How to Write a Website Accessibility Statement (With a Copy-Paste Template)

An accessibility statement is a public page on your website that explains your commitment to digital accessibility, states which standard you're measuring against (usually WCAG 2.1 AA), and gives visitors a way to report barriers. It's not a legal shield, and it doesn't replace actual fixes — but most legal and accessibility experts recommend having one, and it's one of the first things plaintiffs' attorneys and auditors check when they land on a site.

I've reviewed a lot of these pages over the years, and honestly, most of them are copy-pasted boilerplate that says nothing useful. A good accessibility statement is specific. It names a standard, it's honest about gaps, and it gives someone an actual way to reach you. Let's get into what that looks like.

Why do websites need an accessibility statement?

Websites need an accessibility statement for three practical reasons: it signals good faith to regulators and courts, it gives users with disabilities a direct feedback channel instead of a lawsuit, and it documents your ongoing effort in case of a complaint.

The WebAIM Million survey — an annual scan of the top one million home pages — has found an average of over 50 accessibility errors per page for several years running. Most of those sites have no accessibility statement at all. That's a problem, because when a demand letter shows up (and ADA web accessibility lawsuits have topped 4,000 filings a year in federal court for the past several years), one of the first things reviewed is whether the site made any documented effort toward compliance.

A statement won't make you immune. Courts don't treat it as a defense on its own. But it does two things that matter in practice: it shows a pattern of intent, and it gives you a paper trail if you ever need to demonstrate ongoing remediation work.

What should an accessibility statement include?

A solid accessibility statement includes six things: a commitment statement, the standard you're targeting, your current conformance level, known limitations, a contact method, and a last-updated date.

• A commitment statement. One or two sentences saying accessibility matters to your organization and why. Skip the corporate fluff — say it plainly.
• The standard you're targeting. Almost everyone should reference WCAG 2.1 Level AA. That's the standard referenced in most ADA settlements and the one most auditors use as a baseline.
• Your conformance status. Be honest here. "Fully conformant," "partially conformant," or "working toward conformance" are all acceptable — as long as they're true.
• Known issues. If there's a third-party PDF library, an embedded video player, or a legacy page you haven't fixed yet, say so. This is the section attorneys and auditors respect most, because it shows you're not hiding anything.
• A way to report problems. An email address or a short form. Actually monitor it — a mailbox that nobody checks defeats the purpose.
• A date. Update it every time you do a meaningful round of fixes, not just once a year on autopilot.

Some organizations also add a section on assistive technology they've tested with (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), or a note about which browsers they've verified. That's optional, but it adds credibility if you've actually done the testing.

ADA accessibility statement vs. WCAG conformance statement: what's the difference?

An ADA accessibility statement is a general commitment page aimed at legal risk and user trust, while a WCAG conformance statement is a more technical document that reports specific conformance results against WCAG success criteria — sometimes formatted using the W3C's own Accessibility Conformance Statement template.

In practice, most businesses only need the first kind. A WCAG conformance statement (sometimes paired with a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT) is more common for software vendors selling to government agencies or large enterprises that require formal procurement documentation. If you're a local business, an e-commerce shop, or a SaaS company without federal contracts, a clear ADA-style statement that references WCAG 2.1 AA is plenty.

If you're not sure which law and standard actually apply to your site, our post on how ADA and WCAG relate to each other breaks down what US businesses are actually required to do versus what's considered best practice.

Where should you put your accessibility statement?

Your accessibility statement belongs in the footer of every page, linked with clear text like "Accessibility" or "Accessibility Statement" — not buried three clicks deep in a legal menu.

A few placement details that actually matter:

• Use a static URL like /accessibility-statement or /accessibility so it doesn't change every redesign.
• Link it from your footer, not just your sitemap or privacy policy page.
• Make sure the link itself is keyboard accessible and has clear focus styling — it's a little embarrassing when the accessibility page link isn't itself accessible.
• Consider adding it to your main navigation if you're in a higher-risk sector like retail, healthcare, or education.

Accessibility statement template (copy and paste)

Here's a template you can adapt. Replace the bracketed sections with your own details, and don't just leave the placeholder text in — I've seen sites publish this with "[Company Name]" still sitting in the header, which tells visitors nobody's actually reviewing it.

Accessibility Statement

Last updated: [Month Year]

[Company Name] is committed to making our website accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. We believe the web should work for all users, regardless of ability or the technology they use to access it.

Conformance status
This website aims to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities and more usable for everyone.

