Authorized Entities: Development and Distribution of Specialized Formats
Authorized entities may access NIMAS filesets, convert them to specialized formats, and distribute them to qualified students with print disabilities after registering with the NIMAC as accessible media producers (AMPs) and signing a Limitation-of-Use Agreement (LUA) provided by the NIMAC. In addition, a textbook and/or core print-related material(s) must be requested by an authorized user (AU) assigned by a state education agency (SEA). It will then be possible for an authorized entity to obtain NIMAS filesets (source files) from the NIMAC.
These entities qualify for a special exemption to copyright law and are thus able to distribute content for which electronic rights may not have been provided to educational publishers in order to improve access for qualified individuals with disabilities. A defintion for "authorized entity" is provided within Public Law 104-197 (also known as the Chafee Amendment), Section 121(c)(1):
(c) For purposes of this section, the term—
(1) 'authorized entity' means a nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities;
In addition, the NIMAS and NIMAC language in IDEA 2004 applies to K–12 education, so NIMAS content preparation and distribution pertains to K–12 educational materials. To learn more about organizations that qualify as authorized entities, please refer to the 
NLS fact sheet on the Copyright Law Amendment.
A tentative list of these entities is provided below. Additional recommendations should be emailed to aim [at] cast [dot] org.
Authorized entities include—