In addition to section 508 requirements, hhs has policies, standards, and requirements for electronic documents that include. The original section 508 amendment was added to the rehabilitation act back in 1986. The standards cover the full range of electronic and information technologies in the federal sector. If this procurement is for components internal replacement parts, complete the following and sign this form on the second page. Note, much of this guidance predates the revised 508 standards. However, section 508 standards may not apply if the item was in use or being delivered under an existing contract or purchase order prior to the effective date of june 21, 2001referred to as existing eit and the work requested does not upgrade but maintains the item. Section 508 guide tagging pdfs in adobe acrobat pro. The eit standards ensure that federal employees with disabilities have access to and can readily use information and data that is. Section 508 was originally added as an amendment to the rehabilitation act of 1973 in 1986. Section 508 standards will become part of the federal acquisition regulation and other federal laws that govern agency buying. The section 508 of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended 29 u. The purpose of this document is to give vendors a significant and. Compliance is defined as meeting the requirements set forth in the section 508 technical standards, subpart c functional performance criteria and subpart d information, documentation and support. Adobe has a builtin accessibility checker, which is located under the tools section.
Section 508 of the rehabilitation act level access. Follow the revised 508 standards to ensure your information and communication technology ict is accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities. Section 508 standards do not apply to componentsinternal replacement parts to maintain any e it. Documents distributed via email includes broadcast messages and any attachments. Ssas guide to applying section 508 standards introduction. The second regulation issued to implement section 508 amended the federal acquisition regulations far to ensure that agency acquisitions of ict comply with the access boards standards. How to make pdf section 508 compliant agile web development. This regulation became enforceable on june 25, 2001. Notice regarding section 508 of the workforce investment act of 1998. Accessibility statement us department of education. General subpart a the standards define the types of technology covered and set forth provisions that establish a minimum level of accessibility. Briefly put, section 508 is part of the rehabilitation act of 1973, and has undergone several strengthening refreshes over the years. Irs section 508 compliant pdf forms internal revenue service. Revised dhs section 508 trusted tester certification exam top support version 5.
This applies to web applications, web pages and all attached files on the intranet, as well as, the internet. This includes, but is not limited to, the following. This page contains the cms section 508 policy which was approved by the cms section 508 official. It is also used to freeze or lock content that should remain intact or in context with other information. May 26, 2017 if youve heard the terms section 508 or 508 compliance and wondered what they mean, youre not alone. The eit standards ensure that federal employees with disabilities have access to and can readily use information and data that is comparable to the access and use by federal employees without disabilities. Commonlook pdf makes it possible to remediate to those standards.
In other words, any legacy ict that is unaltered and existing before or on. This page has information about the section 508 law, and the va section 508 office. The resources in this section were developed by federal agencies and shared here for your convenience. Dec 29, 2019 eit standards and section 508 compliance. Federal government revised 508 standards transition workgroup and gsa, shows how to integrate the standards into an existing 508 program. Certain settings must be configured in acrobat to ensure the file meets hhs standards and to pass the. The resources in this section were developed by federal agencies and. Access board published a final rule updating accessibility requirements for information and communication technology ict covered by section 508 of the rehabilitation act and section 255 of the communications act. These pdf forms are fully accessible but there is no computation, validation, or verification of the information you enter. Pdf testing and remediation guide ms word, march 2019. You can create pdfs to meet common accessibility standards, such as web content accessibility.
The law requires accessibility of electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government. Keep reading to learn more about section 508 and accessibility compliance. Section 508 pdf document accessibility test process. The passfail criteria in this document represent an interpretation of section 508 web standards. Please visit other pages on the navigation pane to the right titled. Section 508 of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended 29 u. The following standards are excerpted from section 508 of the rehabilitation act, 1194. A portable document format pdf is a file format created by adobe to create standard consistency when a document is physically printed from a standard printer. The forms on this page are provided in adobe acrobat portable document format. Section 508 background and standards va section 508 office.
The portable document format pdf is the standard format for online electronic publication of documents. Federal government agencies develop, procure, or maintain, information and communication technology ict, that it is accessible to persons with disabilities. A portable document format pdf is a file format created by adobe to create standard consistency when a document is physically printed from a. Conformance to requirements for softwareauthoring tools requirement in the revised 508 standards. Resources for developers and document authors guidance on how to create accessible electronic content. Federal laws, including section 508 of the rehabilitation act, mandate that people with disabilities have access to the same information that someone without a disability would have.
