ADS Certification Exam Guide

What Is ADS?

ADS stands for Accessible Document Specialist. This is a technical credential for accessibility professionals who have regular hands-on experience with creating accessible electronic documents and remediating inaccessible electronic documents. Electronic documents in this case refers to ones that are created in word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, or desktop publishing programs.

Who Should Take It?

The ADS is the ideal credential for accessibility practitioners and specialists with a minimum 1-2 years' experience who function in one of many team roles related to accessible document authoring, remediation, training, policy, and advocacy of accessible document solutions.

Just a few examples are: accessibility professionals whose jobs require in-depth knowledge of ICT accessibility standards, document remediation specialists, accessible media service providers, UX designers and testers, QA professionals, and web content managers and administrators, though there are many other relevant roles.

For more detailed information on whether this credential is right for you, visit the IAAP guide: ADS Overview

What Is the Exam Format?

The exam consists of 75 multiple-choice questions with 4 possible responses. Each question has one correct answer and three incorrect responses. Responses are selected by radio-button. The time limit is 2 hours, unless an accommodation for additional time is requested.

How Should I Study?

Multiple resources should be used to prepare, including:

The Document Accessibility Package (only available as part of the Full Access option)
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ADS Content Outline
ADS Body of Knowledge Document (BOK)
The resource links included within the BOK Document

Important:

The Deque Document Accessibility Specialist package currently addresses parts I, II, and some of part III of the exam content outline, but does not cover topics in parts IV and V of the outline. To fully prepare for the ADS exam, refer to the ADS Body of Knowledge, and seek outside sources about the topics not in the Deque courses.

Use all of the resources listed to maximize your preparedness to pass the exam. Do not rely on a single resource as being an exhaustive and all-inclusive preparation material.

How Long Does It Take to Prepare?

The courses in the Document Accessibility Package take approximately 10 to 20 hours to complete.

The IAAP recommends planning to spend between 30 and 80 hours total to prepare.

Is There a Practice Exam?

The IAAP has not yet released any sample questions for the ADS Exam.

Deque's courses include small quizzes to test your comprehension, but these are not practice exam questions and do not represent the format or difficulty level of the actual exam.

How Much Does It Cost?

Check out the cost section in the IAAP ADS FAQ page.

How Do I Register?

Visit the IAAP Exam Registration Applications and Dates page.