Accessibility rules for businesses and non-profits

Overview

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is the law that sets out a process for developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards. Government, businesses, non-profits and public sector organizations must follow the standards.

Accessibility laws and standards help to reduce and remove barriers and make Ontario more inclusive for everyone.

Accessibility Standards Checklist

Use our interactive self-assessment checklist to easily identify the AODA requirements that apply to your organization. Follow these steps to download and open the checklist PDF:

1. Go to the Accessibility Standards Checklist page on the Ontario Forms Repository.
2. Right-click on the “Accessibility Standards Checklist” PDF icon and select “Save link as” and save the file to your computer. 
3. Open the PDF file on your computer using the latest version of Adobe Reader. Do not open the file in your browser.
    

About businesses and non-profit organizations

This category consists of all businesses and organizations that are not part of the designated public sector under AODA Ontario Regulation 191/11.

The rules you need to follow depend on the type and size of your organization. You are exempt if you do not have employees in Ontario.

How to count your employees

In your count, include all:

• full-time employees
• part-time employees
• seasonal employees
• contract workers

With most employees, you pay wages or a salary, have control over the work assigned and have a right to control the details of the work.

Do not count:

• employees outside Ontario
• volunteers
• independent contractors

Note: you are responsible for ensuring the services that volunteers or independent contractors provide on your behalf follow the rules of Ontario’s accessibility standards. You may need to ensure these individuals are trained to meet the requirements.

If you have fewer than 20 employees

Create accessibility policies

You are required to create policies to help you achieve your accessibility goals.

You are not required to document these policies, but it’s a good idea to do it. Documenting helps you:

• consider accessibility as part of your overall planning
• be ready to meet documentation requirements should your organization expand

Use this sample accessibility policy to help you develop accessibility policies that are right for your organization.

Learn more about creating and documenting accessibility policies.

Train your staff and volunteers

You are required to train all your employees and volunteers on:

• the Ontario Human Rights Code
• accessible customer service
• any accessibility requirements that apply to their job duties and your organization

If you are an educational or training organization, you must also provide your educators with training on accessibility awareness and accessible course delivery.

Read our Accessibility Training Requirements Checklist for more information on training requirements.

Learn how to train your staff on accessibility.

Find free education modules to meet the training requirements under Ontario’s accessibility laws.

Plan for accessible self-service kiosks if applicable

Consider accessibility features when purchasing or designing self-service kiosks. This includes interactive electronic terminals that people use to pay parking fees, validate tickets, buy groceries and renew licenses.

Learn how to make self-service kiosks accessible and get tips to remove barriers for customers and employees.

Provide accessible customer service

Your organization must provide customer service to people with disabilities that allows them to access your goods, services or facilities. This includes:

• communicating in a manner that takes a person’s disability into account and upon request, provide accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities
• allowing assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, etc.
• welcoming service animals and support persons
• providing notice of temporary disruptions
• creating accessible ways (for example, accessible comment cards or surveys) for people to provide feedback about how you provide goods, services or facilities to people with disabilities
• find out how to make customer service accessible and get tips to remove barriers for customers.

Implement accessible employment practices

You are required to accommodate employees with disabilities throughout their employment under the Ontario Human Rights Code and the AODA employment standards.

This includes:

• making your recruitment process accessible
• informing your employees of supports
• offering accessible formats and communication supports for employees
• providing individual accessible workplace emergency response information
• considering the needs of employees with disabilities if you have performance management, career development and re-deployment processes

Using the accessible recruitment tool can help make your hiring process more accessible.

Find programs and resources that help connect employers with the skilled yet underused talent pool of people with disabilities.

Learn how to make your workplace accessible and get tips for accommodating employees with disabilities.

Provide accessible information

You must let the public and your employees know that you will make written information and other forms of communication accessible, upon request. You can meet this requirement by:

• including a note on your website or promotional materials
• creating a sign
• posting a notice on a bulletin board

If a person with a disability asks for accessible information or requires communication supports, work with them to figure out how to meet their needs. You don’t have to have accessible formats on hand, but you need to provide the information in a timely manner.

You cannot charge more for accessible formats than you do for other formats.

The requirement to provide accessible information applies to:

• emergency and public safety information
• feedback processes for employees and the public
• information for employees
• other public information, such as menus, order forms and information provided to the public in print, on websites or handheld devices.

Learn more about how to make information accessible for people with disabilities.

Learn about graphic design and digital accessibility.

Education and training

You must provide information, training materials and other resources in an accessible format if you are:

• a library
• a training organization
• an educational organization

Read the Accessible Educational and Training Resources and Materials Checklist for more information.

Create accessible public spaces

Ontario’s Design of Public Spaces accessibility standards establish a baseline level of accessibility for public spaces, including:

• parking lots and sidewalks
• service counters
• fixed waiting lines
• waiting areas with fixed seating
• recreational trails and beach access routes
• playgrounds
• public eating areas

The standards only apply to new construction and renovated existing public spaces.

