Agent Wranglers

AXS-78Recommended US law

Give US federal buyers a Section 508 report

Before you sell software or a service to a US federal agency, give it an Accessibility Conformance Report against the Revised 508 Standards. The report covers every WCAG 2.0 A and AA criterion and the software and documentation provisions that apply.

By Agent Wranglers. Updated .

Region

United States (US). The duty comes from the law there. The rule applies only when the project serves people there, and its Applies when also holds.

How to do it

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act binds the agencies. ICT they buy, build, maintain or use must conform to the Revised 508 Standards (E201.1). When nothing on the market conforms fully, they must buy what conforms best (E202.7), so the report decides the sale. The standards take in WCAG 2.0 A and AA for web content (E205.4) and apply them to software and documents too. Chapter 5 adds software rules, such as platform accessibility features, and chapter 6 covers documentation and support. WCAG 2.2 AA holds every WCAG 2.0 AA criterion, so one audit serves both when the report maps each result. Use the VPAT 508 or INT edition and fill it in as Publish your own conformance report says.

How to check

Each product offered to federal buyers has a report on the VPAT 508 or INT edition, dated after its last major release. It gives a result and a remark for every WCAG 2.0 A and AA criterion and every chapter 5 and 6 provision that applies.

Sources

For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/accessibility/law-and-statements/section-508">Agent Wranglers accessibility playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.