All standards and laws

Section 504

Section 504 web accessibility compliance

Section 504 prohibits disability discrimination by any organization that receives federal financial assistance, including in its websites and online services. We assess your digital services against the WCAG Level AA benchmark that enforcement agencies apply.

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What Section 504 means for your website

  • Who is covered

    • Public school districts
    • Colleges and universities that receive federal funds or federal student aid
    • Libraries, health departments, and social service programs funded by federal grants

  • Which standard applies

    Section 504 does not itself name a technical standard for web content. The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights uses WCAG Level AA in its resolution agreements with school districts and universities.

  • Recipients of HHS funding

    The HHS Section 504 rule requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA. In May 2026 HHS extended its compliance dates by one year.

    • May 11, 2027: recipients with 15 or more employees
    • May 10, 2028: recipients with fewer than 15 employees

  • One assessment for both

    Public school districts and universities are usually covered by Section 504 and ADA Title II at the same time. One assessment against WCAG 2.1 Level AA serves both.

How we assess

We test a representative sample of your website and online services, including those supplied by vendors, using the DHS Trusted Tester process. Each finding is reported against the WCAG success criterion it fails.

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Sources

This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.