Among the most significant changes are the widespread use of mobile technology and the increasing use of mobile devices to perform a variety of ict functions. When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology, each federal department or. With very few exceptions, if section 508 applies you must conform to all three set of requirements to be considered section 508 compliant. Hud policy on section 508 of the rehabilitation act and accessible technology 1. Dhs section 508 compliance test process for ios mobile. Section 508 of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended 29 u. We are committed to developing products that are accessible to the largest number of users possible and to making our products operate with popular assistive technology products. Follow these steps to use adobe acrobat to create accessible pdfs. Hhs section 508 accessibility checklists the below checklists are the official hhs accessibility checklists. A good way to check the accessibility of a document is to use tools that. Irs section 508 compliant pdf forms internal revenue service. Expand the document category in the accessibility checker pane to view issues figure 8. How to create accessible portable document format pdf documents that conform to the revised 508 standards. Micropurchases and section 508 requirements how to make micropurchases that conform with the revised 508 standards technology accessibility playbook.
In the absence of explicit postal service direction or policy related to a general requirement or technical standards, refer to section 508 itself. The purpose of this document is to guide authors in correctly tagging pdf documents based on wcag. Commissioner of internal revenue, the united states tax court agreed that, under section 508 c1 of the tax code churches do not have to apply for tax exempt status and are considered automatically exempt. Dec 21, 2000 section 508 requires that when federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be. Each section 508 standard is mapped to the dhs pdf testing process for testers who are more familiar with the alphabetical approach. While many of these standards relate to coding and the work of web designers or developers, several standards pertain directly to how content is added to a site.
Section 508 applies to all digital documents but as far as pdfs are concerned. You may need a pdf reader to view some of the files on this page. Introduction section 508 of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended, 29 u. While there are some exceptions to section 508, they are rarely applicable. The rule is slated to go into effect in march, 2018, and references wcag 2. The sixyear process of updating these requirements constitutes the first refresh since section 508 was created in 1998. All electronic communication and documentation created by cms employees and contractors must be 508 compliant. If you choose to scan, run the text recognition ocr feature of adobe acrobat to make the text accessible to a screen reader and then run the accessibility checker to ensure that the document meets the other accessibility requirements. If youve heard the terms section 508 or 508 compliance and wondered what they mean, youre not alone. For a pdf to be section 508 compliant, they need to be tagged so that. Section 508 amendment to the rehabilitation act of 1973. Tools for checking accessibility section 508 compliance.
With this background presented, this topic will explore several issues that have been considered in connection with irc 508 notice requirements. Review webaim alternative text for appropriate use of alternative text. Federal agencies are required to follow section 508 and related laws and policies, to ensure government information and services are accessible to all. Sigmaplot section 508 compliance systat software, inc. Section 508 outlines the technical standards for accessibility that apply to websites. Run the accessibility full check view tools accessibility full check start checking. Enable tagging in the application in which the pdf was authored, and recreate the pdf. Section 508 pdf document accessibility test process. Section 508 requires federal agencies to make their ict such as technology, online training and websites accessible for everyone. As of january 2018, the technical requirements of section 508 have changed to incorporate wcag 2. The adobe accessibility checker has flagged an error.
Both sigmaplot and sigmastat have been designed and tested with section 508 standards in mind. Section 508 refresh understanding the new requirements. In addition, agency it accessibility program managers 508 coordinators and cios must report to omb twice per year on program maturity. A number of questions have arisen with respect to the date on which one.
Without running the text recognition function, scanned text is simply an image and therefore not accessible. In addition to section 508 requirements, hhs has policies, standards, and requirements for electronic documents that. For each map, note if there is an alt text equivalent provided for all active links. Search the html source for image maps image with an ismap or usemap attribute. The following standards are excerpted from section 508 of the rehabilitation act, 1194. Please include the web address and a description of the problems you have encountered. This page has information about the section 508 law, and the va section 508 office. Gain a better understanding of the general requirements of section 508. The forms on this page are provided in adobe acrobat portable document format. Meet accessibility standards and requirements like section 508, web content. Hud policy on section 508 of the rehabilitation act and. Send us your accessibility feedback, questions, or concerns.