Learn about how to make public spaces accessible.

Discover practical and easy tips to help make your building, spaces and events more accessible.

Read the Illustrated Technical Guide to the Accessibility Standard for the Design of Public Spaces for detailed information about the standards and how to comply.

If you have 20 to 49 employees

File an accessibility compliance report every three years

Businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees must follow these steps to complete an accessibility compliance report.

Learn how to complete your accessibility compliance report

Watch video | Watch described video | Download PDF

Create accessibility policies

You are required to create policies to help you achieve your accessibility goals. You are not required to document these policies, but it’s a good idea to do it. Documenting helps you:

• consider accessibility as part of your overall planning
• be ready to meet documentation requirements should your organization expand

Using this sample accessibility policy can help you develop accessibility policies that are right for your organization.

Learn about creating and documenting accessibility policies.

Train your staff and volunteers

You are required to train all your employees and volunteers on:

• the Ontario Human Rights Code
• accessible customer service
• any accessibility requirements that apply to their job duties and your organization

Read our Accessibility Training Requirements Checklist for more information on training requirements.

If you are an educational or training organization, you must also provide your educators with training on accessibility awareness and accessible course delivery.

Learn how to train your staff on accessibility.

Find free education modules to meet the training requirements under Ontario’s accessibility laws.

Plan for accessible self-service kiosks if applicable

Consider accessibility features when purchasing or designing self-service kiosks. This includes interactive electronic terminals that people use to pay parking fees, validate tickets, buy groceries and renew licenses

Learn how to make self-service kiosks accessible and get tips to remove barriers for customers.

Provide accessible customer service

Your organization must provide customer service to people with disabilities that allows them to access your goods, services or facilities. This includes:

• communicating in a manner that takes a person’s disability into account and upon request, provide accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities
• allowing assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, etc.
• welcoming service animals and support persons
• providing notice of temporary disruptions
• creating accessible ways (e.g. accessible comment cards or surveys) for people to provide feedback about how you provide goods, services or facilities to people with disabilities
• find out how to make customer service accessible and get tips to remove barriers for customers.

Implement accessible employment practices

You are required to accommodate employees with disabilities throughout their employment under the Ontario Human Rights Code and the AODA employment standards.

This includes:

• making your recruitment process accessible
• informing your employees of supports
• offering accessible formats and communication supports for employees
• providing individualized accessible workplace emergency response information
• considering the needs of employees with disabilities in your performance management, career development and re-deployment processes

Using the accessible recruitment tool can help make your hiring process more accessible.

Find programs and resources that help connect employers with the skilled yet underused talent pool of people with disabilities.

Learn how to make your workplace accessible and get tips for accommodating employees with disabilities.

Provide accessible information

You must let the public and your employees know that you will make written information and other forms of communication accessible, upon request. You can meet this requirement by:

• including a note on your website or promotional materials
• creating a sign
• posting a notice on a bulletin board

If a person with a disability asks for accessible information or requires communication supports, work with them to figure out how to meet their needs. You don’t have to have accessible formats on hand, but you need to provide the information in a timely manner.

You cannot charge more for accessible formats than you do for other formats.

The requirement to provide accessible information applies to:

• emergency and public safety information
• feedback processes for employees and the public
• information for employees
• other public information, such as menus, order forms and information provided to the public in print, on websites or handheld devices.

Learn more about how to make information accessible for people with disabilities.

Learn about graphic design and digital accessibility.

Education and training

You must provide information, training materials and other resources in an accessible format if you are:

• a library
• a training organization
• an educational organization

Read the Accessible Educational and Training Resources and Materials Checklist for more information.

Create accessible public spaces

Ontario’s Design of Public Spaces accessibility standards establish a baseline level of accessibility for public spaces, including:

• parking lots and sidewalks
• service counters
• fixed waiting lines
• waiting areas with fixed seating
• recreational trails and beach access routes
• playgrounds
• public eating areas

The standards only apply to new construction and renovated existing public spaces.

Learn about how to make public spaces accessible.

Discover practical and easy tips to help make your building, spaces and events more accessible.

Read the Illustrated Technical Guide to the Accessibility Standard for the Design of Public Spaces for detailed information about the standards and how to comply.

If you have more than 49 employees

File an accessibility compliance report every three years

Businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees must follow these steps to complete an accessibility compliance report.

Learn how to complete your accessibility compliance report

Watch video | Watch described video | Download PDF

Create accessibility policies and a multi-year plan

Create accessibility policies and a multi-year accessibility plan to help you achieve your accessibility goals.

Accessibility policies

Using this sample accessibility policy can help you develop accessibility policies that are right for your organization.

