Section 508

Abbreviation	508
Long Name	Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act (USA standard)
Published Date	2004-03-12
URL	http://www.access-board.gov/sec508
Status	Enabled
Open To Public	Yes

Checks

A - text equivalents

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
iframe	Likely	<code>iframes</code> must have alternate content.	101
img	Known	All <code>img</code> elements have an <code>alt</code> attribute.	1
img	Likely	Alt text is not the same as the filename unless author has confirmed it is correct.	2
img	Potential	Image Alt text is short.	3
img	Likely	Non-Decorative images must have Alt text.	4
img	Likely	Important images should not have spacer Alt text.	5
img	Likely	Alt text for all <code>img</code> elements is not placeholder text unless author has confirmed it is correct.	6
img	Known	Alt text for all <code>img</code> elements used as source anchors is not empty when there is no other text in the anchor.	7
img	Potential	Alt text for all <code>img</code> elements contains all text in the image unless the image text is decorative or appears elsewhere in the document.	11
object	Potential	Text equivalents for <code>object</code> should be updated if <code>object</code> changes - (codebase).	74
object	Potential	<code>object</code> link to multimedia file must have text transcript.	77
object	Potential	All <code>objects</code> contain a text equivalent of the <code>object</code>.	80

B - multimedia equivalents synchronized

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
a	Likely	Links to multimedia require a text transcript.	20

C - color also available without color

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
applet	Potential	<code>applet</code> should not use color alone.	21
img	Potential	For all <code>img</code> elements, text does not refer to the image by color alone.	14
input	Potential	<code>input</code> should not use color alone.	55
object	Potential	<code>object</code> must not use color alone.	73
script	Potential	Color alone should not be used in the <code>script</code>.	86

D - stylesheets in use

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
script	Likely	Content must be readable when stylesheets are not applied (SCRIPT).	94

E - text links for server-side image map

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
img	Known	All links in all client side image-maps are duplicated within the document.	13

F - client-side image maps instead of server-side

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
img	Known	All <code>img</code> elements with an <code>ismap</code> attribute have a valid <code>usemap</code> attribute.	12

G - row/column headers for data tables

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
table	Potential	All data tables contain <code>th</code> elements.	136

H - associate data cells and header cells

I - frames shall be titled

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
frame	Known	All <code>frames</code> have a <code>title</code> attribute.	31
frame	Potential	All <code>frame</code> <code>titles</code> identify the purpose or function of the <code>frame</code>.	32
frame	Potential	The source for each <code>frame</code> is accessible content.	33
frameset	Likely	Relationship between <code>frames</code> must be described.	34
frameset	Known	<code>frameset</code> must have a <code>noframes</code> section.	35

J - avoid flicker

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
applet	Potential	<code>applets</code> cause screen flicker.	22
img	Potential	All <code>img</code> elements have associated images that do not flicker.	10
object	Potential	All <code>objects</code> do not flicker.	30
script	Potential	<code>script</code> should not cause screen flicker.	87

K - text-only page

L - script must have functional text

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
script	Known	<code>script</code> must have a <code>noscript</code> section.	90

M - applets etc. must comply

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
applet	Potential	<code>applet</code> contains a text equivalent in the <code>alt</code> attribute of the <code>applet</code>.	23
applet	Potential	Text equivalents for <code>applet</code> must be updated if <code>applet</code> changes.	24
applet	Potential	<code>applet</code> contains a text equivalent in the body of the <code>applet</code>.	25
applet	Potential	<code>applet</code> user interface must be accessible.	26

N - accessible forms

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
input	Known	All <code>input</code> elements, <code>type</code> of "text", have an explicitly associated label.	57
input	Known	All <code>input</code> elements with a <code>type</code> attribute value of "image" have an <code>alt</code> attribute.	58
input	Potential	Alt text for all <code>input</code> elements with a <code>type</code> attribute value of "image" identifies the purpose or function of the image.	59
input	Likely	Alt text for all <code>input</code> elements with a <code>type</code> attribute value of "image" is less than 100 characters (English) or the user has confirmed that the Alt text is as short as possible.	60
input	Likely	Image used in <code>input</code> element - Alt text should not be the same as the filename.	61
input	Likely	Image used in <code>input</code> element - Alt text should not be placeholder text.	62
input	Known	All <code>input</code> elements, <code>type</code> of "password", have an explicitly associated <code>label</code>.	118
input	Known	All <code>input</code> elements, <code>type</code> of "checkbox", have an explicitly associated <code>label</code>.	119
input	Known	All <code>input</code> elements, <code>type</code> of "file", have an explicitly associated <code>label</code>.	120
input	Known	All <code>input</code> elements, <code>type</code> of "radio", have an explicitly associated <code>label</code>.	121
input	Known	All <code>input</code> elements, <code>type</code> of "text", have a <code>label</code> containing text.	213
select	Known	All <code>select</code> elements have an explicitly associated <code>label</code>.	91

O - skip repetitive navigation links

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
body	Potential	A "skip to content" link appears on all pages with blocks of material prior to the main document.	28

P - timed response

Element	Error Type	Description	Check ID
meta	Known	Auto-redirect must not be used.	71
meta	Known	Meta refresh is not used with a time-out.	72