Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the 21st Century IDEA Act require federal websites to be accessible, but self-attestation alone is insufficient for ongoing compliance. Annual third-party audits catch regressions that internal teams miss — new features, content updates, and framework upgrades routinely introduce WCAG failures that only appear in fresh manual testing. Without documented audit dates and findings, there is no evidence trail for oversight bodies or the public that the agency is actively maintaining its conformance claim. An outdated audit (more than 12 months old) means the accessibility statement is making claims that may no longer be true.
Info because absent or outdated third-party Section 508 audit documentation does not immediately block access for users, but it means the agency's conformance claims are unverified and potentially stale — creating accountability and legal exposure under Section 508's complaint process.
Arrange an annual third-party Section 508 accessibility audit with a qualified vendor (e.g., Level Access, Deque, or SSB BART Group). Document the audit date, vendor name, and scope in your accessibility statement at app/accessibility/page.tsx.
// app/accessibility/page.tsx — add an audit documentation section
<section>
<h2>Third-Party Audit</h2>
<p>
This website was audited for Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 AA conformance by
<strong> Level Access</strong> in <strong>January 2025</strong>.
The audit covered all public-facing routes. A corrective action plan for
identified issues is maintained internally and reviewed quarterly.
</p>
<p>Next scheduled audit: January 2026.</p>
</section>
If no audit has been conducted, schedule one before the next fiscal year. Track remediation items in your issue tracker with a section-508 label so audit findings can be closed systematically.
ID: gov-web-standards.analytics-performance.accessibility-audit
Severity: info
What to look for: Look for documentation in the accessibility statement or a separate compliance page indicating that a third-party Section 508 accessibility audit was performed annually. List all audit references found and for each, extract the audit firm name, date, and any compliance score mentioned.
Pass criteria: Accessibility statement or compliance page references at least 1 third-party 508 audit with a date within the past 12 months. Organization and dates are documented.
Fail criteria: 0 references to third-party audits in accessibility statement or elsewhere.
Skip (N/A) when: Never — federal sites should have recent third-party audits.
Detail on fail: "Accessibility statement mentions Section 508 compliance but does not reference third-party audits" or "Last audit was 2022 — overdue for annual review"
Remediation: Arrange a third-party Section 508 accessibility audit (every 12 months) and document it:
// app/accessibility/page.tsx
export default function Accessibility() {
return (
<main>
<h1>Accessibility Statement</h1>
<p>This website is Section 508 compliant as verified by an annual third-party accessibility audit.</p>
<p>Last audit: January 2024 (Level Access)</p>
</main>
)
}