FAQ ABOUTSection 508 Compliance FAQ

Section 508 compliance follows standards set by Section 508, an amendment to the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires certain organizations to make all technology and internet content accessible for people with disabilities. Even if your organization isn’t required by the government to comply with Section 508, it’s important to make your online forms accessible to everyone for equal access and opportunity.

Section 508 requires all agencies that receive federal funding to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. This requirement applies to both the companies’ employees and members of the public. These agencies include government agencies, nonprofits that receive federal funding, public K–12 schools, and public colleges and universities.

You can build accessible forms for free on all Jotform plans! Our built-in Section 508 compliance feature automatically warns you if you add a form feature that isn’t Section 508 compliant. Jotform also uses standard HTML and WAI-ARIA attributes to describe user interface elements to assistive technologies, and supports standard browser magnification, contrast adjustments, and standard input mechanisms such as user-provided keyboards and pointing devices.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) explain how to make website content more accessible to those with disabilities. WCAG aims to make site information and user interfaces perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust enough to be interpreted by assistive technologies.

Since WCAG is a set of formal guidelines, it’s not necessarily a legal requirement to be WCAG compliant. However, many organizations have adopted WCAG standards regardless, and some countries (the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia) require WCAG compliance for government agencies. Additionally, many WCAG success criteria are required under Section 508 for federal agencies in the United States.

According to WCAG 2.1 standards, Jotform is Level A and Level AA compliant by default. All form elements have alt-text functionality for people with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities, allowing you to create an accessible form for your audience. You can learn more about how Jotform meets WCAG criteria by viewing our VPAT.

To learn more about how to make your forms Section 508 compliant, please check out our complete user guide.

A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) provides a comprehensive breakdown of how a specific product or technology follows Section 508 and WCAG compliance standards. If your company is required by law to follow accessibility guidelines, review our VPAT here.

To make your forms accessible, head to the settings in your form and enable our built-in accessibility checker. Our Form Builder will then analyze your form for accessibility issues and let you know which form fields are not accessible to all users. You can then remove or change the form fields, widgets, or color schemes to make your forms fully accessible! Visit our user guide for more information on how to make your forms accessible.

The most important thing to remember when building accessible online forms is how your web experience may differ from that of your users. To make your forms more user-friendly for those both with and without disabilities, we recommend avoiding long questions, labeling all form fields, and including alternative text for images. Read our user guide for tips on making accessible forms.

For more information about how Jotform enables you to create accessible online forms, please refer to our user guide or contact our support team.