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Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to the RCVS website at https://www.rcvs.org.uk.

How you should be able to use this website

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of these websites are not fully accessible. For example:

  • PDF documents may not be fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some videos may not have captions
  • some pages may contain minor errors such as incorrect heading hierarchy or broken anchor links

Technical information about this website's accessibility

The RCVS is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. Heading structure and hierarchy - A number of pages across the site contain incorrect heading order or missing heading levels, which can make it difficult for screen reader users to navigate content. Some headings lack discernible text, which can occur as a side effect of the content editor when applying heading styles. We are working through these pages to identify and correct the issues. (Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A); Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA))
  2. Third-party embedded content - Some pages contain embedded content provided by third parties, including but not limited to video players, data visualisation tools, and interactive maps. In some cases these embeds introduce accessibility issues such as incorrect ARIA roles, missing labels, insufficient contrast, or missing alternative text that are outside of our direct control. We are reviewing how this content is presented across the site and will seek to provide accessible alternatives where possible. Known examples include the Vimeo video player used on the homepage and Microsoft Power BI embeds used on some data pages. (Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A); Criterion 1.4.11 Non-Text Contrast (AA); Criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A))

Many documents are in PDF format. they are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

Feedback and contact information

Tell us if you need information in a different format.

In your message, please include:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your email address and name
  • the format you need - for example, plain text, or large print.

Reporting accessibility problems with these websites

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are continuing to convert more of our older PDF format documents into longform HTML content.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 February 2026. It was last reviewed on 18 February 2026.

This website was last tested in February 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. 

As part of the testing process, a set of representative sample pages was identified that contained the most commonly used page templates and components.