Most federal agencies are not compliant with federal accessibility requirements, according to a new report from the General Services Administration (GSA).
The report finds that fewer than half of agencies’ most frequently used or visited digital assets fully comply with federal accessibility standards – Section 508 – based on responses from 212 agencies and components surveyed by GSA on their use of information and communication technology (ICT).
“Over 70 million U.S. adults reported having a disability. With over 2.16 billion federal website visits in the past month, it is essential for the government to provide high-quality digital products and services,” wrote GSA Administrator Edward Forst.
Forst added that the agency will use the collected data to help agencies identify and address accessibility gaps.
“The agencies’ data will help GSA support them in pinpointing accessibility issues and identifying areas for improvement,” he said. “This, in turn, will enhance the efficiency and accessibility of government technology and digital services.”
The report also found that roughly half of agencies do not routinely test ICT for accessibility compliance as part of their standard business practices. According to GSA, many agencies cited limited testing resources or low prioritization as contributing factors.
Data from 60 federal agencies revealed additional gaps in how the government manages accessibility oversight. About half of agencies lack systems to track accessibility testing for key technologies such as websites, software, hardware, and electronic documents, and more than one-third cannot estimate how much of that technology they own or operate.
Among the technologies that were tested, accessibility compliance varied widely. Hardware showed the highest conformance rate at 83%, followed by public websites at 72%, and internal websites at 65%. Software and electronic documents lagged significantly behind, with compliance rates of 47% and 38%, respectively.
GSA noted that, “There is a clear opportunity to improve the scope and coverage of ICT testing.”
The report also found that agency size did not appear to influence accessibility performance. Both public and employee-facing content had similar compliance challenges, which GSA suggested means “that accessibility gaps affect both external services and internal operations.”
The most common issues included missing text alternatives, insufficient structure, and low contrast, the report noted. GSA explained that “many issues could be prevented through better authoring practices and earlier validation.”
GSA recommended that Congress and agencies strengthen enforcement of Section 508. Recommendations for lawmakers include clarifying which agencies are subject to the law, streamlining reporting requirements, and increasing oversight.
Federal agencies are urged to embed accessibility into IT governance, procurement, and risk management; expand testing and training; and hold vendors accountable for accessible products. GSA also suggested that agencies evaluate content produced by generative artificial intelligence for compliance with Section 508 before deployment.
GSA also noted resource and training gaps, with many agencies lacking role-based accessibility training and nearly half failing to verify whether contracted technology meets Section 508 standards.
Despite the challenges outlined in the report, GSA cautioned that the findings should not be viewed as a definitive scorecard for the federal government. The agency noted that changes to fiscal year 2025 reporting requirements resulted in fewer agencies and components responding to the survey, making year-over-year comparisons more difficult.
Still, GSA said the report provides a broad indicator of the government’s progress toward improving accessibility across its digital services.