July 13, 2026
Where to begin with digital accessibility
People starting out in accessibility ask me some version of the same question: where do I actually begin? There's no shortage of standards to read and acronyms to learn, and it's easy to spend weeks circling the topic without doing anything hands-on. My answer has two parts: there's one first step I recommend to everyone, because it's free and nothing about it is wasted, and then a fork that depends on what you're trying to get out of the field. Here's the short version before the details:
Step one, for everyone: the free DHS course "What Is Section 508 and Why Is It Important?" Then choose your depth:
Continue to Trusted Tester
The remaining courses in the DHS certification track, for doing technical conformance testing yourself.
CPACC, via IAAP
The disability, legal, and standards landscape, at a wider angle. The 508 course gives you a head start.
Step one for everyone: "What Is Section 508 and Why Is It Important?"
The Department of Homeland Security offers a free course by that exact name, and it's the first thing I recommend regardless of which direction you're headed. It isn't a standalone primer; it's officially the first of five courses that make up the full DHS Trusted Tester certification track. But here's the part that makes it a universal recommendation rather than just the testing track's front door: the ground it covers overlaps with what CPACC covers, so even if you end up taking the broader credential path instead, none of it is wasted. Free, foundational, and useful on either fork. Start here.
Fork one: continue to Trusted Tester, for technical hands-on work
If you continue past that first course, the Trusted Tester track teaches you to actually test a page or application against Section 508 requirements using a defined, repeatable methodology, not just recognize accessibility problems in the abstract. And this isn't just any methodology: it follows the ICT Testing Baseline established under the Federal CIO Council, and federal agencies that adopt the Trusted Tester process only accept test results from certified Trusted Testers. In other words, you're not learning a vendor's house style; you're learning the federal government's own standard for what counts as a reliable conformance test. The whole track is free, which removes the biggest barrier that usually keeps people from starting at all. You can register through the DHS Section 508 Training portal.
Fork two: CPACC through IAAP, for the broader picture
If you're after a wider, more conceptual understanding rather than a hands-on testing methodology, the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies through the International Association of Accessibility Professionals is the path I'd point to, partly because it's the one I took myself. CPACC is IAAP's foundational credential for the accessibility profession, and it's built for a broader audience than a technical tester certification; it covers the disability, legal, and standards landscape at a wider angle than a single testing methodology can, which matters more than it might sound like it does. A tester can tell you whether a page conforms. Someone with the broader grounding can tell you why the requirement exists, who it protects, and what the organization's actual obligations are, which is usually the conversation that decides whether accessibility work gets funded at all.
It's also a genuinely useful way to stay current on the Department of Justice's Title II web accessibility rule, which requires state and local governments to bring their web content and mobile apps into conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The compliance dates have already moved once, an April 2026 interim rule pushed them back a year, to April 26, 2027 for larger public entities and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones and special districts, and the rule reaches further than its name suggests, covering public higher ed, school districts, and libraries. If you work in or around the public sector, that's not optional background reading; it's the actual, moving compliance environment you're operating in.
Unlike the DHS courses, CPACC isn't free: there's an exam registration fee, discounted if you're an IAAP member, and some institutions cover membership for their staff. Check IAAP's own pricing page for current numbers before you budget for it.
One track teaches you to test. The other teaches you why the testing matters, and to whom.
These aren't competing options so much as different entry points that eventually converge, and they map onto the two halves of the work itself. The DHS track gets you testing quickly against the standard the federal government actually uses, and gives you something concrete and free to point to. CPACC gives you the legal and conceptual grounding that makes your testing decisions defensible, especially if you're explaining them to someone outside accessibility. I'd genuinely recommend both over time rather than picking one forever. But the first move is the same either way: take the free 508 course, then let your immediate goal pick the fork. Hands-on testing work now, continue down the DHS track; policy, compliance, or public-sector context now, go for CPACC.
Either way, the actual first step is smaller than it feels from the outside. Pick one, register, and start.
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