What AODA requires
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 — the short version.
- 1Enacted in 2005 and administered by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario under the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility.
- 2The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 191/11) sets the website accessibility requirement at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
- 3Covered: Ontario public-sector organizations; private/non-profit organizations with 50+ employees.
- 4Compliance must be self-reported every three years. The Directorate can audit and issue orders for non-compliance.
How AllyShield maps to AODA
AODA points to WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Every scan you run produces a jurisdiction-tagged report that separates AODA requirements from other frameworks you might also target.
Non-text content
All non-text content has a text alternative for assistive tech.
Contrast (Minimum)
Text-to-background contrast ≥ 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text).
Keyboard operable
Every interactive element is fully usable via keyboard alone.
Link purpose
Link text describes the link's destination or purpose in context.
Language of page
The page's default language is programmatically set.
Parsing
Markup is parseable — duplicate IDs and unclosed tags break assistive tech.
Download a signed AODA compliance certificate.
Every completed scan can produce a PDF certificate containing the scan date, AllyScore, and WCAG target level — HMAC-SHA256 signed and publicly verifiable via QR code. Attach it to vendor questionnaires, legal reviews, or customer RFPs.
Generate a certificateAODA compliance FAQ
Does AODA apply to me if I operate outside Ontario?+
If you are an Ontario public-sector organization or a private/non-profit with 50+ Ontario employees, you are in scope. Organizations headquartered elsewhere with an Ontario subsidiary typically comply at the subsidiary level.
Is WCAG 2.0 Level AA really the standard?+
Yes. Ontario Regulation 191/11 explicitly references WCAG 2.0 Level AA (excluding live captions and audio descriptions of pre-recorded content, which are not yet required). AllyShield also checks WCAG 2.1 so you're ahead of the next revision.
When is my next AODA compliance self-report due?+
Public-sector organizations report annually; designated private/non-profit organizations report every three years. The government's Access Ontario portal tracks the specific deadline by sector.
Can I hand an AllyShield report to an AODA auditor?+
Yes. Our AODA-tagged report includes every rule mapped to its WCAG 2.0 AA criterion, the scan date, and an HMAC-signed certificate the auditor can verify independently.
Stop wondering. Start scanning.
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Jurisdiction slug: aoda · API: /api/scans/[id]/compliance?jurisdiction=aoda