Accessibility Standards
Guidelines and technical specifications that ensure digital content, applications, and technologies are usable by people with disabilities, including standards like WCAG, Section 508, and ARIA. These standards help organizations meet regulatory requirements and demonstrate accountability to stakeholders.
APIs
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2
The current stable web accessibility standard published by the W3C Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AG WG). WCAG 2.2 comprises 13 guidelines organized under four principl...
WAI-ARIA 1.2
Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.2 is a W3C Recommendation (June 2023) that defines semantic attributes enabling assistive technologies to interpret dynamic we...
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0
ATAG 2.0 is a W3C Recommendation that defines standards for making authoring tools (CMSes, code editors, web-based tools) accessible to authors with disabilities, and for helpin...
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 2.0
UAAG 2.0 is a W3C standard for browsers, browser extensions, media players, and other user agents that render web content. It defines how user agents should make web content acc...
Section 508
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires U.S. federal agencies to ensure their information and communication technology (ICT) is accessible to people with disabilities. Th...
Accessibility Conformance Testing (ACT) Rules Format 1.1
ACT Rules Format 1.1 (W3C Recommendation, February 2026) establishes a standardized format for documenting accessibility conformance testing rules. The framework supports automa...
Features
Standards requiring that information and user interface components be presentable to users in ways they can perceive, including text alternatives for non-text content.
Standards ensuring that user interface components and navigation are operable, including keyboard accessibility and sufficient time limits.
Standards ensuring that information and the operation of the user interface is understandable, including readable text and predictable navigation.
Standards requiring that content be robust enough to be reliably interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
Three-tiered conformance model (Level A, AA, AAA) providing graduated accessibility requirements for organizations to target.
ACT Rules Framework providing standardized, machine-readable rules for automated accessibility conformance testing.
Use Cases
Using WCAG 2.2 success criteria and ACT rules to audit web applications for accessibility compliance.
Applying Section 508 standards when procuring or developing information and communication technology for U.S. federal agencies.
Using WAI-ARIA attributes to make dynamic JavaScript-driven interfaces accessible to screen readers and assistive technologies.
Integrating axe-core or Pa11y into continuous integration pipelines to catch accessibility regressions automatically.
Producing Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) and Accessibility Conformance Reports aligned with Section 508 and WCAG.
Integrations
Open-source accessibility testing engine by Deque Systems implementing WCAG 2.0/2.1/2.2 rules, integrates with browsers, testing frameworks, and CI tools.
Open-source Node.js tool for automated accessibility testing against WCAG standards, integrates with GitHub Actions and CI/CD pipelines.
GSA's Government-wide IT Accessibility Program providing guidance, training, and resources for federal Section 508 compliance.
European standard referencing WCAG 2.1 AA, applicable to public and private sector digital services in EU member states.
International Standards Organization adoption of WCAG 2.2, enabling global regulatory alignment with the W3C standard.