If you would like to file a section 508 related complaint, refer to the notice of rights section below for instructions. Use art to buy and build technology thats accessible to all. Register for archive section 508 refresh understanding the new requirements. How to create 508 compliant adobe pdf documents dau home. This section provides references and guidance toward accomplishing that goal. As of january 2018, the technical requirements of section 508 have changed to incorporate. The us access board established the section 508 standards that implement the law and provides the requirements for accessibility. To fix this item automatically, select tagged pdf on the accessibility checker panel, and then choose fix from the options menu. Pdfua provides normative technical specifications for the use of the. In addition to section 508 requirements, hhs has policies, standards, and requirements for electronic documents that include but are not limited to the following. These pdf forms are fully accessible but there is no computation, validation, or verification of the information you enter. The revised section 508 standards and section 255 guidelines address many changes to technology that have occurred since 2000. Several rules and regulations have been created to address these challenges.
Nov 12, 20 if you acquire a client thats looking for accessible pdf files or needs to redesign their website so it meets section 508 requirements, try not to be too intimidated or turnedoff. The original section 508 dealt with electronic and information technologies, in recognition of the growth of this field. This is a link to the resources on testing for accessibility. Advocate for the use of authoring tools and document converters that enable users. Providing section 508 program support and coordination between the agency and the business component clearance officer. Review w3cs alt decision tree for guidance on how to describe images. A complete explanation of section 508 is available at.
A beginners guide to section 508 and accessibility compliance. Any time you are preparing an electronic document that will be posted online or distributed via email, whether its an internal document or an external document, you need to follow the section 508 guidelines. Section 508 guide tagging pdfs in adobe acrobat pro. Ict that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by agencies shall conform to these requirements. Reviewing new purchase requests originating within the usda business component to ensure usda compliance with federal section 508 requirements. Guidance for creating accessible content in adobe acrobat portable document format pdf that is compliant with section 508.
For a full list of the section 508 standards of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended 29 u. Section 508 is an amendment of the united states rehabilitation act of 1973 that extends protections for individuals with disabilities to websites run by the government and organizations that receive government funding. Accessibility checker like the spell checker that helps to identify possible spelling errors, the accessibility checker in word, p owerpoint, and excel helps you create accessible content by. Only use heading tags on pieces of text that define a section of content. Create and verify pdf accessibility, acrobat pro adobe support. But the court also stated, nothing in section 508 c1 relieves a church from having to meet the requirements of section 501c3. Section 508 was originally added as an amendment to the rehabilitation act of 1973 in 1986.
This documentation from adobe offers step by step instructions on how to run accessibility checks and fix errors. Four page guide to section 508 rules and regulations. How to build an effective section 508 program describes the 12 plays to integrate strategic, business and technology management into a successful section 508 program, to ensure federal ict. Beyond legibility, at developers can use the pdfua flag to enable software that leverages. The checklist below, a series of tables, is based on the content of the pdf.
The exceptions in irc 508c are interpreted and explained by reg. Follow these steps to use adobe acrobat to create accessible pdfs, check. Quick reference guide to section 508 checklist 1194. May 06, 2019 official hhs 508 accessibility checklists. The below checklists are the official hhs accessibility checklists. Run a full check of your document with the accessibility checker. Where ict displays video with synchronized audio, ict shall provide user controls for closed captions and audio descriptions. Does itext 7 create pdfs that are section 508 compliant. Although it may sound arduous or downright scary to learn, the fact of the matter is it simply requires steady adherence to compliance rules, many of which are. Everyone wins when information and communication technology ict reaches section 508 compliance. The term agency is defined in section e103 to include the united states postal service and other federal agencies and departments as specified in 44 u. A development, procurement, maintenance, or use of electronic and information technology. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
This issue is a violation of section 508 and wcag 2. Accessibility requirements tool art the accessibility requirements tool art is a stepbystep guide to help you easily identify relevant accessibility requirements from the revised 508 standards, and incorporate them into your procurement and contracting documentation, as well as inhouse it development. Cioc revised section 508 chapter 4 hardware including mobile. The term agency is defined in section e103 to include. If tagged pdf failed displays the document may contain scanned pages. Powerpoint, and excel 20 documents are section 508 compliant, i. This dhs section 508 compliance test process for ios mobile applications has been produced in support of this mission. Providing technical assistance on section 508 issues within the agency. Ensure 508 compliance with an accessibility strategy. The checklist below is outofdate and should not be used. The checklist from section a forward is based on the wcag 2. Dhs section 508 compliance test processes homeland security. Please visit other pages on the navigation pane to the right titled resources to view more information about accessibility and obtaining conformance with section 508.