What is a 508 compliant document?

The accessibility standards set forth by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act require electronic document accessibility for everyone, including individuals with disabilities. The most commonly used electronic document format is Adobe PDFs but Section 508 Compliance includes Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, too.

How do you become 508 compliant?

The best way to ensure you meet the standards is to design your content to follow the standards, have the content audited for accessibility by a third-party vendor, and verify that is accessible to people with disabilities by having users with disabilities perform testing using assistive technology.

What does Section 508 compliance mean?

accessible to people with disabilities
Section 508 requires that the federal government procure, create, use and maintain ICT that is accessible to people with disabilities, regardless of whether or not they work for the federal government. Section 501 covers more than just ICT for people with disabilities.

How do I file a 508 document?

How to make PDFs 508 Compliant

1. Structure the original source code properly. For example, suppose you are using Microsoft Word to create the document.
2. Use a PDF writer or PDF converter that supports ISO standards and web accessibility.
3. Run an Accessibility Check.
4. Document the properties.
5. Provide an alternative version.

How can you tell if a PDF is 508 compliant?

Select an accessibility standard (Adobe PDF, Section 508 (U.S.), or W3C ) from the Name menu, and then select the accessibility options to check for. Click Start Checking.

Who does 508 of the Rehabilitation Act apply to?

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 The law (29 U.S.C § 794 (d)) applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology.

Do PDFs need to be 508 compliant?

PDFs do not need to be 508 compliant as long as they are accompanied by compliant, text-based versions of the document. The best text-based alternative is a regular (HTML) web page. Some Word and Excel documents can be used as text-based alternatives, provided they are accessible.

How long does it take to make a PDF 508 compliant?

One table can literally take 1–2+ hours to make accessible. When you consider that a single document can be 200 pages long, come with minimal tags, and contain dozens of tables, the simple task of remediating a handful of PDFs to be 508 compliant can become extremely burdensome and costly.