What Does Section 508 Compliance Mean for Government Documents?
What are the Types of Section 508-Compliant Government Documents?
- Electronic Documents: PDFs, Word files, Excel sheets, and PowerPoint presentations must be properly tagged for screen readers.
- Website Content: Any text, image, or downloadable file posted on official government portals must be accessible.
- Online Training Materials: E-learning modules, slide decks, and video-based training must have captions, transcripts, and navigable structures.
- Multimedia Content: Videos, podcasts, and recorded briefings must include captions, audio descriptions, or transcripts.
- Email Messages: Emails should follow accessible formatting with meaningful links and alt text for images.
- Social Media Posts: Posts should include alt text, captions, and accessible hashtags to maximize reach.
- Online Forms: Digital forms must have properly labeled fields and logical tab order.
- Employment Application Pages: Applicants with disabilities should be able to navigate forms and portals without barriers.
- Scanned Documents: Legacy paper-based PDFs must be converted into machine-readable text with OCR.
How to Remediate 508-Compliant Government Documents?
-
Organize Your Documents
Start by gathering all your digital files, PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and scanned images. Create a list with document type, location, department owner, and format. Then prioritize:
- Public-facing documents like voter guides and notices.
- Content required by law.
- Frequently accessed resources (analytics or FOIA logs help identify these).
This ensures high-impact files are addressed first, making compliance more strategic and manageable.
-
Add Tagging, Alt Text & Logical Reading Order
Once files are prioritized, the process of remediation begins.
- Tag structural elements, like headings, lists, tables, and links, so that assistive technologies can interpret the content.
- Add descriptive but concise alt text for meaningful images, while marking decorative ones as artifacts.
- Always establish a logical reading order, especially in multi-column layouts or complex tables.
Read More Here: How to Write 508 Compliant Documents
-
Apply OCR to Scanned Content
Scanned PDFs are essentially pictures of text and are unreadable by screen readers. Applying OCR ensures these are converted into machine-readable, accessible files. Tools like PREP by Continual Engine automate this process at scale, handling thousands of scanned files with accuracy.
-
Add Metadata & Set Document Language
Accessibility doesn’t stop at visible content. Behind-the-scenes information, like document title, language, author, subject, and date, ensures screen readers announce content correctly. For longer documents, generally more than 20 pages, add bookmarks to improve navigation. These details may seem minor, but they make a big difference in the user experience.
-
Validate Using Accessibility Tools
After remediation, test files with government document accessibility tools to ensure compliance. Automated checkers like PREP’s in-built PDF Accessibility Checker identify errors such as missing tags or unlabeled form fields. Human testing with screen readers adds an additional layer of assurance.
How PREP Helps With Section 508 Compliance for Government Documents?
- Auto-tag content
- Add alt text
- Correct reading order
- Apply OCR with high accuracy
Struggling With Section 508 Compliance?
Key Takeaways
- Section 508 ensures all government digital documents are accessible to people with disabilities.
- Critical document types include PDFs, websites, training materials, multimedia, emails, social media, forms, and scanned content.
- The remediation process involves organizing files, adding tags/alt text, applying OCR, including metadata, and validating accessibility.
- AI-powered tools like PREP accelerate compliance, reduce manual workload, and help agencies meet federal accessibility standards efficiently.
