What Is Section 508? Requirements, Coverage, and Enforcement

Section 508 is a federal law that requires every federal agency to make its electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities, including federal employees and members of the public who use government systems. Part of the Rehabilitation Act, it sets binding technical standards that cover websites, software, electronic documents, phones, video content, and self-service kiosks, and it reaches private contractors when they deliver technology to a federal agency.¹

What the Law Requires

When a federal agency develops, buys, maintains, or uses information and communication technology, that technology must give people with disabilities access comparable to what everyone else gets.¹ The current standards, in effect since January 18, 2018, incorporate the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA by reference and apply those success criteria to web content, electronic documents, and software alike.² A page or document that fails even one of the 38 applicable WCAG success criteria does not conform.

WCAG organizes its requirements around four principles, often abbreviated POUR:

Perceivable. Users must be able to detect the content. Images need text descriptions, videos need captions, and color alone can’t carry meaning because someone who is colorblind would miss it.
Operable. Users must be able to navigate and interact with every control. A person who relies on a keyboard instead of a mouse must be able to reach every link, button, and form field, and timed content must give users enough time to read and respond.
Understandable. Pages must behave predictably, forms must give clear error messages, and content must be written so users can comprehend it. A form that auto-submits when a user selects an option fails this principle.
Robust. Content must work reliably with assistive technologies like screen readers, magnification software, and voice control tools. Assistive technology depends on clean, well-structured code to interpret the page correctly.

The formally incorporated version is WCAG 2.0, not the more recent 2.1 or 2.2. Many agencies aim for 2.1 AA in practice because it adds success criteria for mobile accessibility and cognitive disabilities, but the legally binding floor remains WCAG 2.0 Level AA.²

Who Has to Follow It

Section 508 applies to every federal department and agency, including the United States Postal Service. The obligation runs in two directions: federal employees with disabilities must be able to use the same systems as their coworkers, and members of the public with disabilities must be able to access the same online services and information as anyone else.¹

Private companies that contract with federal agencies are covered too. If a contractor provides technology or digital content to an agency, that technology must conform to the Section 508 standards.³ Technology a contractor uses internally, and that isn’t part of the deliverable to the agency, falls outside the requirement.

One boundary worth naming, because it trips up people constantly: Section 508 does not directly apply to universities, hospitals, or other organizations simply because they receive federal funding. That broader obligation comes from Section 504 of the same law, discussed below.

What Technology Is Covered

The law reaches a broad category called electronic and information technology, sometimes labeled information and communication technology. In practical terms, that means any equipment or system used to create, store, process, or transmit data. Common examples include:

Public-facing websites and internal intranet portals, along with web applications
Software and operating systems, from off-the-shelf productivity tools to custom agency applications
Electronic documents such as PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets, and presentations that agencies publish or distribute⁴
Telecommunications products including desk phones, mobile devices, and messaging systems
Video and multimedia content such as webinars, video conferences, training videos, and streaming
Self-service machines like information kiosks and self-checkout systems

The “develop, buy, maintain, or use” language is deliberately broad, covering new purchases and existing systems alike.

Exceptions to the Rule

Section 508 isn’t absolute. The regulations recognize six situations where full conformance isn’t required:⁵

Legacy ICT. Technology that met the pre-2018 standards and has not been altered since January 18, 2018, does not need to be retrofitted. Once you modify it, the altered components must conform to the current rules.
National security systems. ICT operated as part of a national security system is exempt. Routine administrative systems like payroll and personnel management do not qualify, even inside a national security agency.⁶
Contractor-incidental ICT. Technology a contractor acquires for its own internal use, not as part of the deliverable, is exempt.
Maintenance and monitoring spaces. Controls and indicators located in spaces accessed only by service personnel for repair or monitoring are exempt.
Undue burden or fundamental alteration. If conforming would impose significant difficulty or expense, or would fundamentally change the nature of the technology, an agency can claim an exception. The bar is high: a responsible agency official must document the determination in writing, identifying the specific standards at issue, the affected features, and the factors behind the decision. Even then, the agency must provide people with disabilities an alternative way to access the same information.⁷
Best meets. When no commercially available product fully conforms, the agency must buy the product that comes closest while still meeting business needs.

Undue burden is where most disputes land. A vague assertion that accessibility is “too expensive” doesn’t satisfy the documentation requirement, and the obligation to provide alternative access never disappears even when the exception applies.¹

How Section 508 Is Enforced

Section 508 borrows its enforcement teeth from Section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act, which makes available the remedies and procedures of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and allows courts to award reasonable attorney’s fees to prevailing parties.⁸ Enforcement runs through two channels.

Filing an Administrative Complaint

Federal agencies use the same complaint procedures they already have for Section 504 discrimination complaints. If you encounter inaccessible federal technology, file a written complaint with the offending agency, typically by email, online form, or mail.⁹ Identify the inaccessible technology, where it’s located, and how it created a barrier. Each agency handles its own complaints internally, and the quality and speed vary significantly from one agency to the next.

Suing in Federal Court

After exhausting administrative remedies, an individual can file a civil lawsuit in federal court. Courts can grant equitable relief, meaning they can order an agency to fix the problem and issue declarations about its obligations. Compensatory and punitive damages are not available under Section 508. The availability of attorney’s fees can make litigation financially viable, because a prevailing plaintiff can recover legal costs.⁸

Section 508 vs. Section 504

These two sections of the Rehabilitation Act overlap in ways that confuse even experienced compliance professionals. Section 508 is a technology-specific mandate: federal agencies must make their ICT accessible from the start. Section 504 is a broader civil rights protection: no qualified person with a disability can be excluded from any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, or conducted by a federal agency.¹⁰

The practical difference matters most for organizations outside the federal government. A state university that receives federal research grants is covered by Section 504 but not directly by Section 508. Section 504 requires the university to ensure people with disabilities can participate equally in its programs, which increasingly means making digital content accessible. The specific WCAG-based technical standards come from Section 508, and many institutions adopt them voluntarily as a concrete way to demonstrate Section 504 compliance.

For federal agencies, the two sections work in tandem. Meeting Section 508 by building accessible technology is often the most efficient way to satisfy Section 504’s equal-access requirement. But Section 504 sometimes demands more. If a particular individual needs a specific accommodation to access information, the agency may need to provide it even when the underlying technology already meets Section 508 standards.¹⁰ Section 508 sets the baseline for technology design. Section 504 ensures no one falls through the cracks.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 794d – Electronic and Information Technology
2
Section508.gov. Applicability and Conformance Requirements
3
Acquisition.gov. 2952.239-70 – Section 508 Requirements
4
Section508.gov. Accessible Documents
5
eCFR. 36 CFR Part 1194 – Information and Communication Technology Standards and Guidelines
6
Section508.gov. Understanding Section 508 Exceptions
7
Section508.gov. Update and Maintain Agency Policy
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 794a – Remedies and Attorney Fees
9
Section508.gov. Best Practices For Establishing And Maintaining a Formal Section 508 Complaint Process
10
HHS.gov. What is Section 504 and How Does It Relate to Section 508