Accessibility Statement: What to Include & Ontario Requirements

Ontario organizations must publish an accessibility statement and multi-year plan. Learn exactly what to include, what the AODA requires, and how to write a statement that is legally defensible.

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An accessibility statement is a public-facing page explaining your commitment to accessibility, the standard you follow, known limitations, and how users can report barriers. For Ontario organizations it serves two purposes: it satisfies specific AODA obligations, and it signals credibility to users, procurement teams, and the Accessibility Directorate.

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What the AODA Requires

The AODA does not use the phrase ‘accessibility statement’ but requires organizations above certain size thresholds to publish three documents. Publishing a single accessibility page that combines them is standard practice.

Document	Who must publish	Key requirement
Statement of commitment	50+ employees; all designated public sector	Publicly available; accessible format on request
Written accessibility policies	50+ employees; all designated public sector	Publicly available; accessible format on request
Multi-year accessibility plan	50+ employees; all designated public sector	Posted on website; updated at least every five years
Accessibility compliance report	Private/non-profit 20+ employees; all public sector	Filed with Ontario government — next deadline December 31, 2026 (private/non-profit); December 31, 2025 (public sector)

Compliance report ≠ accessibility statement

The compliance report is filed with the Ontario government. The accessibility statement is for your users. You need both. The December 2026 deadline applies to private sector and non-profit organizations with 20 or more employees.

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The Nine Components of a Complete Statement

The W3C WAI Accessibility Statement Generator (w3.org/WAI/planning/statements/generator) covers the internationally recommended components. All nine below are required for a complete, legally defensible Ontario statement.

Organization and website name

Required

Name your organization and the exact URL(s) covered

Name your organization and the specific URL(s) the statement covers. Multiple sites need separate statements or explicit listing.

"This statement applies to aoda-training.ca, operated by AODA Training Inc."

Commitment statement

Required

State the standard and why — this is your AODA statement of commitment

State the standard you are working toward and why. Do not use generic boilerplate — this statement must reflect your organization's specific situation.

"AODA Training Inc. is committed to meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA and complying with Ontario's AODA Information and Communications Standard."

Conformance status

Required

Choose honestly: fully conformant, partially conformant, or non-conformant

Do not claim full conformance without audit evidence — any automated scan can disprove it. Most sites should claim partial conformance with exceptions listed under Known Limitations.

"This website is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Exceptions are listed in Known Limitations below."

Known limitations

Required

List specific issues with criterion, workaround, and remediation date

List specific issues: the affected content, the WCAG criterion, why it is not yet fixed, a user workaround, and a target remediation date. Vague language ('some content may not be accessible') provides no protection and no value.

"Our embedded video player does not support keyboard-operated volume control (SC 2.1.1). Target fix: Q3 2026. Workaround: use OS volume controls."

Technologies relied upon

Required

List HTML, CSS, JavaScript, WAI-ARIA, and testing browser/AT combinations

List the technologies the site relies on for accessibility, and the browser and assistive technology combinations used in testing.

"Tested with NVDA + Firefox on Windows 11 and VoiceOver + Safari on macOS 14 and iOS 17."

Assessment approach

Required

State how the site was evaluated and when — third-party audit carries the most weight

State how the site was evaluated: self-assessment, internal review, or third-party audit. Include the date. A named external audit carries significantly more weight with regulators and procurement teams.

"External WCAG 2.1 AA audit by AODA-Training.ca, April 2026, including automated scanning, manual testing, and screen reader evaluation."

Feedback mechanism

Provide email, phone, and a stated response time — the feedback channel itself must be accessible.

"Email: accessibility@aoda-training.ca · Phone: 1-800-XXX-XXXX · We respond within 5 business days."

Formal complaints process

Acknowledge the user's right to escalate unresolved complaints to the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario and provide the escalation contact.

"If your concern is not resolved, you may contact the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario at 1-866-515-2025 or accessibility@ontario.ca."

Date and review schedule

Include the date last reviewed and when you will review it again. Undated or years-old statements signal that accessibility is not actively maintained.

"This statement was last reviewed May 2026. We review it annually and after any significant website update."

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Credible vs. Liability: What Makes the Difference

There are four HTML patterns that create a valid programmatic association between a label and its input. The first two are preferred — they require no ARIA and work reliably across all browsers and assistive technologies.

