Why accessibility conformance reports get sent back

A criterion marked down with no explanation

This is the most common one by a distance. A criterion marked "Partially Supports" or "Does Not Support" with an empty remark tells the reviewer that something is wrong and nothing about what, who it affects, or whether there is a workaround. They cannot assess the impact, so they have to ask.

For every criterion that is not fully supported, say what specifically does not work, who it affects, any workaround, and what you plan to do. That paragraph is the difference between a returned document and an approved one.

A conformance level that contradicts its own remark

A row reading "Supports" next to a remark describing screens that fall short reads as levels that were set independently of the findings. It is the defect reviewers trust least, because it makes them wonder about the rows they cannot check.

Reconcile the two before sending: either the level is wrong or the remark is.

No evaluation methods, or only a scanner

The methods section is where a reviewer decides what the rest of the document is worth. If it is missing, the conformance claims have no stated basis. If it names only an automated tool, the reviewer knows that most criteria cannot be answered that way.

Name what was tested, with which assistive technology and browser combinations, by whom, and over what period. "NVDA 2024.4 with Firefox on Windows 11" is the level of specificity that closes the question; "a screen reader" is not.

Absolute claims

Phrases like "fully compliant", "100% accessible", or a certification claim cannot be supported by a self-evaluation, and a reviewer who finds one tends to discount the entire document. Mentioning an accessibility overlay has the same effect, for the same reason.

A report is more persuasive when its limits are visible. Replace the absolute claim with what the evaluation found.

A document that does not say what it is about

A report that does not name the product, the exact version evaluated, and the report date cannot be matched to the thing being bought, and cannot be shown to be current. Leftover template instructions have a smaller but similar effect: they signal the document was not read end to end before it was sent.