Key concepts

What the regulations say

The regulations set the rules for:

• what types of alternate formats people can request from your organization
• how people can make a request
• when your organization must fulfill a request

The regulations list the alternate formats organizations must provide. Organizations may choose to provide information in additional alternate formats as well.

Types of alternate formats

Some people may have difficulty reading online or print documents. They can ask organizations to provide documents in alternate formats.

This section describes the alternate formats that your organization must make available upon request.

You can also read the annex on making documents more accessible.

Print: printed or electronic text.

Large print: printed or electronic text with a larger font size and good colour contrast. The smallest font size should be between 16 and 20 points.

Braille: a system of cells and dots that represent characters and numbers. Braille can be in electronic or physical format. Readers use their fingertips to read raised dots on paper. Some electronic devices can read Braille in electronic format as well.

You can find more information about Braille on the CNIB Foundation website.

Audio format: an audio recording or data file. This format can be in different forms, such as an MP3 file or a DAISY file.

Electronic format: a text format, document, image or file in a digital form that is compatible with adaptive technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities. Users navigate documents by moving between pages, sections, chapters and tables of contents.

You can find general best practices for electronic formats at the Accessible Publishing website, among others. You can also consult the Government of Canada’s Digital Accessibility Toolkit for additional tools and resources.

Manner of request

The “General” heading of accessibility plans and progress reports must say how the public can communicate with your organization. This information must allow people to request alternate formats, and must include at least:

• position title of the person designated to receive feedback on behalf of the organization
• the mailing address of your publicly accessible business(es)
• a telephone number
• an email address

The “General” heading must also include the manner and information by which the public can communicate with your organization. This could include things like a website or a social media account, if your organization uses them.

Read the guidance on preparing the “General” heading in an accessibility plan.

Note: this section of the guidance focuses on the methods of request for alternate formats. This section does not address all the information that must be contained under the “General” heading. Read the guidance on preparing the “General” heading of accessibility plans and progress reports for more information.

Guidance on progress reports will be available in 2023.

Deadlines

Organizations must make alternate formats available to the requester as soon as feasible.

The regulations also set deadlines for organizations to meet such requests. The deadlines depend on the requested format and the type of organization.

• For print, large print, and electronic formats:
  • federal government entities, including departments, agencies, Crown corporations, or government-related entities such as the Canadian Forces or Parliamentary entities: within 15 days after the day the request was received
  • federally regulated private sector entities with an average of 100 or more employees: within 15 days after the day the request was received
  • federally regulated private sector entities with an average of 99 or fewer employees: within 20 days after the day the request was received
• For Braille or audio formats:
  • all regulated entities: within 45 days after the day the request was received

Read subsections 1(2) and 1(3) of the regulations to learn how to calculate your average number of employees.