Section 508 compliance

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act covers US federal agencies and the information and communications technology they develop, buy, or use. In practice it reaches much further: any company selling software, websites, or digital documents to the federal government is expected to meet it, which is why vendors are routinely asked for accessibility conformance documentation.

The Revised 508 Standards (the "508 refresh") incorporate WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA by reference for web content. Because WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 build on 2.0, testing against WCAG 2.2 AA covers the 508 web requirements and then some. So a modern axe-core scan against WCAG 2.2 A and AA is a sound way to check 508 web conformance.

Federal buyers often request a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template), a document describing how your product conforms to the 508 / WCAG criteria. A VPAT is a manual, attested document, but an automated scan gives you the evidence base: a current, criterion-by-criterion list of what passes, what fails, and what needs manual review, which is exactly what you reconcile against when filling one out.

Run the free scan above on any page. It renders the page in a real browser and runs axe-core against WCAG 2.2 A and AA, outlining each failing element and mapping it to the criterion. Automated testing covers the machine-checkable requirements; the items that need human judgement are flagged for manual review so you know what to verify before signing a VPAT.