You must also:

• document your accessibility polices
• tell your employees and customers about them
• notify the public about the availability of your policies (for example, a notice on your website, at reception, etc.)
• provide your policies in an accessible format upon request

Multi-year accessibility plan

You need to create and document a multi-year accessibility plan to help you reach your accessibility goals.

You must also:

• post the plan on your website
• provide it in an accessible format, upon request
• review and update the plan at least once every five years

Using the multi-year plan template can help with writing your organization’s plan.

Learn how to prepare accessibility policies and a multi-year accessibility plan.

Train your staff and volunteers

• the Ontario Human Rights Code
• accessible customer service
• any accessibility requirements that apply to their job duties and your organization

If you are an educational or training organization, you must also provide your educators with training on accessibility awareness and accessible course delivery.

You must keep a written record of this training that include how many people were trained and the dates the training was provided.

Read the Accessibility Training Requirements Checklist.

Learn how to train your staff on accessibility.

Find free educational modules to help you meet the training requirements under Ontario’s accessibility laws.

Plan for accessible self-service kiosks if applicable

Consider accessibility features when purchasing or designing self-service kiosks. This includes interactive electronic terminals that people use to pay parking fees, validate tickets, buy groceries and renew licenses.

Learn how to make self-service kiosks accessible and get tips to remove barriers for customers and employees.

Provide accessible customer service

Your organization must provide customer service to people with disabilities that allows them to access your goods, services or facilities. This includes:

• communicating in a manner that takes a person’s disability into account and upon request, provide accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities
• allowing assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, etc.
• welcoming service animals and support persons
• providing notice of temporary disruptions
• creating accessible ways (e.g. accessible comment cards or surveys) for people to provide feedback about how you provide goods, services or facilities to people with disabilities
• upon request, providing documents in an accessible format, such as large print or braille

You must also document your accessible customer service policies and provide them in an accessible format, upon request.

Find out how to make customer service accessible and get tips to remove barriers for customers.

Implement accessible employment practices

You are required to accommodate employees with disabilities throughout their employment under the Ontario Human Rights Code and the AODA employment standards.

This includes:

• making your recruitment process accessible
• informing your employees of supports
• offering accessible formats and communication supports for employees
• providing individualized accessible workplace emergency response information
• documenting individual accommodation plans
• creating a return to work process and plan for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability
• considering the needs of employees with disabilities if you have performance management, career development and re-deployment processes

Using the accessible recruitment tool can help make your hiring process more accessible.

Learn how to make your workplace accessible and get tips for accommodating employees with disabilities.

Provide accessible information

You must let the public and your employees know that you will make written information and other forms of communication accessible, upon request. You can meet this requirement by:

• including a note on your website or promotional materials
• creating a sign
• posting a notice on a bulletin board

If a person with a disability asks for accessible information or requires communication supports, work with them to figure out how to meet their needs. You don’t have to have accessible formats on hand, but you need to provide the information in a timely manner.

You cannot charge more for accessible formats than you do for other formats.

The requirement to provide accessible information applies to:

• emergency and public safety information
• feedback processes for employees and the public
• information for employees
• other public information, such as menus, order forms and information provided to the public in print, on websites or handheld devices.

Learn more about how to make information accessible for people with disabilities.

Learn about graphic design and digital accessibility.

Education and training

You must provide information, training materials and other resources in an accessible format if you are:

• a library
• a training organization
• an educational organization

Read the Accessible Educational and Training Resources and Materials Checklist for more information.

Websites

By law, you must make all public websites accessible.

The organization that controls the website must meet the accessibility requirements.

 Learn how to make websites accessible for people with disabilities.

Create accessible public spaces

Ontario’s Design of Public Spaces accessibility standards establish a baseline level of accessibility for public spaces, including:

• parking lots and sidewalks
• service counters
• fixed waiting lines
• waiting areas with fixed seating
• recreational trails and beach access routes
• playgrounds
• public eating areas

The standards only apply to new construction and renovated existing public spaces.

Learn about how to make public spaces accessible.

Discover practical and easy tips to help make your building, spaces and events more accessible.

Read the Illustrated Technical Guide to the Accessibility Standard for the Design of Public Spaces for detailed information about the standards and how to comply.

Resources

Disclaimer

The aim and purpose of this webpage is to help individuals and businesses with information related to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and its associated regulation OReg 191/11. While we aim to provide relevant and timely information, no guarantee can be given as to the accuracy or completeness of any information provided. This guidance is not intended to nor does it provide legal advice and should not be relied upon or treated as legal advice. Those seeking legal advice should consult with a qualified legal professional.

In case of discrepancy between website content and relevant Ontario legislation and regulations, the official version of Ontario Acts and Regulations as published by the King's Printer for Ontario will prevail.

The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility and the Government of Ontario do not endorse or recommend any accessibility consultant(s), their advice, opinions or recommendations.