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Accessibility testing

Accessibility Testing in the United Arab Emirates, Done by Hand

Audits for United Arab Emirates against the standard that actually binds you there.

Where the United Arab Emirates stands right now

The UAE names WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and Dubai runs its own accessibility policy on top of the federal position.

Past that, our sources disagree with each other, and this page says so rather than picking. Two publications give different federal law citations and different answers on whether private business is bound. Government is covered on either reading. If you are a private business in the UAE, check it with a UAE lawyer before you conclude anything, because a wrongly stated duty is worse than an open question.

So here is what we do about it. We work your United Arab Emirates site against all 55 WCAG 2.2 A and AA rules by hand, then a professional blind screen-reader user runs your real journeys while we record where they stop. WCAG 2.2 contains everything the standards above ask for, so one audit answers whichever of them reaches you. Every finding arrives with its screenshot and the fix that closes it.

The law that reaches you in the United Arab Emirates

UAE accessibility requirements and the Dubai policy

Standard
WCAG 2.1 AA
Where it stands
Dubai policy from 2020
Who it binds
The public sector
Reaches sellers based abroad
Not by itself
What non-compliance costs
Government mandatory. The private-sector position is disputed between sources
Standard, agreed by both sources
2.1 AA
Bound without dispute
Gov
Has its own policy
Dubai
Private-sector position
Open
The UAE requirements dates, 1 of them
  1. 2020Dubai's accessibility policy, per one of our two sources

Read the full UAE requirements page

What accessibility testing in the United Arab Emirates covers

Start with the honest part. The audit is the same in the United Arab Emirates as it is anywhere, because WCAG does not change at a border. What changes is which law is watching and what it costs to fail, and the section above settles that.

The work itself runs in three passes. A machine finds the failures a machine can prove. A human works every one of the 55 A and AA rules by hand. Then a professional blind screen-reader user opens your real journeys and tries to finish them, the way your customers would. Every finding arrives with its screenshot and the fix that closes it, drawn from our free library of 432 guides.

None of the reference sits behind a form, either. Every number below counts pages you can go and read right now, free, whether you ever buy an audit or not.

A and AA rules we check
55
Techniques and failures
432
ACT test rules
90
ARIA roles documented
94
Terms in the glossary
131
Checklists to work from
9

The honest limit

And an audit is evidence, not a legal opinion. We tell you what fails, who it stops, and what closes it. Whether that satisfies a regulator or a court in the United Arab Emirates is a question for your lawyer, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.

Questions owners in the United Arab Emirates ask us

Does the audit change because my site is in the United Arab Emirates?

No. WCAG is the same standard everywhere, so the testing is identical wherever you are. What changes is which law is watching and what failing it costs, and that is what the law section on this page settles.

Which law applies to my site in the United Arab Emirates?

UAE requirements is the one that reach the United Arab Emirates first, and each has its own page here covering what it asks for, who it lands on, and how it gets enforced. Sell into more than one market and more than one of them can reach you at the same time.

Do I have to publish an accessibility statement in the United Arab Emirates?

No law that reaches the United Arab Emirates names one in our library, so nothing forces you to publish a statement. You can still publish one anyway, and our free generator will write it from what the audit found.

What does the audit cost, and how fast is the report?

A Rapid Audit is $499 for 10 pages, with the report in 5 business days. A Standard Audit is $1,499 for 25 pages in 10 business days. Once your team has fixed things, the re-audit is half price within 3 months.

Do you actually test with a blind user?

Yes, on every audit. A professional blind screen-reader user opens your real journeys and tries to finish them, and we write down where they stop. That is the pass no scanner can run.

Find out where your site stands in the United Arab Emirates

Run the free scan. Read the sample report. Order the audit when you want the humans on it, and what lands is a report your developers, your lawyer or a regulator in the United Arab Emirates can act on.

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