Element	Credible	Liability risk
Conformance claim	Partially conformant with specific listed exceptions	Fully conformant — claimed without audit evidence; disproved by any automated scan
Known limitations	Specific issues named with criterion, workaround, and timeline	Empty, or vague 'some content may not be fully accessible'
Assessment basis	Third-party audit with named auditor and date	Self-assessment with no methodology, or no mention of assessment at all
Feedback mechanism	Working email and phone; stated response time; page is accessible	Broken link, unmonitored inbox, or inaccessible contact form
Date	Reviewed within 12 months; update schedule stated	Undated or more than two years out of date

Claiming full conformance you cannot prove is a legal risk, not a protection

A claim of full conformance that any free automated scan can disprove demonstrates a false compliance statement. Partial conformance with honest, specific exceptions is legally and reputationally stronger.

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Multi-Year Accessibility Plan: What It Must Include

The plan is separate from the statement. The statement describes where you are now; the plan describes the specific steps you will take to improve, with timelines and named owners. Required for Ontario organizations with 50+ employees and all public sector bodies.

Required element	Common gap
Statement of commitment from senior leadership	Generic boilerplate not specific to the organization
Current barriers identified across all five AODA standards	Limiting assessment to the website only; ignoring employment, physical spaces, and other communications channels
Specific steps with named owners and target dates — e.g. "We will complete a WCAG 2.1 audit by Q3 2026" not "We will improve accessibility"	Vague aspirations with no measurable outcomes or accountability
Progress update on the previous plan (required on renewal)	Omitting this section, which demonstrates ongoing accountability
Note on consultation with people with disabilities	Omitting this, which is an IASR requirement
Plan posted on website in accessible format	Posting a non-tagged PDF that is itself inaccessible

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Where to Publish and How Often to Update

Place a link labelled ‘Accessibility’ or ‘Accessibility Statement’ in the footer on every page. Use a clean URL (/accessibility or /accessibility-statement). The page must itself be accessible — it would be indefensible if it were not.

Update triggers: annual review minimum; after any significant redesign or replatform; after completion of a new audit; when known limitations are resolved; when contact information changes.

The statement page must itself pass WCAG

Run the accessibility statement page through an automated scan and a keyboard navigation check before publishing. A statement page with accessibility failures is both ironic and indefensible. It is the one page you can be certain regulators and accessibility reviewers will check.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I copy another organization's accessibility statement?

No. A copied statement contains inaccurate information about your site’s conformance status, known limitations, and contact details. If it claims full conformance and your site does not meet that standard, you have published a false compliance claim. Your statement must reflect your organization’s actual situation.

What if my site has many accessibility failures?

Publish an honest partial conformance statement with your known limitations listed and a remediation plan. An honest statement from an organization actively working on accessibility is far better legally and reputationally than a false full-conformance claim or no statement at all.

What is the difference between a VPAT and an accessibility statement?

An accessibility statement is a public-facing page for users and regulators, written in plain language. A VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) is a technical conformance report shared during procurement — it maps every WCAG criterion to a conformance level. Organizations selling to government or enterprise clients typically need both.

Does the accessibility statement page itself need to be accessible?

Yes. Your accessibility statement must meet the same WCAG requirements as the rest of your site. Run it through an automated scan and a keyboard navigation check before publishing. A statement page with accessibility failures is both ironic and indefensible.

On this page

01 What the AODA requires 02 The nine required components 03 Credible vs. liability 04 Multi-year accessibility plan 05 Where to publish & update 06 FAQs

Get Help Writing a Credible Accessibility Statement

An accurate statement requires knowing your actual conformance status — which means conducting an audit first. We can audit your site, draft your statement, and prepare your multi-year plan so every document reflects a real assessment.

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Accessibility Statement: What to Include & Ontario Requirements

Quantity Discounts

Price per course

6 to 20 courses

$20.95

21 to 50 courses

$17.95

51 to 200 courses

$13.95

201+ courses

Custom offer

What the AODA Requires

The Nine Components of a Complete Statement

Credible vs. Liability: What Makes the Difference

Multi-Year Accessibility Plan: What It Must Include

Where to Publish and How Often to Update

Frequently asked questions

Get Help Writing a Credible Accessibility Statement

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