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Section 508 for small businesses and government contractors: what applies to your website

Section 508 in plain English for small vendors: when it applies (selling ICT to federal agencies), what buyers ask for (ACR/VPAT, an accessibility statement), WCAG 2.0 vs 2.2, a copyable statement for service businesses and what to fix first.

A "Section 508" line in a government request for quote, a prime contractor's supplier form or a school district's vendor checklist sends a lot of small businesses searching. Here is what Section 508 actually covers, when it reaches a small vendor, and what you can prepare without paying for paperwork you don't need.

What Section 508 is, in one paragraph

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is a US federal law. It requires the information and communication technology (ICT) that federal agencies buy, build, maintain or use to be accessible to people with disabilities. ICT covers websites, software, documents, videos, hardware and support services. The technical rules are the US Access Board's revised Section 508 Standards, and for web content and documents they point to WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA. Federal buying rules for this are in FAR Subpart 39.2.

Does it apply to my small business website?

This is general information, not legal advice. When a contract names a standard, the contract wording is what counts.

What government buyers usually ask for

According to Section508.gov's guide for vendors, the usual way to show a product's accessibility is an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), often written with the VPAT template. For services, it suggests a short accessibility statement describing your approach. Solicitations involving ICT list the accessibility requirements your proposal must address. Our VPAT and ACR guide for small businesses walks through writing one honestly.

WCAG 2.0 vs 2.2: which should you test against?

The Section 508 Standards reference WCAG 2.0 AA. WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 kept the 2.0 success criteria (2.2 removed one, 4.1.1 Parsing, as obsolete) and added more, such as 2.5.8 Target Size, 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured and 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication. Testing to WCAG 2.2 AA generally covers what 2.0 AA asks, and it's what newer state and international rules tend to reference. In your report, say exactly which version you tested against. See WCAG 2.2 explained.

A short accessibility statement for a service business

If you sell a service (design, training, video, consulting) rather than a product, a plain statement of how you handle accessibility is often enough to start the conversation. Fill in the brackets and only claim what you actually do.

<h2>Accessibility</h2>
<p>[Business name] builds [websites / training videos / documents] to meet
WCAG [2.2] Level AA. Before delivery we [run automated checks on every page,
test every form and menu with a keyboard, check headings and alt text,
caption all videos].</p>
<p>Known gaps: [list anything you can't yet meet, or "none known as of
[date]"].</p>
<p>Questions or problems: [email] or [phone]. We reply within
[2 business days].</p>

Don't write "fully Section 508 compliant" or "100% accessible" unless a full manual evaluation backs it up, and even then say what was tested and when. Government buyers read these closely, and the FTC has acted against an accessibility company over unsupported compliance claims. Our accessibility statement template has more examples.

What to fix first on a site you deliver to a government client

  1. Every image has alt text that says what it shows, or empty alt if it's decoration (WCAG 1.1.1).
  2. Text contrast of at least 4.5:1 (1.4.3). Try our free contrast checker.
  3. Every form field has a visible label tied to it (3.3.2, 1.3.1).
  4. Everything works with a keyboard, with a visible focus outline (2.1.1, 2.4.7).
  5. Real headings in order, a page title and the page language set (2.4.2, 3.1.1).
  6. Captions on video and accessible PDFs. Federal clients often publish documents, and a scanned PDF is an image, not text. See accessible PDFs and video captions.

Common mistakes

What a scan can and can't check here

An automated scan finds only part of the barriers on the pages it visits: missing alt text, low contrast, unlabelled fields and buttons, missing page language and similar. It can't judge whether alt text is accurate, whether a whole task works with a keyboard and screen reader, or how documents and videos hold up, and it can't produce a Section 508 conformance claim on its own. Treat it as the first pass before manual testing. Our Fix-Pack scans up to 10 pages and gives copy-paste fixes ranked by impact, a practical starting list before you write an ACR.

Building sites for clients? See the client handoff checklist and accessibility wording for proposals. Agencies can use the Agency 5-pack.

This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it doesn't certify compliance with Section 508, the ADA or any law, or protect against claims.

Want the fixes written for you?

Start with a free homepage snapshot. The $149 Fix-Pack scans up to 10 pages and gives copy-paste fixes for your platform within 48 hours, with a 14-day refund promise. See a sample report first.

This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it does not certify compliance with the ADA or any law.

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This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.

Check your own site, then decide

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14-day refund promise. See a sample report first. A technical report, not legal advice; automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.