Indicator 26 — Welcoming people with disabilities
You must mobilise the expertise, tools and networks needed to welcome, support or refer people with disabilities, and appoint an identified disability officer.
Applies to: OF · CFA · VAE · CBC
What the auditor actually checks
Indicator 26 is one of the most scrutinised of the framework, and one where the auditor's attention is near systematic: disability is a national priority and non-conformities are frequent. Three expectations structure the review:
- An appointed disability officer: does their name appear anywhere (website, welcome booklet, programmes)? Can they explain their role? For an independent, the trainer is their own officer — accepted, provided you own it and write it down.
- A network you can mobilise: the auditor asks which partners you would call when an adaptation need exceeds your skills: Agefiph, the Ressources Handicap Formation (RHF) network, Cap emploi, the MDPH, specialised associations.
- A welcome and adaptation procedure: how do you detect a need (a question asked at registration), how do you analyse possible adjustments (duration, materials, pace, premises accessibility), and what do you do if you cannot adapt (a documented referral)?
Achieving compliance, step by step
1. Appoint and display the disability officer
Name the officer, mention them on your website and welcome documents with a direct contact. Have them attend an awareness session (the free Agefiph or RHF webinars do the job) and keep the certificate.
2. Build detection into your enrolment path
Add a systematic question to the needs-analysis questionnaire: "Do you have any specific adjustment needs (disability, health constraints)?". It is the simplest and most convincing proof that the topic is built into your process, not bolted on.
3. Build your address book
A one-page table suffices: organisation, field, contact, website. Include at minimum Agefiph, your region's RHF, Cap emploi and one association related to your sector. You do not need signed agreements: identified, current contacts suffice.
4. Write the adaptation procedure
One page: detection → interview with the beneficiary → analysis of possible adjustments → implementation or reasoned referral → traceability. Keep a register of requests, even empty: it proves the circuit exists.
Field advice
Never say in an audit "I have never had a disabled trainee, so it does not apply": the indicator applies to everyone, preventively. Say instead: "here is how I would detect the need, here is who I would contact, here is what I can adapt myself". An auditor prefers a small structure lucid about its limits and equipped to refer, over an unverifiable universal-accessibility speech.
The evidence the auditor expects
- P.1Disability officer's name and contact published (website, welcome booklet, programmes)
- P.2Awareness or training certificate of the disability officer
- P.3Adjustment-needs detection question in the registration or needs-analysis form
- P.4Up-to-date list of partners (Agefiph, Ressources Handicap Formation, Cap emploi, MDPH, associations)
- P.5Welcome, adaptation and referral procedure for people with disabilities
- P.6Register of adjustment requests and outcomes (even empty, it proves the circuit)
Common mistakes in audits
- Treating the indicator as not applicable for lack of past disabled beneficiaries
- Displaying a disability officer who cannot describe their role or name a single partner
- Copying a generic procedure without adapting it to your premises, formats and sector
- No traceability of adjustment requests and the answers given
- Promising full accessibility instead of honestly documenting possible adjustments and referral
FAQ — indicator 26
+Is a disability officer mandatory for Qualiopi?
In practice, yes: indicator 26 requires mobilising expertise and an identified disability contact. For an independent trainer, the role can be held by the trainer, provided it is formalised and displayed.
+Are wheelchair-accessible premises required to pass indicator 26?
Not necessarily. The indicator requires detecting needs, adapting what can be adapted (formats, materials, pace, venue) and referring to a partner when the adaptation exceeds your means, in a documented way.
+Which partners should be named in an audit?
The essentials: Agefiph, your region's Ressources Handicap Formation network, Cap emploi and the MDPH. Add an association specialised in your sector. Identified contacts suffice, without signed agreements.
+Can indicator 26 result in a major non-conformity?
Yes. The total absence of a system (no officer, no network, no procedure) is classed as major and blocks certification until corrected. It is one of the most sanctioned indicators in initial audits.