Federal agencies are required to participate in reporting activities on the maturity and conformance of Section 508. These reporting activities are cyclical in nature. The sections below outline those reporting activities along with the frequency for which they take place, the agency responsibility, and current status.
Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment Report
- Description: For the Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment Report, OMB and GSA are required to submit a report to Congress on the state of federal department and agency Section 508 implementation progress, providing a comprehensive summary and analysis of agency responses to assessment criteria. This report is submitted every year.
- Authority: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 794d-1. Reports on accessibility of electronic information to individuals with disabilities
- Owner: OMB & GSA
- Agencies Required to Respond: All agencies subject to Section 5081
- Frequency: Annual
- Status: Active
DOJ Biennial Report
- Description: For the DOJ Biennial Report, The Attorney General is required to submit to the President and Congress a report containing information on and recommendations regarding the state of federal department and agency compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended. This report is submitted every other year; with the most recent report submitted in February 2023.
- Authority: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 794d. Electronic and Information Technology
- Owner: DOJ
- Agencies Required to Respond: All agencies subject to Section 5082
- Frequency: Biennial (every two years)
- Status: Active
Semi-Annual Program Maturity Report (PMR)
- Description: The Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment replaces the previously required semi-annual Section 508 Program Maturity Report. For the Semi-Annual Program Maturity Report (PMR), CFO Act agencies were previously required to self-report on five program maturity metrics, website compliance metrics on certain web pages tested for compliance, and the percentage of tested pages that fully conformed to the technical standards.3
- Authority: OMB memorandum, “Strategic Plan for Improving Management of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act”
- Owner: GSA
- Agencies Required to Respond: CFO Act agencies
- Frequency: Semi-annually (every six months)
- Status: Rescinded and superseded by the Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment
Footnote
- Agencies are defined here as all federal departments or agencies covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), including component agencies separate from parent agencies/departments. ↩
- Agencies are defined here as all federal departments or agencies covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). ↩
- The most recent and final report<a/a> was issued in the Summer 2023. The Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment and corresponding report replace this previously required semi-annual Section 508 Program Maturity Report. ↩ </li> </ol> </div> **Reviewed/Updated:** March 2025
