guide
ACA on Drupal: complete compliance checklist
Implementing ACA compliance on Drupal means addressing the platform's specific failure modes (custom modules introducing inaccessible markup, inaccessible wysiwyg content from editors) while applying Accessible Canada Act success criteria across content, code, and editorial workflow.
ACA in 60 seconds
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA, 2019) requires federally regulated entities — federal government, banks, telecom, broadcasting, transportation — to identify, remove and prevent accessibility barriers, with the explicit goal of "a Canada without barriers by 2040" and detailed regulations layered on top including the ICT regulations referencing EN 301 549.
Drupal accessibility — what you are starting with
Drupal's commitment to accessibility is institutional: a dedicated accessibility maintainer, an a11y gate on core changes, and an accessibility-focused community. Drupal is the most-deployed CMS in higher education and government for this reason.
ACA setup checklist for Drupal
1. Use core themes (Olivero, Claro): Both target WCAG 2.1 AA out-of-box.
2. Audit contributed modules: Each module ships its own templates; audit before deployment.
3. Editor training: Use the Editoria11y module to catch authoring failures in CKEditor.
Common ACA failures on Drupal
• Custom modules introducing inaccessible markup
• Inaccessible WYSIWYG content from editors
• Contributed modules with weaker a11y
• Layout Builder customisations
Putting it together
Combine ACA's Level AA requirements with Drupal's native tooling. Bake accessibility into your component library and editorial workflow; instrument axe-core in CI for regression.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Cited answers. Sourced. Updated as standards and case law change.
Is Drupal ACA-compliant out of the box?
Drupal's institutional commitment to accessibility makes it the lowest-risk choice for organisations under Section 508, ADA Title II, or WAD scrutiny.
What is the easiest path to ACA compliance on Drupal?
Start with the platform's most-accessible default theme (where applicable), audit each installed plugin/extension/module, train content authors on alt text and heading hierarchy, and instrument axe-core in your CI pipeline.
Why is Drupal popular in government and higher-ed?
Drupal's institutional commitment to accessibility makes it the lowest-risk choice for organisations under Section 508, ADA Title II, or WAD scrutiny.
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