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Re: VPAT 2.3 Rev 508 vs WCAG

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From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Oct 18, 2019 2:08PM

Hi Suzanne, it depends on which organization you are selling your products into. The US government must follow the Section 508 standard in their procurement, however, I have seen some federal agencies sending out the WCAG version for responses. The WCAG version may not be sufficient for those following 508 or 508 like standards such as some states and educational institutions. This is because 508 specifically calls out authoring tool capabilities and documentation and has some additional software requirements when the product or services is software. Hardware is not covered by WCAG at all.

For those not following 508 or the EU standards and only WCAG - the WCAG version would be sufficient. If you need to follow 508 and WCAG 2.1 then you would need to use the international version as the 508 version does not include WCAG 2.1.
I am presenting a free webinar on this topic on November 5th.
https://www.levelaccess.com/webinar-reporting-accessibility-with-vpat-2-a-guide-for-vendors/

Jonathan