Accessibility reports fall into a handful of distinct categories, each serving a different purpose. The most common types accessibility reports cover are audit reports, Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) based on a VPAT template, scan reports, user evaluation reports, and progress or remediation reports. An audit report documents WCAG conformance issues identified through a manual evaluation. An ACR states product conformance against a chosen standard. A scan report lists what automated tools detect, which is approximately 25% of issues. User evaluation reports capture real-user findings. Progress reports track remediation over time.
| Report Type | Primary Purpose |
|---|---|
| Audit Report | Documents WCAG issues identified during a manual audit, with severity and remediation guidance. |
| ACR (VPAT) | Public-facing document stating product conformance against WCAG, Section 508, or EN 301 549. |
| Scan Report | Output from automated tools. Flags approximately 25% of issues. Not a conformance document. |
| User Evaluation Report | Findings from people with disabilities using assistive technology on real workflows. |
| Progress Report | Tracks remediation status, issues closed, and conformance posture over time. |
Accessibility Audit Report
The audit report is the foundation. It is the deliverable from a manual WCAG audit conducted by trained auditors against a specific standard, typically WCAG 2.1 AA or WCAG 2.2 AA.
A strong audit report identifies every issue found, maps each issue to a WCAG success criterion, assigns a severity rating, and explains how to remediate. It is the working document a development team uses to fix the product.
Audit reports are not public. They are internal artifacts. They feed into ACRs, remediation plans, and progress tracking. Without an audit report, every other type of report downstream loses credibility.
Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)
An ACR is the completed document produced by filling in a VPAT template. VPAT is the template; ACR is the finished report. Buyers, procurement teams, and government agencies request ACRs to evaluate whether a product meets accessibility requirements.
ACR editions match the standard being reported against: WCAG, Section 508, EN 301 549, and INT. For most SaaS companies, the WCAG edition is the default. Federal procurement situations call for Section 508. European market activity calls for EN 301 549.
An ACR is only as accurate as the audit behind it. How VPATs and ACRs are issued depends on whether the audit work was thorough and manual or shortcut through automated scanning alone.
What does a scan report actually show?
A scan report is the output from an automated accessibility checker. It flags issues that machines can detect: missing alt attributes, color contrast values, form labels, certain ARIA misuses, and similar code-level patterns.
Scans detect approximately 25% of WCAG issues. The rest, including most issues affecting keyboard users and screen reader users, require human evaluation. A scan report has value as a monitoring signal, but it cannot determine WCAG conformance.
Treating a scan report as proof of accessibility is the most common mistake organizations make. It is a starting point, not an endpoint.
User Evaluation Report
User evaluation reports capture findings from people with disabilities using assistive technology on a product. A blind professional using NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on iOS, or TalkBack on Android works through real tasks and documents where the experience breaks down.
This report type complements the audit. The audit confirms WCAG conformance. User evaluation confirms whether the product is actually usable. Both matter, and they answer different questions.
Progress and Remediation Reports
Progress reports track what happens after the audit. They show issues opened, issues closed, issues validated, and the current conformance posture across pages or screens.
For organizations managing accessibility across multiple products, progress reports often live inside a tracking platform rather than as static documents. The Accessibility Tracker Platform generates progress data continuously as auditors and developers work through issues. Accessible.org Labs is actively researching how AI can make this kind of reporting more efficient by surfacing patterns across remediation data.
A progress report answers a question the audit report cannot: how far along are we, and what is left.
How the Reports Connect
These reports are not interchangeable. They form a sequence. The audit report identifies issues. The remediation work addresses them. Validation confirms fixes. The ACR states the resulting conformance. User evaluation verifies real-world usability. Progress reports track the work over time.
Skipping a step weakens every report that follows. An ACR built on a scan instead of a manual audit is a red flag to any sophisticated procurement team. A progress report without an audit baseline has nothing to measure against.
FAQ
Which accessibility report should I request from a vendor?
For procurement, request the ACR and ask which edition it follows and whether a manual audit supports it. If the vendor only offers a scan report, that is not sufficient evidence of WCAG conformance. A serious vendor will share an ACR backed by audit work, often through services like those from Accessible.org.
How long is an accessibility report valid?
Audit reports reflect the state of a product at the time of evaluation. They lose freshness as code changes. Most organizations refresh audits annually or after significant product updates. ACRs do not formally expire, but updating after meaningful changes keeps the document credible.
Can one report cover everything?
No. Each type answers a different question. An audit report explains what is wrong. An ACR states conformance. A scan report monitors code-level issues. User evaluation measures real usability. Progress reports show movement. Mature accessibility programs use all of them.
Are scan reports useless?
No, but they are limited. Scans are useful for catching regressions between audits and for monitoring large content sets. They are not a substitute for a manual audit and cannot determine WCAG conformance on their own.
Accessibility reporting is layered work. Each report has a job, and the order matters.
Contact Accessible.org to discuss which reports your organization needs. Contact Accessible.org.
