Developing a Website Accessibility Statement

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum on “Strengthening Digital Accessibility and the Management of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act“ (M-24-08) requires federal agencies to maintain an accessibility statement on their websites.

While federal agencies are required to provide a digital accessibility statement, it’s also important to include information about an organization’s commitment towards providing equal access to information. Providing this information is the perfect opportunity to engage customers with disabilities by highlighting relevant information to improve their user experience.

People who visit the website, particularly individuals with disabilities, will appreciate the open acknowledgement that accessibility is a key driver for the website. Users will also appreciate the ease of access to contact information, speedy responses and resolution should they encounter any barriers while using federal websites or digital services.

What to Include in an Accessibility Statement

Per M-24-08, “agencies shall maintain a digital accessibility statement on federal websites that provides or links to the following information:

1. The accessibility standard applied to the website and any known limitations or alternative versions, as appropriate.

   Indicate which accessibility standards are used (e.g., WCAG 2.1 A/AA/AAA or WCAG 2.2 A/AA/AAA, where applicable).

   Best practices:
   

   • List any known limitations or areas of the website that are inaccessible. List the content parts that have accessibility limitations, a description of the issue that may be observed by users, a brief explanation of why the issue occurs, and what to do in the meantime, such as who to contact or where to find accessibility alternatives, where appropriate.
   • List information about any known compatibility issues with certain assistive technologies or web browsers. Describe the environments (combinations of web browsers, assistive technologies, and operating systems) that the content is not expected to work.
   • Provide information about alternative options for accessing certain content.
   • Write information in simple language in a manner and organized in a way that is easy to understand and navigate.
   • This section of the accessibility statement should not be used for documenting agency’s conformance but rather to provide actionable information to the user to assist them in using websites and digital services. Provide useful, actionable information that the public would need to engage with the agency.

2. The contact information for the Section 508 program manager (name and email address).

   Include the name and government email address of the agencywide Section 508 program manager.

   The purpose of providing a name and email address is to promote trust to your users through transparency and accountability.

   Best practices:
   

   • Setting expectations for when and why someone should contact the agencywide Section 508 program manager, such as which issues the public or an employee should contact the Section 508 program manager as opposed to using the public feedback mechanism or filing a complaint.
   • Do not use a general inbox or associated group inbox.

3. A public feedback mechanism that allows members of the public to report accessibility problems with agency websites and digital services to the agency’s Section 508 program as well as relevant implementation teams.

   Use a mechanism, such as web-based form, comment box, and general inbox, to capture public feedback on accessibility problems with agency websites or digital services. Use of any web-based forms must comply with Section 508 standards.

   Best practices:
   

   • Communicate expectations on agency responses to public feedback, such as should a user expect an affirmative response?
   • Communicate clear timelines for remediation, if possible.
   • Give users multiple options for submitting feedback, such as phone, e-mail, or a web-based feedback form.

   See: Implementing a Public Feedback Mechanism for additional guidance.

4. Instructions for filing a complaint alleging a violation of Section 508.

   Provide instructions or link to instructions for filing a formal Section 508 complaint.

   The reason for providing instructions is to give the public or an employee a clear and easy path for escalating and reporting an alleged violation of Section 508. The complaint process should be different from the public feedback mechanism process. The public feedback mechanism should be primarily designed to reduce administrative complaints by proactively soliciting feedback from users to identify and remediate potential accessibility issues with federal websites and digital services.

   Best practices:
   

   • Briefly describe the formal Section 508 complaint procedures in plain language.
   • Explain when someone should use the formal complaint procedures for Section 508 and when to use the public feedback mechanism.

5. Information about the agency’s reasonable accommodations procedures for Federal employees and job applicants, consistent with Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act.

   Provide access to information about the agency’s reasonable accommodations procedures. Agencies may redirect federal employees to internal-facing web pages for complete instructions and procedures.

6. Instructions on the use of the telecommunications relay service.

   Include information and instructions on how to obtain telecommunications relay services, such as those provided by fcc.gov/trs.

   Best practices:
   

   • Offer information on how users can leverage these services. For example, individuals with a hearing or speech disability can utilize telecommunications relay services (TRS) at no cost by using a videophone or dial 7-1-1.

7. Links to any relevant, publicly available organizational policies or procedures on digital accessibility.

   Include or link to digital accessibility policy and any other relevant policies, such as System Lifecycle, Acquisition, Communications, Customer Experience/Service, Web Content Management, and Training.

8. Date that the digital accessibility statement was last updated or reviewed.

   Include the date the digital accessibility statement was last updated or reviewed so it is clearly visible to users.

   Best practices:
   

   • Update this information whenever substantive changes occur to the policies, practices, and procedures described in the accessibility statement.

Examples of Accessibility Statements

• General Services Administration (GSA) Accessibility Statement
• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)Accessibility Statement

Where to Publish an Accessibility Statement

To ensure accessibility statements are available to visitors at any point in their digital experience, agencies must include a link to the accessibility statement in the sitewide footer, per OMB guidance on Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience (M-23-22). Secondary sites, like those for sub-agencies, components, or offices, may create a separate accessibility statement page or link to the domain website’s accessibility statement.

Websites that conform with the U.S. Web Design System should use the Identifier component, which communicates a site’s parent, displays agency links required by federal laws and policies, and includes the accessibility statement by default (Figure 1).

Websites not utilizing the USWDS’s Identifier component should ensure a link to an accessibility statement is located in the sitewide footer of each page using “Accessibility” or “Accessibility Statement” as the link text (Figure 2).

Notice: Per M-23-22, agencies should not link to digital accessibility statements from a sub-page, such as a “Website Policies & Notices” (Figure 3). Agencies must link directly to the digital accessibility statement from the website footer (Figure 1).

Reviewed/Updated: April 2024