Answering the VPAT requirement in a government RFP
Most government RFPs for software now include an accessibility requirement, and many ask outright for a current VPAT or ACR as part of the response. Missing it, or attaching a stale or sloppy one, can knock a bid out before anyone evaluates the product itself. The reviewers reading these are often trained in Section 508 and know exactly what a real conformance report looks like — and what a hand-waved one looks like.
The version they want is almost always the Revised Section 508 edition, because federal and most state and local agencies are bound by 508 or a state equivalent. Your report should evaluate the WCAG 2.0 A and AA baseline that 508 incorporates, plus the functional, hardware, software and documentation chapters, marking Not Applicable accurately where a chapter does not fit your product. It should be dated, tied to the exact product version you are bidding, and signed off internally by someone who can defend the ratings.
Two mistakes disqualify vendors more than any genuine accessibility gap. The first is the all-green report: every criterion marked Supports with no remarks. Reviewers read that as untested, not as compliant. The second is sending a blank VPAT template instead of a completed ACR, which signals you did not understand the request. Honest "Partially Supports" rows with specific remarks beat unsupported perfection every time, and they protect you later if a gap surfaces.
VPAT Studio is built for exactly this deadline pressure: open the Section 508 edition, work down the criteria with your testing notes, and export a clean, dated PDF and an editable DOCX to attach to the response — without your internal findings ever touching a third-party server.
Open the ACR builder — free, no upload
RFP-ready ACR checklist
- Use the Revised Section 508 edition unless the RFP cites a different standard.
- Date the report and tie it to the specific product version in your bid.
- Write remarks on every non-trivial row; avoid an unexplained all-Supports column.
- Mark Not Applicable chapters explicitly with a one-line justification.
- Export a PDF to attach and keep the DOCX for fast revisions across bids.
Questions
What if my product isn't fully accessible yet?
Report honestly with Partially Supports or Does Not Support and clear remarks, ideally with a remediation timeline. Reviewers expect imperfection; they penalize dishonesty and vagueness, not candor.
How current does the VPAT need to be?
Tie it to the version you are bidding and date it recently. A report describing a release two versions old invites questions about whether it still reflects the product.
Can one ACR cover several products?
Generally no — an ACR describes one product (and version). Bidding multiple products usually means one report each, since conformance differs between them.