Kept Record

Section 508: the United States federal government's own accessibility standard, and how far it reaches into private business.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act binds federal departments and agencies when they build, buy, maintain or use information technology. It does not bind private companies' own websites. It reaches a company only when the company sells technology to the federal government.

Who it applies to

Each federal department and agency, including the Postal Service, must ensure that the information and communication technology it develops, procures, maintains or uses is accessible to people with disabilities.

each Federal department or agency, including the United States Postal Service, shall ensure 29 U.S.C. § 794d(a)(1)(A), United States Code, 2024 edition.

It does not apply to the web pages of private industry.

It does not apply to web pages of private industry. U.S. Access Board, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508, undated page, read 16 September 2026.

It reaches a company through procurement: federal acquisitions of information and communication technology must meet the accessibility standards, so a vendor's product must.

acquisitions for ICT supplies and services shall meet the applicable ICT accessibility standards 48 CFR 39.203(a), Federal Acquisition Regulation, eCFR, section last amended 6 December 2021.

Technology a contractor merely uses in the course of a contract, rather than delivers, does not have to conform.

ICT acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract shall not be required to conform 36 CFR part 1194, Appendix A, E202.4, eCFR, section last amended 23 March 2018.

What it requires

The standards are the Revised 508 Standards, published by the Access Board in the Code of Federal Regulations.

are set forth in Appendices A, C and D to this part 36 CFR 1194.1, eCFR, section last amended 23 March 2018.

For web content and software, the standards incorporate WCAG 2.0 at Levels A and AA.

conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 36 CFR part 1194, Appendix A, E205.4, eCFR, section last amended 23 March 2018.

The revised standards were published on 18 January 2017.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines 82 FR 5790, final rule, 18 January 2017.

Agencies had to meet them from 18 January 2018, a year after publication.

compliance with the section 508-based standards is not required until January 18, 2018 U.S. Access Board, Revised 508 Standards, Dates, undated page, read 16 September 2026.

Who enforces it, and the penalties

There is no fine. Section 508 is enforced through complaints and lawsuits against the agency, not against a vendor. The Access Board writes the standards; it does not investigate Section 508 complaints.

A person may complain to the department or agency that is said not to comply, using the same procedure the agency uses for complaints under Section 504.

shall be filed with the Federal department or agency alleged to be in noncompliance 29 U.S.C. § 794d(f)(2), United States Code, 2024 edition.

Complaints about access to technology are investigated by the agency responsible, not by the Access Board.

complaints concerning access to technology will be investigated by the responsible Federal agency U.S. Access Board, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508, undated page, read 16 September 2026.

What meeting it looks like in practice

For a private company, Section 508 matters in one situation: selling software or a website service to a federal agency. The agency's contract will ask for conformance with the Revised 508 Standards, which for web content means WCAG 2.0 Level AA, and will usually ask for a written conformance report against them. A company that does not sell to the federal government has no obligation under Section 508, and a company's own public website is never within it.

Sources

Every source on this page was fetched and its quotation confirmed on 18 September 2026, today. That date is written by the script that checked, not by a person.

A directive binds member states, who write it into national law. The national act can name a different authority, set a different penalty, or add duties. The sources here are the directive and three national acts; yours may differ.

Nothing on this page is about a product. The record a business keeps of its own site is its own affair, and no tool makes a site meet a law.

This page describes the law as it is written in the sources cited. It is not legal advice, it does not cover every case, and national law can add to what a directive requires. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer.

This page describes what the system does, written by the people who built it. It has not yet been reviewed by a lawyer, and it will be before anything on this site can be bought.