The Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART) is a web-based application developed by GSA to help federal agencies determine which Section 508 accessibility requirements apply to information and communication technology acquisitions. It provides a guided process for identifying relevant provisions of the Revised Section 508 Standards and generating accessibility language that can be incorporated into procurement and contracting documentation.
ART is intended to simplify a technical part of federal acquisition planning. Users do not need extensive knowledge of Section 508 to begin using the tool. ART asks questions about the IT products or services being purchased or built and uses those answers to identify applicable accessibility requirements.
The tool is particularly relevant when an acquisition includes software, hardware, electronic content, telecommunications technology, support documentation, or other ICT. Instead of inserting generic Section 508 language into every solicitation, acquisition teams can use ART to develop requirements that correspond to the technology actually being acquired.
What Does the Accessibility Requirements Tool Do?
Federal agencies need to determine accessibility requirements early in the acquisition process. Section508.gov places this activity at Step 1 of its six-step process for managing ICT accessibility in acquisitions, before market research, solicitation development, vendor information requests, proposal evaluation, and post-award validation.
ART automates much of the initial requirements identification process. It guides the user through questions about the ICT involved in the acquisition and generates a customized set of applicable Section 508 requirements and solicitation language.
The tool can help acquisition teams:
- determine which accessibility requirements apply to specific ICT;
- identify relevant provisions of the Revised Section 508 Standards;
- generate customized accessibility language;
- incorporate requirements into procurement and contracting documents;
- prepare accessibility requirements for market research and solicitation development;
- address multiple ICT items within an acquisition.
ART is based on the Revised Section 508 Standards rather than a separate set of GSA accessibility rules. The requirements generated by the tool come from the standards that govern federal ICT accessibility. GSA’s published list of ART requirements includes provisions covering electronic content, software, hardware, support documentation and services, functional performance criteria, and other ICT categories.
This distinction is important. ART does not create new accessibility obligations for contractors or agencies. Its purpose is to help acquisition personnel identify existing requirements and apply them correctly to a particular procurement.
How ART Fits Into the Federal Acquisition Process
Accessibility should be considered before a solicitation is released, not added after a technology solution has already been selected. When agencies identify the correct requirements during acquisition planning, potential vendors have clearer information about what their products or services will be expected to support.
Section508.gov identifies six major steps for managing accessibility in ICT acquisitions:
| Acquisition Stage | Section 508 Activity |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | Determine accessibility requirements |
| Step 2 | Conduct market research |
| Step 3 | Develop solicitation language |
| Step 4 | Request accessibility information from vendors |
| Step 5 | Evaluate proposals |
| Step 6 | Validate contractor compliance |
ART primarily supports the first stage, but its output can also be used during later pre-award activities. Section508.gov specifically explains that ART can help users conduct market research, prepare documentation, and determine technical requirements applicable to the ICT being procured.
For example, consider an agency acquiring a software application. The acquisition team first needs to identify which accessibility requirements apply to that software and its functions. ART can generate the relevant requirements, which can then inform market research and solicitation language. Vendors subsequently have a clearer basis for explaining how their proposed products address those requirements.
This approach is more precise than placing the same broad accessibility statement into every ICT solicitation. Requirements for software may differ from those for hardware or electronic content, and some technologies can involve several categories simultaneously.
Section508.gov also provides a manual alternative. Agencies can determine requirements using the Standards Applicability Checklist and related Section 508 guidance rather than ART. ART therefore provides an automated path for completing a process that can also be performed manually.
What Types of Section 508 Requirements Can ART Identify?
The exact output depends on the ICT being acquired. The Revised Section 508 Standards contain both scoping and technical requirements, so the relevant provisions vary according to the functions and characteristics of the technology.
ART can generate requirements covering areas such as:
- electronic content;
- software and web applications;
- hardware;
- telecommunications functions;
- authoring tools;
- support documentation;
- support services;
- functional performance criteria.
For electronic content, for example, the Revised Section 508 Standards incorporate WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA requirements in specified circumstances. Software can involve additional requirements addressing interoperability with assistive technology, platform accessibility services, and other software functions. Authoring tools have requirements related to creating or editing accessible content, preserving accessibility information, prompts, templates, and certain PDF export capabilities.
