How to Register for VPAT Certification What is VPAT certification? The term “VPAT certification” describes the practices and actions associated with the use of a voluntary product accessibility template (VPAT) to identify and remove obstacles that prevent people with disabilities from interacting with and using information and communication technology (ICT) products and services.
VPAT certification has surged to become a priority agenda due to the felt concerns about the exclusion that people with disabilities faced in many sectors of the economy, which negatively affected the quality of their lives and that of the general population.
With more than one billion people in the world and one in every four U.S. adults having a disability, any business that has not had its ICT products and services VPAT certified is losing out in a big way. That is because in the current competitive digital landscape, businesses that are making their stands on accessibility known through appropriate VPAT scoring approaches help their brands stand out.
For example, by clearly laying out your commitment to accessibility through an accessible VPAT 508 compliance certification that describes the areas that you’re working to improve in your ICT products and services, your business may reduce the risk of lawsuits about the accessibility of your products and services.
The VPAT assessments that form part of the VPAT certification processes help a business identify critical accessibility issues in their products or services, which enables it to put in place mechanisms to deal with the accessibility barriers.