Which VPAT template version should you use?
The template comes in several editions. Picking the wrong one does not make your report invalid, but it does mean a reviewer has to translate it, and a report that costs its reader work is a report that gets set aside.
The editions, and who each is for
The editions differ in which standards they organise the criteria around. Pick from who is asking:
- The 508 edition, for US federal buyers and contractors selling to them.
- The EU edition, for European public-sector buyers, organised around EN 301 549.
- The WCAG edition, for a private enterprise that asked about a WCAG level and nothing else.
- The INT edition, which covers all three. The right choice when you do not yet know who will ask, and it does not have to be redone when a second buyer appears.
The revision number matters
The template is revised, and buyers increasingly expect a current one. An older revision is not wrong and does not invalidate your findings, but it invites a follow-up question, and the whole purpose of the document is to prevent follow-up questions.
Check the publisher for the current revision when you start rather than copying the version number from whatever document you found first. If you are updating an old report, rebuild it on the current revision and carry your findings across, rather than editing the version number in place - the second approach leaves the old structure behind and reviewers notice.