IAAP & DHS credentials compared
CPACC, WAS, and DHS Trusted Tester get bundled together in job postings, but they test different things, cost wildly different amounts, and carry weight in different markets. This dashboard lines up prerequisites, exam difficulty, cost, renewal, and where each one actually opens doors — private sector or federal contracting — then walks through which path fits a front-end developer, an accessibility auditor, or a project manager.
Three certifications, three different jobs to do. Cost shown is a realistic first-attempt total.
IAAP · Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies
Broad, conceptual foundation covering disabilities, universal design, and accessibility law. No technical skills tested — built for people who manage or advocate for accessibility rather than build it.
IAAP · Web Accessibility Specialist
Technical credential testing WCAG/ARIA knowledge, issue identification, and remediation strategy. Requires years of hands-on experience going in — still a multiple-choice exam, not a live audit.
DHS · Section 508 Trusted Tester (TTv5.1.3)
Free, hands-on manual testing methodology aligned to the Section 508 ICT Testing Baseline. Candidates audit a live webpage against 41 requirements — the only one of the three that is a practical exam.
*CPACC asks for roughly 1 year of accessibility exposure or a new role touching accessibility — not a hard gate. See full table for exact wording and every figure's source.
Every field researched from IAAP's official candidate handbook, Section508.gov, DHS program pages, and named job postings. Scroll right on small screens.
| Dimension | CPACC | WAS | Trusted Tester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuing body | IAAP (division of G3ict) | IAAP (same program as CPACC) | U.S. Department of Homeland Security |
| Technical prerequisites | None formal. 1 year accessibility experience or a new/changing role touching accessibility recommended; under that, applicants describe their background and goals. | ~3 years first-person, hands-on technical accessibility work across 10+ of 13 listed task areas. IAAP states HTML/JS knowledge "alone is not sufficient." Not aimed at beginners. | None. Free enrollment on the DHS training portal. Practical need: Windows 11 + Edge/Firefox/Chrome; basic HTML/CSS/JS helpful but not required. |
| Exam format | 100 multiple-choice questions, 4 options each, 2-hour limit, closed-book, Pearson VUE / OnVUE. | 75 multiple-choice questions, 4 options each, 2-hour limit, closed-book, Pearson VUE / OnVUE. | Practical, open-book live audit of a real webpage. 3-day window, 3 attempts, randomized test cases. No multiple-choice component. |
| Content domains | Disabilities & assistive tech (40%) · Accessibility & universal design (40%) · Standards, laws & management (20%) | Creating accessible web solutions (40%) · Identifying issues (40%) · Remediating issues (20%) — WCAG 2.2, WAI-ARIA, ATAG, EN 301 549 | 41 web requirements: 38 WCAG 2.0 A/AA success criteria + 3 Section 508-specific requirements, tested via code inspection |
| Skill focus | Conceptual / policy | Technical, but assessed via MCQ (not a practical test) | Hands-on manual testing execution |
| Pass mark / difficulty signal | Pass rate not published. Scaled score 200–800, passing at 600 (Modified Angoff method). Described as theoretical, no practical component. | Pass rate not published. Same 200–800 scale, 600 to pass. IAAP: prep courses are "not a replacement for the required experience." | Pass rate not published. 85% score required on final exam (raised/lowered across versions; TTv5.1.3 currently 85%, some sources cite 90% for prior versions). |
| Estimated study time | ~40–100 hrs (unofficial estimate; IAAP publishes no figure) | 30–80 hrs (IAAP's own estimate) | 40–80 hrs first attempt · 40–60 hrs to recertify (DHS estimate) |
| Exam fee | $510 non-member / $410 member / $170 emerging-economy rate | $555 non-member / $455 member / $225 emerging-economy rate | $0 — free to enroll and test |
| Retake fee | $315 non-member / $255 member | $330 non-member / $270 member | $0 — 3 attempts included in the exam window |
| Membership (optional) | ~$145/yr (secondary source; not published by IAAP) — buys a $100 discount on the exam fee | ~$145/yr (secondary source) — buys a $100 discount on the exam fee | None — no membership structure |
| Realistic first-attempt total | ≈ $410 as a member, or $510 without membership | ≈ $455 as a member, or $555 without membership | $0 + 40–80 unpaid study hours |
| Renewal / recertification period | 3 years | 3 years | No fixed cycle — recertify when DHS retires a process version (e.g., V3/V4 results stopped being accepted after Sept 2019) |
| Continuing education requirement | 45 CAEC credits over 3 years (~15/yr) | 35 CAEC credits over 3 years (~12/yr) | Not published — no CEU regime; version-driven retraining instead |
| Renewal fee | $0 for continuously active members · $200 lapsed/non-member · $75 emerging-economy rate | $0 for continuously active members · $200 lapsed/non-member · $75 emerging-economy rate | Not published — effectively $0, but full retraining (40–60 hrs) required on major version changes |
| If it lapses | Credential must be retired from use; regaining it means reapplying and re-sitting the full exam at full price — no discount for lapsed candidates. | Same as CPACC — full reapplication and re-exam at full price once lapsed. | No published expiration for a given process version, but results become invalid once DHS retires that version and agencies stop accepting it. |
| Where it's recognized | Private-sector and international corporate hiring; consultancies. Appears as "preferred" or "a plus" in accessibility job listings. Not referenced in FAR 39.2 or GSA Section 508 acceptance guidance. | Same private-sector footprint as CPACC, but specifically in technical/engineering accessibility roles and consultancies. Also not named in federal acceptance guidance. | Dominant credential in US federal contracting. Section508.gov: agencies that adopt the process "only accept test results from individuals who have been certified as Trusted Testers." Named as a requirement in real federal-contractor postings (e.g., FEMA training program work). |
| Typical job titles | Accessibility program/project manager, DEI & compliance staff, HR/legal/marketing roles with accessibility responsibility, directors and executives | Front-end/web developer, software engineer, QA engineer, UX designer, web content manager | Section 508 accessibility specialist, accessibility auditor, QA/accessibility tester, federal contractor developer |
Follow the branches based on your target work environment and how technical your day-to-day accessibility work is.
Front-end developer
WAS → Trusted Tester if targeting federal clients
Your work is code-level: fixing ARIA, focus management, and component semantics. WAS is built for exactly that, provided you already have ~3 years of hands-on accessibility work. Add Trusted Tester only if the employer bids on federal contracts — it's free and demonstrates the specific manual-testing method agencies require.
Accessibility auditor / QA tester
Trusted Tester first, WAS to round it out
If you audit websites for conformance — especially for government or government-adjacent clients — Trusted Tester is the credential that actually gates work: agencies that adopt the process only accept results from certified testers. WAS adds standards-depth and private-sector credibility once you have testing hours behind you.
Project / program manager
CPACC
You don't need to demonstrate testing skill — you need fluency in disability categories, universal design, and the legal landscape to manage teams and vendors credibly. CPACC has no real prerequisite gate, is the fastest to obtain, and is explicitly aimed at people who "manage and support" rather than build accessibility.
Figures above come from official IAAP and DHS/Section508.gov pages where published; unpublished figures (pass rates, some renewal terms) are marked as not officially disclosed in the table.