Accessibility Guidelines, Laws and Standards

Accessibility guidelines, laws, and standards help explain why digital content should be designed to be inclusive and usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. This section introduces the key frameworks that inform document accessibility, including national standards, federal legislation, and government requirements. By understanding the principles and legal context behind accessibility, learners will gain insight into the broader goals of equity, compliance, and barrier-free access that shape how documents are created and shared.

Laws

Accessible Canada Act (ACA)

The Accessible Canada Act came into effect on July 11, 2019. The purpose includes identifying, removing and preventing barriers in 7 key areas:

  • Service Design and Delivery
  • Built Environment
  • Employment
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Communications
  • Transportation
  • Procurement

The goals of ACA include the realization of a barrier-free Canada, culture change, standards development, proactive compliance and enforcement measures, monitoring and oversight.

ACA applies to federally regulated entities including, Government of Canada's departments and agencies, Crown corporations, Parliament and Federally-regulated private sector.

Requirements include publishing accessibility plans, feedback processes and progress reports.

The Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) / Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization (CASDO) will form technical committees to develop Accessibility Standards in the 7 key areas. These committees will include experts, persons with disability and industry representatives.

Accessibility Standards are posted online for public comment. The Final Standards are submitted to the Minister to be adopted into regulations.

Canadian law establishes clear obligations for document accessibility. Under the Accessible Canada Act and related regulations, federal government departments and agencies must ensure their electronic documents are accessible, including:

  • Internal documents used by employees with disabilities
  • Public-facing documents and forms
  • Communications materials and publications
  • Training and educational materials

Canada is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities , which establishes the right to access information on an equal basis with others. Canada ratified the Convention in 2010, which reinforces its legal commitment to accessibility.

Guidelines

Introduction: Accessibility guidelines

Accessibility standards help make digital documents usable for everyone, including people with disabilities. The primary standards for document accessibility are based on CAN/ASC EN 301 549:2024 - Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services .

Document Accessibility and WCAG

Document accessibility is a subset of digital accessibility, specifically addressing non-web formats such as PDFs, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Document accessibility adheres to many of the same principles as web accessibility (WCAG), but not all WCAG guidelines apply to documents. The CAN/ASC EN 301 549:2024 standard specifically addresses non-web documents in Section 10, adapting relevant WCAG principles for document formats.

These guidelines help remove barriers for everyone.

Document accessibility layers of guidance

Principles – There are 4 principles that provide the foundation for accessibility: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Guidelines - Under each principle are guidelines applicable to non-web documents that ensure content is directly accessible to as many people as possible.

Success requirements - Under each guideline, there are testable requirements that describe what must be achieved to conform to document accessibility standards. Each requirement is assigned a conformance level: A, AA, or AAA, indicating increasing levels of accessibility compliance.

ESDC document accessibility conformance level target

ESDC aims to achieve level AA accessibility conformance based on CAN/ASC EN 301 549:2024 .

Regulations for Digital Documents

Accessible Canada Regulations

The Accessible Canada Regulations became law in December 2021. These regulations set the rules for accessibility planning, reporting and feedback processes, and establish requirements for digital accessibility. The proposed changes introduce rules for digital accessibility that aim to ensure persons with disabilities have equitable access to jobs, programs, and services.

Requirements for Digital Documents

Federal public sector organizations and large businesses (500+ employees under federal responsibility) must make their digital documents accessible. Starting June 1, 2028, this rule applies to any digital document they publish on their websites for the public. Organizations must follow the most recent version of CAN/ASC EN 301 549 , which provides the technical standards for designing accessible digital content.

When organizations cannot follow the digital standard due to technology limitations or other constraints, they must provide alternative ways of access to ensure persons with disabilities always have equitable access. Organizations are also required to publish accessibility statements that explain accessibility features, describe alternative access methods, and outline timelines for fixing non-compliant content. These statements must be written in clear and simple language and updated annually.

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