Support accessibility review

Accessibility reviews often stop at the marketing site. Support is where problems become urgent — and where teams hide behind "call us", CAPTCHA gates, and PDF-only policy documents. This is a practical operations audit, not legal advice. It answers: can someone with common access needs complete a support journey?

Scope the journeys

Test end-to-end paths, not individual pages:

Journey	Minimum path
Get help on billing error	Help centre → contact → resolution
Account locked out	Recovery → verify identity → support
Report accessibility barrier	Feedback channel that does not require the barrier
Escalate unresolved issue	Supervisor or complaint route
Receive critical reply	Email/SMS/portal notification readable with AT

Assign modality personas — do not require one person to represent all needs:

• Screen reader + keyboard only.
• No hearing on phone path (relay if offered).
• No speech — text-only contact.
• Low vision — zoom, contrast, no colour-only status.
• Cognitive load — plain language, consistent steps.

Channel checklist

Channel	Pass criteria	Common failures
Help centre	Headings, labels, focus order, alt text	Search autocomplete unreachable
Web chat	Keyboard open/close, readable transcript	Widget trap focus
Email form	Labels, error identification	CAPTCHA without audio alternative
Phone	Clear IVR, callback option, wait info	Voice-only identity steps
Callback	Request without holding live line	Callback only after long hold
Social/DM	Private handoff to accessible channel	Support only via public reply
In-app	Support entry same AT as app	Hidden behind gesture-only menu

Authentication and barriers

Barrier	Who it blocks	Mitigation pattern
CAPTCHA on contact form	Vision, cognitive	Accessible CAPTCHA, honeypot, rate limit
SMS-only 2FA for login	No mobile, hearing relay issues	Alternate verification with fraud review
Voice-only identity	Deaf, speech impaired	Secure async verification path
Photo ID upload only	Motor, vision	Alternate verification policy
Time-limited magic links	Cognitive, assistive tech delay	Regenerate without penalty

Document alternate paths agents can invoke — not "we'll figure it out."

Hours and staffing

• Is there any human reachable path within published hours for each tier?
• After hours: is bot/KB equally accessible, or a worse experience?
• Relay / text relay (where applicable): published number and agent training.

Alternate formats

Customers may request:

• Large print, plain language summary.
• Structured email instead of PDF attachment.
• Transcript of phone call.

Check
Policy exists and is findable
Agents trained; not "we don't do that"
SLA for format provision
No charge for reasonable format

Agent tooling accessibility

Agents with disabilities also need accessible workspaces. Inaccessible internal tools produce inaccessible replies — template pickers, knowledge search, after-call work forms. Include internal UI in scope when agent population includes AT users.

Scoring and severity

Severity	Example
Blocker	Cannot submit contact without CAPTCHA alternative
Major	Phone-only path for security issue
Minor	Low contrast on non-critical help article
Process	No documented alternate verification

Do not average severities into one score. List blockers first with journey and reproduction steps.

Traps

Overlay widgets. Third-party "accessibility" buttons do not fix support forms.

PDF-only legal or policy replies. Inaccessible attachment on ticket close.

Assuming chat is accessible. Many widgets fail focus and announcements.

Testing with automated scan only. Support flows need manual AT passes.

Conflating compliance badge with reachable support.

Present results to the user

1. Journey results table — persona × journey × pass/fail/blocker.
2. Blocker list — reproduction steps, affected channels, suggested fix type.
3. Authentication alternatives — gaps and proposed operational paths.
4. Hours and channel gaps — who is unreachable when.
5. Agent-side findings — if internal tools block accessible service delivery.
6. Prioritised remediation — blockers before polish; owner suggestions by team (product, web, support ops, telephony).