Functional Performance Criteria address the usability of ICT by people with different disabilities. These criteria cover areas including limited vision, absence of color perception, limited or no hearing, limited manipulation, limited reach and strength, and certain cognitive, language, and learning abilities.
The applicable combination depends on the acquisition. A procurement involving a cloud application that generates electronic reports, for example, can raise accessibility considerations involving software, electronic content, documentation, and support services.
ART helps acquisition personnel navigate these differences without requiring them to manually work through every provision in the standards for every procurement.
The tool also addresses applicable exceptions. The Revised Section 508 Standards include provisions concerning areas such as national security systems, ICT acquired by contractors incidental to a contract, undue burden or fundamental alteration, and situations in which fully conforming commercial ICT is not available. Some exceptions require agency determinations and documentation rather than simply allowing Section 508 requirements to be ignored.
Using and Saving Information in ART
ART is designed as a step-by-step application. The user provides information about the ICT being purchased or developed, selects relevant items and functions, and receives a list of applicable accessibility requirements.
An acquisition can contain more than one type of ICT. GSA’s ART training specifically covers generating requirements for multiple items, allowing users to add and remove items and develop a requirements list for a procurement containing several technologies.
ART also allows users to save their work locally. According to the tool’s instructions, information entered into ART is stored locally on the user’s computer and is not accessible to the U.S. Government. Users who want to retain their work can save the data as a JSON file and later reload that file to continue or modify the report.
A typical workflow may include:
- Identify the ICT products and services included in the planned acquisition.
- Enter the relevant information into ART.
- Select the applicable ICT categories and functions.
- Review the Section 508 requirements identified by the tool.
- Generate the accessibility requirements for the acquisition.
- Incorporate appropriate language into acquisition and contracting documentation.
- Save the ART data when the requirements may need to be reviewed or modified later.
ART data can also be integrated into other applications through the ART API. Section508.gov provides access to information about this API for organizations that need to incorporate ART data into their own systems or acquisition workflows.
The generated requirements should still be reviewed in the context of the actual procurement. ART assists acquisition personnel with determining applicability, but the agency remains responsible for developing appropriate acquisition requirements and complying with applicable federal accessibility obligations.
Why ART Matters to GSA Contractors
ART is primarily designed for government acquisition personnel, but understanding it is also useful for GSA contractors that sell ICT. The accessibility requirements generated during acquisition planning can ultimately appear in solicitations and become requirements that offerors must address.
This creates a direct connection between the agency’s use of ART and the information expected from vendors. If a solicitation identifies specific Section 508 requirements, contractors should evaluate their proposed technology against those requirements rather than relying on a general statement that the product is accessible.
A contractor responding to an ICT opportunity should therefore review:
- which Section 508 requirements are included in the solicitation;
- whether every requirement applies to the proposed product or service;
- how the proposed solution conforms to those requirements;
- whether accessibility limitations need to be disclosed;
- what accessibility documentation the agency requests;
- whether product configuration or customization affects accessibility.
Federal buyers may request an Accessibility Conformance Report based on a VPAT or other accessibility information to evaluate vendor claims. ART and an ACR serve different purposes in this process. ART helps the government define what accessibility requirements apply, while an ACR helps describe how a vendor’s specific product conforms to applicable accessibility criteria.
Including the correct requirements early can also reduce problems later in the acquisition lifecycle. Section508.gov warns that failure to include applicable Section 508 technical requirements can increase the risk of schedule and cost overruns or remediation after a product has already been delivered and accepted.
For GSA contractors offering software, hardware, SaaS platforms, electronic content, or other ICT, ART is therefore worth understanding even though contractors may not be its primary users. It helps explain where detailed accessibility language in federal solicitations comes from and why agencies may request product-specific evidence of accessibility rather than accepting broad compliance claims.
The practical role of ART is straightforward: it converts the Revised Section 508 Standards into acquisition-specific requirements that federal personnel can incorporate into procurement documentation. For contractors, those requirements become part of the technical and compliance environment in which their ICT products and services are evaluated.
