Contents
What a real statement contains
Six things. Miss any of them and the document stops doing its job, which is to show that accessibility is managed rather than assumed.
Conformance status
Named standard and version, with an honest status: fully conformant, partially conformant, or not conformant. Partial is the most common truthful answer and the least damaging one.
How it was assessed
Self-assessment or independent evaluation, who did it, with which assistive technology, and on what date. An undated statement carries very little weight.
Known limitations
What does not work yet, who it affects, any workaround, and when it will be fixed. This is the section that turns a claim into a plan.
Third-party content
Embedded maps, payment providers, booking systems and video players you do not control, stated plainly rather than quietly omitted.
Feedback route
A working email address or form, a stated response time, and an alternative way to get the same outcome while a barrier exists.
Review date
When it was last reviewed and when it will be reviewed next. This is often the first thing a regulator or complainant checks.
Why it helps
What the statement is actually for
It shows good faith at the moment it matters
If a complaint or a demand letter arrives, the question is whether you were managing accessibility or ignoring it. A dated statement recording an independent audit, known gaps and remediation dates answers that question in your favour. Nothing else on your site does.
If a letter has already arrived, start with what to do in the first seven days.
It gives people a route other than a lawyer
Most people who hit a barrier want the barrier removed, not a claim. A visible feedback route with a real response time resolves many problems before they become anything else. Sites with no contact route leave complaint as the only option.
It is required for public sector work
Public bodies in the EU and UK must publish one in a prescribed form, and public procurement frequently asks for it alongside a VPAT. If you sell into government, this document is part of the bid.
It keeps your own team honest
A statement with dates against known issues creates internal accountability that a private spreadsheet never does. Several clients have told me the published dates are what finally got the fixes scheduled.
Process
How it is written
Start from findings, not a template
The statement is written from audit results: what was tested, with what, when, and what remains. If I audited the site the material already exists; if somebody else did, I work from their report.
Agree what to disclose, and how
Known issues are written plainly but without inviting misreading. This is a drafting question, and it is where most self-written statements go wrong in one direction or the other.
Set realistic dates
Dates you will actually meet. A missed published date is worse than a wider one honestly given, so the schedule is agreed with whoever is doing the work.
Publish, and diarise the review
Published at an easy address, linked from the footer of every page, with a review date set. I can re-issue it after each re-test so it never goes stale.
FAQ
Accessibility statements – frequently asked questions
Is an accessibility statement legally required?
It depends where you are and what you do. Public bodies in the European Union and the United Kingdom are required to publish one, and the DOJ Title II rule expects public entities to be transparent about conformance. For a private United States business there is no statutory requirement, but publishing one is strongly advisable, because it shows good faith and gives people a route to report problems.
Does publishing one admit that we are not compliant?
This is the fear that stops most businesses, and it is the wrong way round. A statement that honestly records three known issues with dates against them demonstrates a managed programme. Silence demonstrates nothing, and if a complaint arrives you have no evidence of intent. Lawyers I work with consistently prefer the documented position.
What has to be in it?
A conformance status against a named standard and version, the date it was last reviewed, how the assessment was made, any known limitations with plans and dates, third-party content you do not control, and a working way to report a problem with a stated response time.
How is this different from the boilerplate generators?
A generated statement claims full conformance without anyone having tested anything, which is worse than having none: it is a public claim you cannot support. A real statement is written from audit findings, so every sentence in it is backed by a record.
How often should it be updated?
At least annually, and after any significant redesign or audit. The review date on the page is one of the first things a regulator or a complainant looks at, and a statement three years out of date undermines the rest of it.
Can you write ours?
Yes. If I have audited the site, the statement is written from the findings and is usually ready within a few days of the report. If somebody else audited it, I can write the statement from their report instead.
Next step
Get a statement you can stand behind
Send your website address and tell me whether the site has been audited. I will reply in writing within one working day with what your statement would need to say.