Accessibility Laws & Standards

In the past 15 years, both the United States and International governments have developed legislation to ensure equal rights for people with disabilities, including equivalent access to electronic and information technology. What follows is an overview of the various major standards and legislation pieces passed in various countries. This breakdown does not provide an exhaustive list of all such legislative pieces, but does account for the majority of relevant standards and legislation.

United States

Rehabilitation Act

• Section 503 – United States
• Section 504 – United States
• Section 508 – Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

Americans with Disabilities Act

21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA)

Other US Digital Accessibility Legislation

• Hearing Aid Compatibility Act
• NFB-NVA Certification Criteria – United States
• Air Carrier Access Act – United States
• State and Local Laws – An overview of State and Local accessibility laws and standards compiled by Level Access
• State of California Code Section 11135

Canada

• Canadian Human Rights Act
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
• Government of Canada Common Look and Feel Standards – The Government of Canada’s Common Look and Feel Standards for public facing sites

Europe

• European Union
• Mandate M 376
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Spain
• France

Asia Pacific

• Disability Discrimination Act – Australia
• Official Information Act and Human Rights Act – New Zealand
• Japanese Industrial Standard – Japan

International Standards

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0

Further Reading

• WAI Policy Page – Provides a list of all the current international web accessibility standards
• ETSI Technical Report TR 102 612 – Provides an overview of accessibility requirements relating to public sector procurement throughout the EU and the globe. By far the most detailed recent assessment of accessibility laws and standards.