Section 508 Website Compliance: Complete Guide

What Is Section 508?

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (amended in 1998) requires that federal agencies and federal contractors make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. For websites, Section 508 was updated in 2017 to adopt WCAG 2.0 Level AA as its technical standard — substantially similar to the WCAG 2.1 AA standard applied in ADA cases.

Who Must Comply With Section 508?

Section 508 applies to federal government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding or contracts. This includes federal departments, federal contractors and subcontractors, organizations that receive federal grants, and educational institutions receiving federal funding. Section 508 does NOT apply to private businesses with no federal relationship — those businesses fall under ADA Title III instead.

Section 508 vs ADA: Key Differences

Section 508 applies to federal entities and contractors. ADA Title III applies to private businesses serving the public. Both use WCAG as their technical reference standard. Section 508 enforcement is primarily through federal complaints and contract compliance. ADA enforcement includes private civil lawsuits — the source of the 4,500+ annual lawsuits targeting private business websites. If you're a federal contractor, you may need to meet both standards.

WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508

The 2017 Section 508 refresh adopted WCAG 2.0 Level AA as its technical standard. WCAG 2.1 adds several additional success criteria to WCAG 2.0 — most notably mobile accessibility improvements. Federal agencies are increasingly moving toward WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. ADAWebPro scans against WCAG 2.1 AA, which meets or exceeds current Section 508 technical requirements.

Section 508 Enforcement

Section 508 complaints can be filed with the federal agency's Section 508 coordinator or with the Access Board. Federal contractors found non-compliant may face contract termination or exclusion from future federal contracts. Unlike ADA lawsuits which are filed in federal district courts, Section 508 enforcement primarily flows through administrative channels.

Getting Compliant for Both Standards

Because Section 508 and ADA both use WCAG as their technical standard, a website that meets WCAG 2.1 AA is substantially compliant with both. ADAWebPro's scanning and monitoring program helps both private businesses (ADA compliance) and federal contractors (Section 508 compliance) maintain accessible websites through continuous automated scanning.