- Keep your accessibility documentation in one central location with a clear owner and a consistent naming convention.
- The core documents are your audit report, remediation records, ACR (completed VPAT), accessibility statement, internal policy, and training logs.
- Date everything and archive old versions instead of deleting them, because documentation is evidence.
The best way to organize your digital accessibility documentation is to keep every document in one central repository, assign one owner, group files by document type, and date every version so you can show exactly what your accessibility posture was at any point in time. That last part matters because accessibility documentation is not paperwork for its own sake, it’s evidence. If you receive a demand letter, a procurement questionnaire, or a request from a client, you want to pull the right document in minutes, not days.
What Documents Should You Be Keeping?
Most organizations have more accessibility documentation than they realize, it’s scattered across inboxes, shared drives, and ticketing systems. Here’s what belongs in your repository:
- Audit reports from (manual) accessibility audits, including scope notes and methodology
- Remediation records, e.g., Jira tickets, spreadsheets, or exports from a tracker
- Your ACR, which is a completed VPAT, plus any prior versions
- Your public accessibility statement and the dates it was updated
- Your internal accessibility policy
- Training logs showing who was trained, on what, and when
- Vendor documentation, e.g., ACRs from platforms and third-party software you rely on
Group by Document Type, Then by Date
A folder structure that mirrors the list above works well. Inside each folder, name files with the document type, the asset, and the date, e.g., audit-report-marketing-website-2025-03-14. Anyone should be able to find the latest audit report without asking anyone else. When a document is superseded, move the old version to an archive subfolder. Never delete it. If you’re asked what your website’s status was in 2024, the archived audit report answers that question.
What Each Document Does for You
| Document | What it demonstrates | Who asks for it |
|---|---|---|
| Audit report | The issues found against WCAG at a point in time | Legal counsel, internal teams |
| Remediation records | Issues were actually fixed and validated | Legal counsel, plaintiffs’ attorneys in discovery |
| ACR (completed VPAT) | WCAG conformance status of a product | Procurement teams, buyers |
| Accessibility statement | Public commitment and a contact path | Users, opposing counsel |
| Internal policy | Accessibility is an ongoing organizational practice | Regulators, enterprise clients |
| Training logs | Staff have been equipped to maintain accessibility | Legal counsel, auditors |
A Setup Process You Can Finish This Week
- Pick one location, e.g., a dedicated shared drive folder or your document management system, and name one owner.
- Collect everything that already exists: old audit reports, remediation spreadsheets, any VPAT drafts, the current accessibility statement.
- Sort documents into the folders above, apply the naming convention, and move outdated versions into archives.
- Fill the obvious openings. If you’ve never had a (manual) audit conducted, that’s the first document to commission because everything else builds on it.
- Set a review cadence. Quarterly works for most organizations: confirm the statement is current, remediation records match reality, and your ACR still reflects the product.
Keep It Current, Not Perfect
Documentation that’s six months stale is still useful. Documentation that contradicts itself is not. If your accessibility statement says you conform to WCAG 2.1 AA but your latest audit report lists 200 open issues, that mismatch hurts you. Update the statement, or better, fix the issues and validate the fixes. The repository forces these documents to face each other, which is exactly the point.
If you need an audit report or an ACR to anchor your documentation, contact us. We offer fast turnarounds, usually 1 to 2 weeks, at competitive prices.
Related: compliance documentation tracking accessibility.
Questions about your compliance path? Contact us.
