The VPAT was originally designed as a tool for vendors to document product compliance to Section 508 and facilitate government market research on ICT with accessible features.
The current VPAT has expanded to include the U.S. Revised Section 508, European EN 301 549, and WCAG standards which are required by regulations in many jurisdictions.
The VPAT was developed by ITI in partnership with the U.S. government's central procurement office, the General Services Administration, starting in 2001 to address the general issue of matching ICT product features to Section 508 accessibility requirements with a checklist.
October 4, 2017, ITI published an updated version, VPAT 2.0, reflecting the provisions of the newly-published Revised Section 508.
[6] VPATs cover a wide array of products, including computer software, imaging hardware, web content, voice communications, electronic documentation and services.