Our current status: [Fully conformant / Partially conformant / In progress]

Measures we've taken
- Regular automated and manual accessibility audits
- Ongoing staff training on accessible content creation
- Semantic HTML and proper heading structure across our pages
- Alt text for meaningful images and captions for video content
- Keyboard-navigable menus, forms, and interactive elements

Known limitations
We are aware of the following accessibility issues and are actively working to resolve them:
- [e.g., some older PDF documents may not be fully screen-reader accessible]
- [e.g., a third-party booking widget has limited keyboard support]

Feedback and contact
If you encounter an accessibility barrier on our website, please let us know. We take reports seriously and aim to respond within [3-5] business days.

Email: [accessibility@yourcompany.com]
Phone: [optional]
Mailing address: [optional]

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of this site.

Keep the tone plain. Don't pad it with legal jargon you don't fully understand — a statement that reads like it was written by a nervous lawyer instead of an actual person tends to raise more questions than it answers.

How often should you update your accessibility statement?

Update your accessibility statement at least once a year, and immediately after any major redesign, new audit, or change in conformance status. A stale statement dated 2021 sitting on a site that's been redesigned twice since then is a red flag to anyone reviewing it closely.

Here's where it gets interesting, though: the statement itself should reflect an actual audit trail, not just good intentions. If you run a scan — say, checking your site against the WCAG checklist covering common rules like color contrast, alt text, and form labels — you should update the "known limitations" section based on what that scan turns up. AccessKnight's free scanner checks a site against 33 WCAG 2.1 rules and flags exactly which ones are failing, which gives you real content to put in that section instead of vague reassurances.

Does an accessibility statement need to mention AI readability too?

Not traditionally, but it's becoming more common. Accessibility and AI readability overlap more than people expect — the same semantic HTML, clear headings, and alt text that help screen reader users also help AI crawlers like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews understand and cite your content.

If you're already investing in an accessibility statement, it's worth understanding this overlap. Our guide on what AI readability actually means covers how crawler access, clean markup, and content structure affect whether AI tools can read and cite your site at all. You don't need a separate "AI statement" — but a site built to be genuinely accessible tends to score better on AI readability almost as a side effect.

Key Takeaways

• An accessibility statement isn't a legal shield, but it documents good-faith effort and gives users a way to report problems.
• Reference WCAG 2.1 Level AA specifically — vague statements without a named standard carry less weight.
• Be honest about known limitations. Auditors and attorneys respect specificity over blanket claims of full compliance.
• Place the link in your footer with a static URL, and update the statement at least annually or after any redesign.
• A real audit — not just a template — should drive what your statement actually says.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an accessibility statement legally required in the US?

No federal law explicitly requires an accessibility statement, but the ADA does require many businesses to make their websites accessible, and courts increasingly look favorably on sites that document their compliance efforts. Some state laws and government contracting rules do require a formal statement or VPAT.

What's the difference between an accessibility statement and a VPAT?

An accessibility statement is a general, user-facing commitment page, while a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) is a detailed technical document reporting conformance against specific WCAG success criteria, usually required for government or enterprise procurement.

Can I just copy someone else's accessibility statement?

You can use a template as a starting point, but copying another company's statement word-for-word is a mistake — it often references audits, conformance levels, or contact details that don't apply to your site, and that mismatch is easy for an auditor or attorney to spot.

Does having an accessibility statement protect me from an ADA lawsuit?

Not by itself. A statement shows documented intent, but it doesn't replace actual remediation. If your site has serious barriers — missing alt text, unlabeled forms, poor keyboard navigation — a statement alone won't prevent legal action.

How do I know what to put in the "known limitations" section?

Run an actual accessibility scan of your site and list the real issues it finds — don't guess. A free scan against the 33 WCAG 2.1 rules will surface specific problems like missing form labels or low-contrast text that belong in this section.

Should small businesses bother with an accessibility statement?

Yes. Small business sites are just as likely to be targeted by ADA demand letters as large ones, and a clear, honest statement costs nothing to publish but signals real effort if a complaint ever comes in.

Conclusion

Writing the statement is the easy part — the harder work is making sure it's actually true. Before you publish anything, pull up your site and check it against real WCAG criteria instead of guessing at your conformance level. AccessKnight's free scan checks your site against 33 WCAG 2.1 rules and gives you code-level fixes for anything that fails, so your "known limitations" section reflects what's actually going on instead of a hopeful guess. Publish the statement, but treat it as a living document — update it every time you fix something, not just once and forget it.