- Report deadline
- December 31, 2026, for businesses and non-profits with 20+ employees
- Website rule
- WCAG 2.0 AA since January 1, 2021, for 50+ employees and the public sector
- Who signs
- A senior officer who can legally bind the organization
- Our review standard
- WCAG 2.1 AA, which keeps every 2.0 AA criterion
- What it is not
- Legal advice or a compliance certificate
Check your website before you sign your AODA report
Free website accessibility check for Ontario organizations before the December 31, 2026 AODA compliance report: key pages in English and French reviewed against WCAG 2.1 AA, with a remediation plan.
- Review standard
- WCAG 2.1 AA
- Review standard
- Bilingual team
- EN/FR
- Bilingual team
- Typical turnaround
- 5 days
- Typical turnaround
Reporting deadline · Dec 31, 2026
Ontario businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees file their accessibility compliance report by December 31, 2026
The report asks Yes or No questions about the accessibility rules that apply to your organization, and a senior officer who can bind the organization certifies it. Designated public sector organizations had a December 31, 2025 deadline and must still file.
Before you sign
What should an Ontario organization check on its website before signing the AODA report?
If you have 50 or more employees, or you are a designated public sector organization, your public website must meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA, except live captions and pre-recorded audio descriptions. Before the report is signed, check your key pages and shared templates against that rule in every language you publish, so the person who signs knows where the website stands.
What the Ontario rule asks of your website
Under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 191/11), designated public sector organizations and businesses or non-profits with 50 or more employees have had to make their public websites meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA since January 1, 2021. Two criteria are excepted: live captions (1.2.4) and pre-recorded audio descriptions (1.2.5). The rule covers web content published after January 1, 2012, on websites you control directly or through a contract (ontario.ca, how to make websites accessible).
The compliance report is a separate step. Businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees file one every three years, and the next deadline is December 31, 2026. You answer Yes or No to questions that depend on your organization type and size, and a senior officer who can legally bind the organization certifies the report (ontario.ca, completing your report). Under section 37 of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, giving false or misleading information in a report is an offence.
Quebec and federal rules, with their dates
Quebec. The government standard SGQRI 008 3.0 has applied to Quebec government departments and public bodies since April 29, 2024. It covers new web content and significant changes to existing content, including intranets, extranets and web forms, and targets WCAG 2.1 Level AA with two exceptions, plus some additional criteria (Québec.ca, SGQRI 008).
Federal. Amendments to the Accessible Canada Regulations, published December 17, 2025, require new and updated web pages, for the public or for employees, to follow the CAN/ASC-EN 301 549 standard. The rule starts December 5, 2027 for federal public sector organizations and December 5, 2028 for federally regulated businesses with 100 or more employees. Federally regulated businesses with 99 or fewer employees are exempt (canada.ca summary).
Fix the template once, fix every page that uses it
On a CMS website, many accessibility issues live in shared templates and components: the header and menu, forms, cards, buttons and page layouts. Fix a component once in Sitecore, Optimizely or Kentico and every page that uses it is fixed at the same time.
Other issues sit in the content itself: missing image descriptions, vague link text, headings out of order, inaccessible PDFs. Your report separates the two, so your developers and your editors each get their own list.
What this check is, and what it is not
This is a technical review of your website against WCAG 2.1 AA. It is not legal advice and it is not a certification: no one at Sengo can declare your organization compliant. Answering the compliance report, and signing it, remain your organization's responsibility. The Ontario ministry does not endorse any consultant, including us. For questions about your obligations, contact the ministry at AODA.assistance@ontario.ca or your legal counsel.
The website rule keeps applying after you file. New pages and new content need the same care, which is why the report ends with how to keep the website accessible as it changes.
What you get
What your report contains
A review of your website against WCAG 2.1 AA, written for the people who fix it and for the person who signs the report.
Pages reviewed
Key pages in English and French, chosen with you at kickoff: home page, main templates, forms and your most visited content.
WCAG 2.1 AA findings
Each issue tied to its success criterion, with where it appears and who it blocks, such as keyboard or screen reader users.
Template or content
Each finding marked as a template or component fix for developers, or a content fix for editors.
Remediation plan
Fixes ranked by effort and impact, so your team knows where to start.
Plain-language summary
One page for the person who signs the report: where the website stands and what your team plans to fix.
Keeping it accessible
Checks to add to your publishing and release routine so new pages do not bring issues back.
Sample report
- 01Pages reviewedAct now
- 02WCAG 2.1 AA findingsWatch
- 03Template or contentOn track
- 04Remediation planWatch
- 05Plain-language summaryOn track
- 06Keeping it accessibleOn track
How it works and who does it
A Sengo consultant who works on your platform runs the review and walks you through it. No sales script, and you keep the report.
- 1
Day 0
You send the form
A short form. We reply by email to book a 30-minute kickoff.
- 2
Days 1 to 2
Kickoff and access
We confirm your goals and get read-only access, or review what is public if access is not possible.
- 3
Days 2 to 4
Review
Key pages and shared components checked against WCAG 2.1 AA in English and French, with automated tools, keyboard checks and assistive technology.
- 4
Day 5
Report and walkthrough
You get the report and a call to go through it. Implementation is a separate decision.
Typical timeline for most sites. Large multi-site platforms can take longer; we tell you at kickoff.
Get your free accessibility check
Submit the form. Know where your website stands before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
Does this check make our website AODA compliant?
No check can do that on its own. The review shows where your key pages meet WCAG 2.1 AA and where they do not, and the plan shows how to fix them. It is not legal advice or a certification, and the compliance report remains your organization's responsibility.
We have 20 to 49 employees. Does the website rule apply to us?
The WCAG 2.0 AA website requirement applies to designated public sector organizations and to businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees. Organizations with 20 to 49 employees still file a compliance report by December 31, 2026, and the questions they answer depend on their size.
Why WCAG 2.1 AA if Ontario asks for 2.0 AA?
WCAG 2.1 keeps every WCAG 2.0 success criterion and adds 17 new ones for mobile use, low vision, and cognitive and learning disabilities (W3C). A review against 2.1 AA covers the Ontario requirement and matches the level Quebec's SGQRI 008 targets.
Do you review our French pages?
Yes. Sengo is a bilingual team, and we review key pages in English and French. Language settings, such as a page declared in the wrong language, are part of the check.
Does the rule cover our intranet?
In Ontario, internal websites such as intranets and extranets do not have to meet WCAG 2.0 Level A or AA, except for the Government of Ontario and the Legislative Assembly, but you must provide accessible formats on request. In Quebec, SGQRI 008 covers the intranets and extranets of public bodies. Tell us at kickoff if your intranet is a concern.
Do you change anything on our website during the check?
No. We review what is public, or use read-only access, and change nothing in your environments.
What happens after the report?
We walk you through it on a call. You can make the fixes in-house, with your current agency or with Sengo. It is your report.
