About "Section 508"

The following information is provided for Web site managers as resource material to assist in meeting the DOC Web Site Policy on Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and supports the Department's general Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Policy.

It is easy to become overwhelmed by the volume of information concerning Section 508. For example, in the regulations as they appeared in the Federal Register, the preamble is 23 pages; the actual standards (Part 1194) are 6 pages; and the Web-based standards themselves (Section 1194.22) are about one page, consisting primarily of a list of 14 items (a through p, shown above).

The following terms

Section 508 of the Rehabilitiation Act Amendments of 1998,
Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards,
"Accessibility standards"
Section 508,
36 CFR Part 1194,
Federal Register, Vol. 65, No. 246, p. 80500 et seq., Dec. 21, 2000

are all essentially different names for the same thing. They all refer to the accessibility regulations. Section 22 (1194.22) of the accessibility regulations, titled "Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications," applies specifically to Web sites. Section 21 (1194.21), titled "Software applications and operating systems," applies (among other things) to any plug-ins that are downloadable from a Federal Web site. Section 4 (1194.4) contains definitions of some important terms, such as "undue burden."

Department of Commerce Web Advisory Council (WAC)
U.S. Department of Commerce

Send questions and comments about this page to WAC@doc.gov
Page last updated October 12, 2010