| Certification Type | Description | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Conformance | Sterile document where W3C rules for issuance must be followed. States your asset is fully WCAG conformant. Includes version, conformance level, date, and scope. | Formal proof of complete WCAG conformance |
| Statement of Partial Conformance | States all content within your control is WCAG conformant, but third-party content outside of your control has issues. Also a construct of the W3C. | Documentation of conformance outside of third-party integrations. |
| Provider Certification | Similar to statement of conformance in that full conformance is required, but includes additional details such as evaluation methodologies. | Compelling documentation if issued by a reputable provider. |
| User Testing Attestation | Documentation that an asset was tested by accessibility professionals with disabilities using assistive technology. | Provides real user feedback and evidence. |
| VPAT / ACR | Internationally recognized document that is recognized internationally. An accounting of your assets accessibility that reflects an asset’s current status. | A clean ACR has the effect of certification. |
In this guide, we’ll discuss the exact steps to receive documentation that certifies your website or other digital asset is conformant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
If you are interested in a student certificate for our WCAG Course, read our guide on website accessibility training.
Note that your website can receive certification for different versions of WCAG:
- WCAG 2.0 AA
- WCAG 2.1 AA
- WCAG 2.2 AA
For the purposes of this guide, we’ll use WCAG 2.1 AA.
Table of Contents
Step-by-Step Process for WCAG 2.1 AA Certification
Audit
The first step to certification involves a formal manual evaluation of your website by a technical accessibility expert. During the audit process, your website will be graded against the WCAG 2.1 AA standards to identify instances of non-conformance. An audit report will be delivered to the client at the conclusion of the audit.
Why an Audit is Necessary for Certification
An accessibility audit is necessary for certification for a few reasons:
- We need to first identify all of the accessibility issues that exist
- We need to validate that issues identified have been fixed
- An audit is necessary to show that identification and validation have taken place
The validation phase of this is essentially a re-audit where the auditor is only focused on the issues that have previously been identified.
In summary, an accessibility audit evaluates if your website or other digital asset satisfies every requirement of a particular technical standard—this assessment is what enables certification.
Remediation
The next step is remediation. Here all issues identified in the report are fixed.
Validation
After remediation, validation ensures all fixes have been properly implemented. During this phase, the auditor confirms that each issue has been successfully resolved or provides feedback on how to complete or correct a fix for conformance. The validation process typically involves 2-5 rounds until all accessibility issues are fully addressed.
Our validation approach is thorough and systematic:
- Each fix is evaluated using the same methodologies from the original audit
- Successfully resolved issues are marked as validated
- When issues persist, we provide additional guidance for correction
This validation process ensures that remediation efforts are both effective and complete, giving you confidence that your accessibility improvements meet the required standards.
User Testing (Optional but Recommended)
Optionally, the website can under go user testing. During user testing, a professional with one or more disabilities (typically a professional who is blind or visually impaired) will relay their practical experience in using the website.
Additionally, user testing typically involves the use of assistive technology, such as a screen reader. This practical testing phase provides real user feedback and is highly recommended as an additional to ensure that no technical or practical issues have been missed.
Certification Documentation
When all issues within the defined scope have been properly fixed and validated, we can issue certification documentation. This certification:
- Confirms full conformance with the specified technical standard
- Defines the exact scope of certification
- Includes the date of issuance
- Explains our evaluation methodologies
- States our qualifications as accessibility experts
Note: Certification is only issued when there is full conformance with the technical standard for the entire defined scope. There are no exceptions to this rule, as it aligns with the W3C’s conformance requirements.
There are a few different documents that may be in play depending on the client’s circumstances. Let’s discuss each one.
Statement of Conformance
A statement of conformance is a sterile document that states the listed assets, pages, screens, etc. are fully WCAG conformant. This document is a construct of the W3C and therefore follows the rules for a statement of conformance named by the W3C. The document will include the following details:
- Version and conformance level
- Date of issuance
- Scope of the audit
Statement of Partial Conformance
If parts of your website (such as embedded advertisements) are not under your control and are non-conformant, a statement of partial conformance can be issued. This document states that all controllable elements of your website are WCAG conformant.
Provider Certification
This certification is similar to the statement of conformance, but provide can include additional details beyond the statement of conformance, including evaluation methodologies.
This document can add benefit to the client because it highlights the rigorous evaluation process and investment made.
User Testing Certification
Although not WCAG certification, documentation of user testing is extremely valuable as it demonstrates that your website has been tested by an accessibility professional. Optimally, testing occurs after remediation has been made so that the tester deems the website to have no issues.
Accessible.org not only provides a document of attestation by the user tester, but also a recording of the actual user testing. Read our accessibility services page for more details.
VPAT / ACR
Another potential document in play is an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). Although the term VPAT is frequently used in requests, a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is the blank template that’s filled in to create the ACR.
Multiple versions of VPATs can be used to demonstrate WCAG conformance, but it’s important to note that, when completed, the resulting ACR is merely an accounting of the accessibility of a digital product or service. In other words, an ACR is an official document that brings forward the audit results in a specific format.
If the audit returns issues, those issues will show on the ACR. However, if the audit is clean, the ACR will provide evidence of full conformance which has the desired effect of certification.
Summary
WCAG 2.1 AA certification is the result of a thorough process that usually involves an audit, remediation, re-audit, and secondary remediation. There are multiple ways to provide evidence of WCAG 2.1 AA conformance and clients are not limited to just one. Additionally, we highly recommend user testing as this goes beyond conformance with technical standards and demonstrates practical accessibility.
If you would like to certify your website or other digital asset as WCAG conformant, contact us for a quote. To make a preliminary estimate, visit our pricing page.
