Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

What is a VPAT?

The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template®, or VPAT®, is a tool provided by the accessibility policy and standard organization, ITI. The VPAT is used to document how well a product conforms with Section 508 accessibility standards. Many federal, state, and local government entities and institutions of higher education use or are required to use a VPAT to assess commercial IT products and services with features that support accessibility.

Texas state governments need VPATs for electronic and information resource (EIR) products or services included in solicitation responses to comply with Texas Administrative Codes 1 TAC 206: State Websites and 1 TAC 213: Electronic and Information Resources (which include the US Section 508 technical specifications).

Does Microassist provide VPATs?

Microassist does not sell off-the-shelf software, though different tools are used and sometimes packaged as part of a custom elearning or application development project. For that reason, we diligently complete custom project VPATs that outline how accessibility requirements or specifications are met when customers require it and after the project specifications are solidified. The final VPAT may include VPAT information on standard electronic components, such as industry elearning software and development tools, as well as custom-developed components. To get an understanding of the information contained in a VPAT, we encourage you to download a blank VPAT template from ITI’s website in Word format.