The FY 2025 Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment establishes a new baseline for information and communication technology (ICT) accessibility across the federal government following significant revisions to the assessment criteria and changes in the federal digital environment. GSA developed this assessment using responses from 212 agencies, parent agencies, and components.
Highlighted Findings
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Agencies reported a low governmentwide average for Section 508 conformance of ICT, at 1.96 on a 5-point scale, with wide variation across agencies.
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Fewer than half of agencies’ most viewed or used ICT assets were fully conformant, and approximately half of all agencies reported that they do not routinely test ICT for accessibility conformance as part of standard business practices (Figures 4 and 5 and Tables 5 and 6).
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Agencies prioritize testing web content but largely neglect hardware and software, creating potential ICT accessibility gaps in tools and systems that employees and U.S. citizens rely on (Figures 10–13 and Table 5).
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Limited testing and remediation capacity, not just technical complexity, continues to constrain progress, reinforcing the need for more consistent testing practices and stronger lifecycle integration of accessibility.
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Agencies cluster into distinct implementation–conformance patterns, demonstrating that accessibility conformance outcomes vary meaningfully based on how Section 508 is integrated and executed.
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Higher implementation effectiveness is associated with higher conformance, reinforcing the importance of governance, acquisition integration, and testing practices (Figures 1–3 ).
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Implementation effectiveness, not agency size, drives accessibility conformance outcomes.
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Agencies that have decentralized components, as well as those components, generally demonstrate higher implementation outcomes for Section 508 than agencies without components.
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Many agencies maintain standalone Section 508 policies that are not fully integrated into operational policies, limiting consistency, enforcement, and scalability.
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Inclusion of ICT accessibility in acquisition processes is high but enforcement is low with less than 30% of agencies almost always verifying ICT deliverables for Section 508 conformance.
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Testing and remediation is the weakest area of Section 508 implementation across the federal enterprise and continues to constrain overall accessibility outcomes.
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Usability testing with people with disabilities is rare across all ICT types, with most agencies and components reporting that they do not conduct such testing prior to deployment or publication.
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Agencies with more dedicated Section 508 Program leadership and clearer management structures tend to demonstrate stronger accessibility integration and better downstream conformance outcomes.
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Mandatory Section 508 training is uncommon, with only 27% of agencies and 25% of components reporting required training.
Recommendations to Congress
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Update and clarify Section 508 statutory requirements by clearly defining which federal agencies are subject to Section 508 and aligning reporting requirements under 29 U.S.C. §§ 794d and 794d-1.
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Strengthen enforcement and accountability for Section 508 compliance by exploring legislative approaches that improve oversight and corrective action.
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Increase congressional oversight of Section 508 implementation by requiring agency leadership to report planned corrective actions and directing agencies to independently validate Section 508 conformance for high-use, public-facing digital products and services.
Recommendations to Federal Agencies
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Strengthen leadership support and accountability for Section 508 by reinforcing that CIOs lead the integration of accessibility throughout the ICT lifecycle.
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Integrate Section 508 into core risk management frameworks by treating ICT accessibility as a component of agencies’ security, privacy, and risk management lifecycles.
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Use acquisition as a primary lever for Section 508 compliance by prioritizing accessible commercial solutions, validating accessibility claims, enforcing contract requirements, and holding vendors accountable.
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Strengthen and optimize Section 508 resourcing and governance by leveraging shared services, federal buying power, common tools, cross-government expertise, and accessible authoring platforms, to improve outcomes at lower cost.
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Require annual, role-based Section 508 training for employees who create, maintain, or contribute to ICT by embedding accessibility training into onboarding and annual learning requirements.
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Expand Section 508 conformance validation and remediation by increasing testing prior to deployment, applying a risk-based approach that prioritizes high-impact and high-use ICT, and leveraging AI tools and staff training to support accessible content generation, evaluation, and remediation.
Reviewed/Updated: March 2026
