The AODA compliance report is due December 31 — here's what the signature covers
If your organization is provincially regulated and has 20 or more employees in Ontario — full-time, part-time, seasonal and contract staff all count; volunteers and independent contractors don't — a senior officer (or director) with the legal authority to certify that the report is complete and accurate has to sign an accessibility compliance report with the Province by December 31, 2026. It's filed online and it comes around every three years. Under 20 employees, the accessibility rules still apply — there's just no report.
The report isn't an essay or an audit. It's a set of yes/no questions about whether you meet the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation, and a signature saying the answers are complete and accurate. The work is knowing what each "yes" means.
The one distinction that makes it simple: the regulation has one rulebook with more paperwork as you grow. Under 50 employees, you must do the things. At 50 and over, you must also write them down — and publish some of them.
What "the things" are, at every size: accessibility policies (informal is fine under 50); training on the regulation and the Human Rights Code for every employee and volunteer — and anyone else who provides goods or services on your behalf — as soon as practicable and again when policies change; accessible customer service — assistive devices, service animals, support persons, notice of temporary disruptions; a way for the public to give feedback; accessible formats and communication supports on request; and telling applicants and staff that accommodation is available.
One more applies at every size: individualized workplace emergency response information for any employee whose disability means they would need help in an emergency, once you know about it. The regulation says "information", not "in writing", but a one-page plan per person is the practical way to meet it.
What 50 adds: a written accessibility policy made public; a multi-year accessibility plan posted on your website (if you have one) and reviewed at least every five years; written training records with dates and numbers; a written process for individual accommodation plans and for return to work after a disability-related absence; and, if you have a public website, WCAG 2.0 Level AA for it (live captions and pre-recorded audio description are excepted).
The practical approach: go through the list once, mark each item yes / not yet / not applicable, and put the evidence for each "yes" in one folder. Most gaps are a policy page, a training session, and a template. Register on the reporting portal early rather than in the last week of December.
A free checker that lists the items for your size and sector, with the evidence to keep for each, is at plainkit.lol/aoda. No account, nothing uploaded.
Source: ontario.ca, "Accessibility rules for businesses and non-profits" and "Completing your accessibility compliance report"; O. Reg. 191/11; AODA, 2005, s. 15. Checked September 11, 2026; corrected September 15, 2026. Information, not legal advice. Article by plainkit.lol, CC BY 4.0.