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VEVRAA and Section 503 Affirmative Action Plan Templates, Updated for 2026
VEVRAA and Section 503 affirmative action plan templates for federal contractors, updated for the 9/21/2026 rules: Word AAPs, data workbook and guide.
For HR and compliance teams at federal contractors
VEVRAA and Section 503 Affirmative Action Plan Kit
$149USD · one-time purchase · instant download
Write and maintain both affirmative action plans under the rules that took effect on 9/21/2026. Two editable Word AAPs with guidance and sample wording, a data workbook that calculates the VEVRAA numbers for you, and a guide with an annual calendar and audit-ready checklist.
- VEVRAA AAP template: 16 sections following 41 CFR 60-300.44, with a sample policy statement, outreach assessment, data collection table and hiring benchmark worksheet
- Section 503 AAP template rewritten for the 2026 rule: no self-ID, utilization goal or data collection analysis, plus an accommodation procedure and ICT accessibility review
- Workbook: requisitions with a concurrent job-listing check, applicants, self-ID log, 3-year data collection (k), national or five-factor benchmark
- Outreach effectiveness log, accommodation log, qualification standards review schedule, annual checklist and VETS-4212 prep from your roster
- 7-page guide: who needs which plan, what changed in 2026, an annual calendar and an audit-ready checklist
You get: 2 Word templates · Excel workbook (Google Sheets-ready) · 7-page PDF guide
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02
What VEVRAA requires and who needs a written plan
VEVRAA, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, bars federal contractors from discriminating against protected veterans and requires them to take affirmative action to employ and advance them. A contractor with 50 or more employees and a federal contract or subcontract of $200,000 or more must prepare a written VEVRAA affirmative action plan (AAP) for each establishment within 120 days of the contract starting, update it every year, and send it to OFCCP within 30 days of a request. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act requires a similar written plan for individuals with disabilities from contractors with 50 or more employees and a contract of $50,000 or more.
| VEVRAA | Section 503 | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic coverage | Contract of $200,000 or more | Contract over $20,000 |
| Written AAP | 50+ employees and $200,000+ contract | 50+ employees and $50,000+ contract |
| Self-ID invitations | Pre-offer and post-offer, required | Rescinded 9/21/2026 |
| Numbers | Data collection analysis and yearly hiring benchmark | No utilization goal or data collection since 9/21/2026 |
| Records | Outreach records kept 3 years; VEVRAA data and benchmark records also 3 years | |
The VEVRAA dollar threshold rose from $150,000 to $200,000, and the basic Section 503 threshold from $15,000 to $20,000, under the federal inflation adjustment effective 10/1/2025. The Department of Labor wrote the new amounts into the regulations effective 9/21/2026 (41 CFR 60-300.40, 41 CFR 60-741.40). Protected veterans are disabled veterans, recently separated veterans (within three years of discharge), active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal veterans.
03
What a VEVRAA affirmative action plan must contain
The required elements are listed in 41 CFR 60-300.44: a posted policy statement signed off by the top U.S. executive, a review of personnel processes, a schedule for reviewing physical and mental job qualifications, reasonable accommodation, harassment procedures, outreach and positive recruitment, internal dissemination, an audit and reporting system, a named responsible official, training, and a yearly data collection analysis.
- Job listings: list every opening with the state employment service delivery system, such as the state job bank, at least at the same time as any other recruitment (60-300.5).
- Self-identification: invite applicants to self-identify as protected veterans before any offer, and invite new hires to identify their specific category after the offer and before they start (60-300.42).
- Data collection analysis: each year, count protected veteran applicants, job openings and jobs filled, total applicants, protected veteran hires and total hires, and keep the figures for 3 years (60-300.44(k)).
- Hiring benchmark: each year, adopt the national benchmark OFCCP publishes, 5.1% since 7/30/2025 according to the DOL benchmark page, or set your own using five factors (60-300.45). It is a yardstick, not a quota.
- Outreach assessment: each year, judge whether the past twelve months of outreach worked, using at least three years of the data above, and add new efforts if it did not (60-300.44(f)(3)).
- VETS-4212: file between August 1 and September 30 for each hiring location (VETS).
04
What changed for Section 503 and Executive Order 11246 in 2026
A Department of Labor final rule published 8/21/2026 and effective 9/21/2026 (91 FR 54482) removed three Section 503 requirements: the invitations to self-identify disability (pre-offer, post-offer and the 5-year employee resurvey on Form CC-305), the data collection analysis, and the 7% utilization goal and analysis. Contractors also no longer have to use counts of applicants or hires with disabilities when judging outreach. The written Section 503 plan itself, and every other element, still applies.
VEVRAA's self-ID, data collection and benchmark rules were not removed; its final rule (91 FR 54234) updated thresholds and removed references to Executive Order 11246. Executive Order 11246 was revoked on 1/21/2025, and the rule rescinding its regulations takes effect 10/26/2026 (91 FR 54444). OFCCP says Section 503 and VEVRAA remain in effect and contractors should keep complying.
05
What is inside
VEVRAA AAP template (Word)
Sixteen sections in the order of 60-300.44, each with a guidance box, sample wording with gold placeholders, tables for process reviews, outreach assessment, data collection and the hiring benchmark, and signature blocks.
Section 503 AAP template (Word)
Rewritten for the 9/21/2026 rule. Covers policy, personnel processes and ICT accessibility, qualifications, an accommodation procedure, outreach, audit and reporting with objectives, training and voluntary programs.
AAP data workbook
Requisitions, applicants and self-ID logs feed a 3-year data collection analysis and a benchmark comparison. Outreach, accommodation and qualification review logs, an annual checklist and VETS-4212 counts by job category.
Guide, calendar and audit checklist
A 7-page PDF on who needs which plan, each required element, the 2026 changes, a month-by-month calendar and an audit-ready checklist for both plans.
06
How to use it
Confirm coverage
Check contract values and headcount for each establishment, then enter your plan years and locations on the workbook Setup tab.
Log as you go
Record openings, applicants, self-ID invitations, outreach and accommodation requests through the year.
Write the plans
Fill the gold placeholders in both Word templates, paste in the workbook figures and delete the guidance boxes.
Review every year
Assess outreach, set the benchmark, work the checklist and file the VETS-4212 between August 1 and September 30.
07
VEVRAA and Section 503 AAP questions
Who needs a VEVRAA affirmative action plan?
What is the current VEVRAA hiring benchmark?
Is the Section 503 7% utilization goal still required?
Do we still need to invite applicants to self-identify as protected veterans?
When is the VETS-4212 report due?
What happened to Executive Order 11246 affirmative action plans?
Does this kit make our plan compliant?
08
Important
This kit is a set of templates and record-keeping tools, not legal advice. Rules change: check the current text of 41 CFR parts 60-300, 60-741 and 61-300 and the OFCCP and VETS websites before you finalize a plan, and have a qualified employment lawyer or compliance adviser review your completed documents. Rules in this kit were checked on 10/24/2026. Greenwolf Tech Labs is not a law firm and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Labor, OFCCP or VETS.
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