{"id":993461,"date":"2026-11-10T14:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifdb.io\/?page_id=993461"},"modified":"2026-11-10T14:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:55:20","slug":"section-508","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ifdb.io\/en\/usa\/section-508\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 508"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Section 508 \u00b7 Revised 508 Standards \u00b7 WCAG 2.0 AA \u00b7 ACR \u00b7 VPAT 2.5<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\nSection 508 compliance<\/span>\nfor federal agencies and their vendors<\/span><\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Section 508 shapes what federal agencies buy, and so it shapes what vendors have to show. Since January 18, 2018, the Revised 508 Standards have required WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA for the websites, documents and software that agencies develop, procure, maintain or use. If you sell software, SaaS, documents or services to the federal government, the buyer will usually ask for an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). This page explains what the standards require, how they compare with WCAG 2.1 and 2.2, and what makes an ACR hold up when a buyer checks it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Trusted by leading companies across the DACH region
Featured as an expert on ZDF WISO<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span><\/h2><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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What Section 508 is and why vendors feel it first<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. \u00a7 794d) requires federal agencies to make the information and communication technology (ICT) they develop, procure, maintain or use accessible to federal employees and members of the public with disabilities. The technical details are set out in the Revised 508 Standards of the U.S. Access Board (36 CFR Part 1194), published in January 2017 and applicable since January 18, 2018.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The law is addressed to agencies, not to companies. Vendors feel it through procurement: the Federal Acquisition Regulation requires acquisitions of ICT to meet the applicable standards, and solicitations pass that requirement on to every offeror. For a vendor, that usually means one thing in practice: the buyer asks for an ACR.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Legal status as of November 10, 2026.<\/strong> The Revised 508 Standards still reference WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA. We have found no rulemaking that would move them to WCAG 2.1 or 2.2. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) implements Section 508 in Part 39. This page explains the rules for agencies and vendors; it is not legal advice.<\/p>

The Revised 508 Standards: WCAG 2.0 AA for web, documents and software<\/h3>

The heart of the Revised 508 Standards<\/a> fits into two sentences. Electronic content must conform to the Level A and Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements of WCAG 2.0 (E205.4). The user interface and content of software must do the same (E207.2). This is the point many vendors miss: under Section 508, WCAG is not just a website standard. It applies to a PDF report, a Word template, a desktop application and a SaaS product alike.<\/p>

For non-web documents and non-web software, the standards read \u201cdocument\u201d or \u201csoftware\u201d wherever WCAG says \u201cweb page\u201d. Four success criteria that only make sense across a set of web pages do not apply to them: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.<\/p>

Where Section 508 goes beyond WCAG<\/h4>

A WCAG test alone does not answer every row of a 508 report. The standards add four chapters of their own:<\/p>