How to make pdfs 508 compliant a portable document format pdf is a file format created by adobe to create standard consistency when a. Section 508 of the workforce investment act of 1998 requires that all u. This checklist is not official section 508 documentation. Nov 12, 20 chances are sooner or later youre going to be assigned a project requiring 508 compliant accessibility standards. Both commonlook pdf and our pdf validator allow you test to section 508, wcag 2. Any ict, component of ict, or portion of ict falls under the safe harbor provision. While remediating an existing pdf document includes several steps previously described, a pdf which has been created from a poorly or unformatted microsoft document requires various and often time. Acrobat tools make it easy to create accessible pdfs and check the accessibility of existing pdfs. Testing and verification pdf accessibility and compliance. As of january 2018, the technical requirements of section 508 have changed to. Section 508 requires that when federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, federal employees with. Section 508 the rehabilitation act of 1973 includes the section 508 amendments which are the technical standards that apply to us government procurement and development.
About the section 508 standards united states access board. The standards do not apply because this requisition either. This document contains information on how cms is meeting the section 508 standards and policies. Reports on audited financial statements 2177 au section 9508 reports on audited financial statements. Section 508 ssa requirements and testing guidelines introduction. Revised 508 standards roadmap follow the revised 508 standards to ensure your information and communication technology ict is accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities. All electronic communication and documentation created by cms employees and contractors must be 508 compliant. In addition to section 508 requirements, hhs has policies, standards, and requirements for electronic documents that include but are not. To help ensure that 508 compliant pdfs are disseminated, this test process has been created to evaluate documents against all applicable 1194. Section 508 requires federal agencies to make their ict such as technology, online training and websites accessible for everyone. Each section 508 standard is mapped to the dhs pdf testing process for testers who are more familiar with the alphabetical approach. Additional information on section 508 can be found at the websites for the u.
To help ensure that 508 compliant pdfs are disseminated, this test process has been created to evaluate documents against. Access board, the general services administration, and the u. In 1997, the federal electronic and information technology accessibility and compliance act was proposed in the u. Section 508 amendment to the rehabilitation act of 1973. Cms section 508 policy 2 downloadedprinted copies may be obsolete. How to make your word 20 documents 508 compliant pdf how to make your excel 20 workbooks 508 compliant pdf. Simply put, companies will no longer be able to sell federal agencies any software or hardware that fails to meet accessibility standards. Department of education is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to. Dec 21, 2000 the purpose of this part is to implement section 508 of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended 29 u. 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. When development, procurement, maintenance, or use of electronic and information technology that meets. Oaa secti on 508 standards check list and assessment.
This section provides references and guidance toward accomplishing that goal. Only the standards that are applicable to pdfs are listed. The checklist from section a forward is based on the wcag 2. Access board published a final rule updating accessibility requirements for information and communication technology ict covered by section 508 of the rehabilitation act and. The us access board established the section 508 standards that implement the law and provides the requirements for accessibility. Ensure 508 compliance with an accessibility strategy. The resources in this section were developed by the accessible electronic documents community of practice aed cop. Section 508 does not apply to national security systems, as that term is defined in section 5142 of the clingercohen act of 1996 40 u. The section 508 standards are part of the federal acquisition regulation far and address access for people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. United states department of agriculture agricultural marketing service directive 3. The original section 508 dealt with electronic and information technologies, in recognition of the growth of this field. Section 508 requires that all website content be accessible to people with disabilities. The standards cover the full range of electronic and information technologies in the federal sector, including those used for communication, duplication, computing, storage, presentation, control, transport and production.
Section 508 standards section 508 compliant document. Notice regarding section 508 of the workforce investment act. Making documents section 508 compliant all electronic communication and documentation created by cms employees and contractors must be 508 compliant. 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 imposed on the agency. How to create accessible portable document format pdf documents that conform to the revised 508 standards. In addition to section 508 requirements, hhs has policies, standards, and requirements for electronic documents that include but are not limited to the following. For the full text of section 508, please see the official government 508 web site. The standards, which have been in place for over 15 years, promote ict that can be accessed by the. Purpose this directive provides policy and guidelines for the agricultural marketing service. If this procurement is for components internal replacement parts, complete the following and sign this form. It is commonly believed that pdfua is the new standard for pdf compliance. Please view these video tutorials on creating 508 compliant documents. During the process of updating the standards, pdfua was.
Access board issued the information and communication technology ict standards and guidelines, updating its existing electronic and information technology accessibility. Department of education is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities by meeting or exceeding the requirements of section 508 of the rehabilitation act 29 u. They contain technical criteria specific to various types of technologies and performancebased requirements which focus on functional capabilities of covered products. Please view these video tutorials on creating 508compliant. Information and communication technology ict standards and guidelines. The checklist below, a series of tables, is based on the content of the pdf. Chances are sooner or later youre going to be assigned a project requiring 508 compliant accessibility standards. The purpose of this document is to give vendors a significant and meaningful example of the features which ssa tests for in evaluating products for section 508 compliance.
Section 508 requires federal agencies to make their ict such as. Simply put, companies will no longer be able to sell federal agencies any. A beginners guide to section 508 and accessibility compliance. Noaa section 508 standards checklist and assessment. For a full list of the section 508 standards of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended 29 u. Pdfua is intended as a companion standard, to be used in conjunction with other standards as.
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