Accessibility requirements for Government & Public Sector websites

Regulations that apply

• Section 508

  Active since 1998; refreshed 2017 to align with WCAG 2.0 AA.

  US federal
• DOJ Title II Final Rule (2024)

  WCAG 2.1 AA required; phased deadlines.

  US state/local
• Web Accessibility Directive (EU 2016/2102)

  EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.1 AA. Audited annually.

  EU public sector

The accessibility risks specific to Government & Public Sector

• Form-heavy services without proper labels

  Tax, benefits, and licence renewal forms are most-cited issues.

  1.3.1, 3.3.2
• Document portals serving image-only PDFs

  Common in older municipal sites.

  1.1.1

Government & Public Sector risks in Certvo scan data

Government & Public Sector risks map to 1.3.1, 3.3.2, 1.1.1. Failure rates below cover all 1,569 sites in the Certvo Web Accessibility Report 2026 (not split by industry).

• WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships

  22.4% of sites failed it (#5 of 16).

  Level A
• WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions

  No automated failures recorded; test it by hand.

  Level A
• WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content

  29.9% of sites failed it (#4 of 16).

  Level A

A short remediation checklist

• Audit highest-traffic services first
• Publish a public accessibility statement with current conformance score
• Establish feedback channel and 30-day response