I took the IAAP CPACC Spanish pilot exam

After recently becoming a professional member of the IAAP, I felt it was time to take the next step toward being officially recognized as a certified accessibility professional.

I aim to work in places where I can advocate for the inclusive design of accessible products, content, and services, so that no one is excluded by inaccessible design. I care about this because the law requires it (opens in a new tab), and because it is the right thing to do (opens in a new tab).

Accessibility credentials

The IAAP offers a range of foundational and technical accessibility credentials. They are recognized worldwide, and employers increasingly list them as a preferred or required qualification (opens in a new tab).

I wanted to start my certification journey with a solid foundation of core principles, laws, and concepts behind all accessibility work.

So, I took the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) exam in Spanish (opens in a new tab). This pilot is a major milestone for the Spanish-speaking community, and I really appreciate that the association is expanding access by offering the exam in more languages.

The fundamentals

Keep in mind that the exam is not about memorization. It tests how you apply models, design principles, and laws to real situations.

In my experience, you should focus on a few key areas:

Study the theoretical models of disability alongside disability types across permanent, temporary, and situational contexts.
Understand disability etiquette, respectful language conventions, and the wider business case for accessibility.
Distinguish proactive Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning from reactive individual accommodations.
Connect accessibility, usability, and user experience within digital products and the physical built environment.
Learn the POUR principles and track how Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) criteria evolve across versions.
Review foundational legislation and standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and EN 301 549.
Steer organizational accessibility using the Accessibility Maturity Model and accessible procurement with Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs).

What helped me most was creating a mind map of how the main concepts connect. I found helpful diagrams and illustrations on Google Images (opens in a new tab) (e.g., universal design principles (opens in a new tab)) and pasted them into a whiteboard tool such as Miro (opens in a new tab) or Excalidraw (opens in a new tab) to visualize the ideas.

For study materials, I read the CPACC Body of Knowledge (opens in a new tab) cover to cover. Since it is quite dense, I also used complementary resources such as Chelsea11y.com (opens in a new tab), 100DaysOfA11y.com (opens in a new tab), A11yPrep.com (opens in a new tab), and A11yConsultant.com (opens in a new tab) to reinforce my knowledge and practice with quizzes.

Again, you do not need to memorize everything, only the core concepts. Focus on the right mindset, look at every question through the lens of barrier versus solution.

How it went

The exam was well structured, with 100 multiple-choice questions and a two-hour time limit.

I found a few questions confusing, though. For some, I simply did not know the answer, so I relied on intuition and common sense. I clearly still have room to study and improve! For others, the challenge was likely the language; since Spanish is not my native language, some terms and phrasing were difficult to interpret.

Two hours was more than enough. I had time to review my answers and take some extra notes before ending the session. Overall, I am confident it went well, and I should get my results sometime next month.

What is next

My next move is to prepare for the Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) (opens in a new tab) certification. Together with the CPACC, it will grant me the Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) (opens in a new tab) credential.