days of scope sign-off. Testing takes 5 to 10 business days depending on screen count, and the ACR draft ships with the evidence report at the end of testing. See what changes the timeline.

Can you issue the ACR before we fix everything?

Yes. The first ACR reports what was found, including Partially Supports and Does Not Support entries where that is the truth. After remediation and re-test the ACR is revised so it describes the product you actually ship.

Which edition do we need (WCAG, 508, INT)?

Use the WCAG edition when the buyer asks for WCAG conformance and names no regulation. Use the 508 edition for US federal, state, or local government. Use the INT edition, which adds EN 301 549, for EU buyers or when you want one document for both markets.

Do you fix the issues too?

Yes. Remediation is $195 per hour or a fixed block, and the person who wrote the ACR does the fixing, so nothing is lost in handoff. Re-test and the revised ACR follow the fixes.

Is this legal advice?

No. Accessibility consulting is not legal advice, and no consultant can guarantee that an organization will avoid a complaint, claim, or enforcement action. Whether a specific procurement obligation applies to you is a question for your counsel.

Other procurement contexts

VPAT / ACR overviewAll editions, timeline, and pricing Section 508US federal, state, and local government buyers Higher educationUniversities and colleges in the US and Canada
Next step

Send the screen count and the buyer's request.

A 20-minute scope call is enough to confirm the edition, the screens, and the delivery date the deal needs.

Scope your ACR Request the free scan