Guidance on the Accessible Canada Regulations
This Guidance Hub is a centralized resource designed to help federally regulated public and private organizations understand their obligations under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Accessible Canada Regulations (ACARs).
The content is organized into key guidance categories: planning and reporting and digital technologies. Each category contains guidance documents designed to support meeting or exceeding regulatory requirements.
There, you will find:
- clear, simple explanations of what the regulatory requirements mean for your organization
- best practices, tools, and resources
- links to optional templates, annexes, and other materials
Regulatory guidance: purpose, use, and compliance
Find regulatory guidance by category
Accessibility planning and reporting regulations
Helping you create accessibility plans, feedback processes, and progress reports.
Digital technologies accessibility regulations
Guidance to help make your web pages, mobile applications, and non-web document conform to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standard.
Find new and updated guidance
| Title | Published Date | Category | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting persons with disabilities | 2025 November (updated) | Planning and reporting | Use this guide to consult persons with disabilities when preparing accessibility plans and progress reports under the ACARs. It offers practical advice, best practices, and inclusive strategies to support meaningful engagement. It also explains key ideas like intersectionality, inclusive language, and consultation fatigue in plain terms. |
| Simple, clear, and concise language | 2022 September | Planning and reporting | Use this guide to help you write accessibility plans and reports in simple, clear, and concise language. It shares practical tips to make your documents easy to read and accessible to diverse audiences. |
| Alternate formats | 2022 December (updated) | Planning and reporting | Use this guide to help you provide planning and reporting documents in alternate formats. It outlines which formats are required, how to process requests, and shares best practices to ensure documents are accessible for persons with disabilities. |
| Accessibility plans | 2021 December | Planning and reporting | Use this guide to help you develop accessibility plans under the ACARs. It outlines required components, recommended practices, and timelines to support the identification, removal, and prevention of barriers to accessibility. |
| Descriptions of feedback processes | 2022 August | Planning and reporting | Use this guide to help you prepare and publish descriptions of your feedback processes under the ACARs. It outlines how to receive, acknowledge, and manage feedback about accessibility barriers and plan implementation, while offering best practices to ensure transparency and inclusivity. |
| Progress reports | 2023 March | Planning and reporting | Use this guide to help you prepare progress reports on the implementation of your accessibility plans under the ACARs. It outlines required report components, timelines, and best practices to support transparency, accountability, and ongoing improvement in accessibility. |
| Digital technologies Phase 1: Guidance overview | 2025 December | Digital technologies | Use this guidance to understand the new digital technology accessibility regulations under the ACARs. These new requirements mandate organizations to make sure their digital technologies conform to the ICT Standard. |
| Digital accessibility training for employees | Upcoming | Digital technologies | Use this guidance to help deliver employee training on the fundamentals of digital technology accessibility. It outlines your compliance obligations such as providing training and keeping records, and offers optional best practices, tools, and annexes to support effective implementation. |
Contact us
If you have questions or comments about these guidance documents, please contact EDSC.LCA.REGLEMENTS-REGULATIONS.ACA.ESDC@servicecanada.gc.ca