A Section 508 compliance checklist for federal software teams: ICT scoping, the six E202 exceptions, WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA, ACRs and testing. Section 508 conformance runs on five questions answered in order. This guide covers ICT scoping, the six general exceptions, the WCAG version that actually binds a federal contract, and the report agencies read before they score you. A Section 508 compliance checklist is short. It runs five questions, in order, and the order matters more than the length. Does the thing you deliver count as information and communication technology? Does a general exception cover it? Is it content, software, hardware, or support documentation? Does it meet WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA? Can you hand the agency a report that proves it? Teams that answer those five in sequence pass. Teams that open an automated scanner first and work backwards fail. A scanner never tells you which rule binds your contract. Shaavir writes proposals and builds software for federal clients. The same mistake turns up on both sides of that work. People treat accessibility as a quality step near delivery. It is a scoping decision, and it belongs in the first week. The Section 508 Compliance Checklist Work the list from the top. Each answer narrows the next question. One. Confirm it is ICT. The standards reach information technology and any equipment or interconnected system that creates, converts or duplicates data. Websites, applications, PDFs, kiosks, phones and training videos all sit inside that definition. Most deliverables on a federal IT contract qualify. Two. Check the general exceptions. Six live in E202. If one applies, your duty changes, and someone at the agency has to put that in writing. Three. Sort the deliverable by type. Content, software, hardware and support documentation each point at a different chapter of the standard. Four. Meet WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA. That is the technical bar for electronic content and for software with a user interface. Five. Write an Accessibility Conformance Report. Agencies read it during market research and again during proposal evaluation. ! Five Section 508 scoping steps: confirm it is ICT, check the E202 exceptions, sort the deliverable type, meet WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA, and publish an Accessibility Conformance Report (https://mhhifytmrlyksfrjacvi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/2026/10/section-508-compliance-checklist-figure.png) Step four only means something once the first three steps settle what the contract actually covers. Nothing on that list is expensive on its own. Doing it in reverse is what costs money. What The Law Actually Says Section 508 lives at 29 U.S.C. 794d. Congress added it to the Rehabilitation Act in 1998 and strengthened it through later amendments. It tells federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology usabl
Section 508 conformance runs on five questions answered in order. This guide covers ICT scoping, the six general exceptions, the WCAG version that actually binds a federal contract, and the report agencies read before they score you.
A Section 508 compliance checklist is short. It runs five questions, in order, and the order matters more than the length. Does the thing you deliver count as information and communication technology? Does a general exception cover it? Is it content, software, hardware, or support documentation? Does it meet WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA? Can you hand the agency a report that proves it? Teams that answer those five in sequence pass. Teams that open an automated scanner first and work backwards fail. A scanner never tells you which rule binds your contract. Shaavir writes proposals and builds software for federal clients. The same mistake turns up on both sides of that work. People treat accessibility as a quality step near delivery. It is a scoping decision, and it belongs in the first week. The Section 508 Compliance Checklist Work the list from the top. Each answer narrows the next question. One. Confirm it is ICT. The standards reach information technology and any equipment or interconnected system that creates, converts or duplicates data. Websites, applications, PDFs, kiosks, phones and training videos all sit inside that definition. Most deliverables on a federal IT contract qualify. Two. Check the general exceptions. Six live in E202. If one applies, your duty changes, and someone at the agency has to put that in writing. Three. Sort the deliverable by type. Content, software, hardware and support documentation each point at a different chapter of the standard. Four. Meet WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA. That is the technical bar for electronic content and for software with a user interface. Five. Write an Accessibility Conformance Report. Agencies read it during market research and again during proposal evaluation. ! Five Section 508 scoping steps: confirm it is ICT, check the E202 exceptions, sort the deliverable type, meet WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA, and publish an Accessibility Conformance Report (https://mhhifytmrlyksfrjacvi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/2026/10/section-508-compliance-checklist-figure.png) Step four only means something once the first three steps settle what the contract actually covers. Nothing on that list is expensive on its own. Doing it in reverse is what costs money. What The Law Actually Says Section 508 lives at 29 U.S.C. 794d. Congress added it to the Rehabilitation Act in 1998 and strengthened it through later amendments. It tells federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology usabl