All standards and laws

Section 508

Section 508 conformance testing

Section 508 requires federal agencies to develop, procure, and use accessible information and communication technology, and shapes what agencies require of their vendors. We test with the DHS Trusted Tester process, the federal method for evaluating web content.

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What Section 508 involves

  • Federal agencies

    Agencies must make their information and communication technology accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities, and must consider accessibility when they procure it.

  • Vendors and the ACR

    Vendors are asked to document conformance in an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), written in the VPAT format. An ACR is only as credible as the testing behind it.

  • The DHS Trusted Tester process

    A common, repeatable test process maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. Results are recorded in the DHS Section 508 Compliance Reporting Tool (SCRT).

  • Beyond WCAG 2.0

    Section 508 references WCAG 2.0. Organizations also subject to ADA Title II or Section 504 should be tested to WCAG 2.1 Level AA; one assessment can cover all three.

How we test

Testing follows the DHS Trusted Tester process and is performed by a DHS-certified tester. For vendors, results can be documented in an ACR based on criterion-by-criterion testing rather than self-assessment.

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Credentials

Certification
DHS Trusted Tester for Web on Windows
Issued by
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Holder
Zexing Tang
  • Real assistive technology: NVDA, keyboard, ANDI
  • Manual expert testing
  • DHS SCRT reporting

Sources

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