Procurement guide
Procurement clause starter guide for accessibility operations
Procurement language should create evidence, ownership, and escalation paths. It should not stop at a generic accessibility promise that no one can operate after the contract is signed.
Clause areas to cover
| Clause area | What it should establish | Operating record |
|---|---|---|
| Covered surfaces | Which public web, mobile, form, document, and portal experiences the vendor provides. | Vendor system inventory tied to public-service workflows. |
| Accessibility standard | The technical standard and any testing or conformance claim the vendor must support. | Methodology, report date, and evidence source references. |
| Remediation ownership | How issues are assigned, prioritized, fixed, verified, and escalated. | Vendor-owned remediation tasks with due dates and verification criteria. |
| Evidence delivery | What reports, test results, remediation notes, and status updates the vendor provides. | Evidence-pack references and vendor accountability case history. |
| Incident or complaint support | How the vendor supports the entity when a resident reports an accessibility barrier. | Support route, named role, response timeline, and follow-up history. |
Starter language pattern
- Define the public-facing surfaces covered by the agreement.
- Require current accessibility evidence rather than one-time marketing claims.
- Require a remediation process for confirmed issues, including status updates and verification support.
- Preserve the entity's ability to track vendor-owned findings inside its accessibility operating record.
- Tie unresolved accessibility issues to renewal, acceptance, and escalation paths when appropriate.
Review path
- Procurement should confirm contract hooks and renewal timing.
- Legal should review final obligations, remedies, and exception posture.
- ADA and digital services owners should confirm the operational evidence the entity needs.
- PublicProof can organize the vendor surfaces, findings, remediation status, and evidence pack inputs.
Boundary
This guide is not contract language and is not legal advice. It is a product planning aid for identifying what accessibility procurement language should make operable and auditable.