What is Section 508 & Why It Matters
Section 508 is part of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act, requiring that electronic and information technology (EIT) developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies be accessible to people with disabilities. It mandates that documents, applications, and websites allow comparable access for all users.
Complementing this are standards like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), which ensure that digital content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Ensuring compliance with Section 508 helps you avoid legal risks, serve all users, and uphold accessibility best practices. 
Why Make Your eBooks Section 508 Compliant
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Broader Audience Reach: Your content becomes usable by people with disabilities—those using screen readers, assistive technologies, or requiring alternate formats.
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Legal & Regulatory Adherence: Meets U.S. federal requirements, helps organizations stay in compliance with governmental, education, or funding regulations.
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Improved Usability for All: Accessible content often means clearer structure, better navigation, and higher quality overall, benefiting everyone—not just those with disabilities.
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Better Discoverability: Proper metadata, semantic markup, and clean structure help search engines and e-book platforms index and present your content more effectively.
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Ethical & Brand Value: Demonstrates inclusion, responsibility, and commitment to quality and equity.
What Our Section 508 eBook Conversion Covers
We offer a full suite of services to convert existing materials or create new eBooks in a manner that meets Section 508 (and related) accessibility standards:
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| Remediation of Existing Documents | Convert PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other formats into Section 508-conformant eBooks. Address accessibility issues such as missing alt text, improper heading tags, inadequate color contrast, illegible tables, and inaccessible interactive elements. |
| Born-Accessible eBook Creation | Develop new eBooks from scratch with accessibility built in—structured markup, semantic headings, embedded metadata, accessible navigation, multimedia alternatives (captions, transcripts). |
| Validation & Testing | Use automated tools (Adobe Acrobat, ePubCheck, etc.) and manual testing (screen reader, keyboard navigation) to confirm full compliance with Section 508, WCAG 2.0 / 2.1, PDF/UA, and other relevant standards. |
| Alternative Formats & Web Publishing | In cases where original files can’t be fully remediated, we provide alternate‐format versions or methods to publish non-conformant content while meeting regulatory requirements. |
Our Process: How We Ensure Compliance
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Assessment & Audit
Review your source files for accessibility gaps, including structure, images, tables, reading order, metadata, etc. -
Quote & Accessibility Plan
Provide a detailed plan with cost, timeline, and what modifications are needed (alt text, proper headings, keyboard navigation, etc.). -
Remediation / Conversion Work
Our experts edit the files, add missing accessibility features, reflow content where needed, ensure semantic structure, and embed accessible media alternatives. -
Quality Assurance & Testing
Perform multi-stage testing (automated + human) to ensure compliance with Section 508, WCAG, and PDF/UA. We test across assistive tech like screen readers, on various devices. -
Final Delivery & Support
Deliver fully compliant eBook formats. Provide documentation and resources to help you maintain compliance (style guides, accessibility checklists, etc.).
Industries & Use Cases We Serve
Our Section 508-compliant conversion services are ideal for:
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U.S. Federal, State & Local Government agencies
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Educational Institutions, universities, libraries
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Healthcare providers and public health organizations
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Publishers creating content for public sector contracts
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NGOs, nonprofits, or any organization distributing information as required by law
Why Partner with Us
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Proven Expertise: We’ve helped multiple government bodies and public institutions convert and produce documents and eBooks that comply with Section 508 and WCAG standards.
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End-to-End In-House Process: All work is done internally—ensuring confidentiality, consistency, and control over quality.
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Transparent Pricing & Fast Turnaround: Costs are predictable; timelines are agreed up front.
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Commitment to Quality & Usability: We don’t just check boxes—we make sure your content works well for real users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can all eBooks be made Section 508 compliant?
Yes—even older, poorly structured files can often be remediated, though complexity and cost depend on source file quality, volume, media embedded, etc.
Which formats do you support?
We work with PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, ePub, Mobi, XML, PowerPoint, or any digital content requiring accessibility improvement.
How long does a typical project take?
Timeline depends on size, complexity, and number of interactive/media elements. After assessment, we give you a clear estimate. Smaller remediation projects may take a few days; larger ones with many media or complex tables may require longer.
What if a document includes multimedia (audio/video)?
We add captions, transcripts, and accessible controls. We ensure keyboard operability and screen reader compatibility for any interactive elements.
Get Started with Section 508-Compliant Conversion
Make your content accessible, compliant, and ready for all users. Share your content with us for a free assessment and quote. Together, we’ll map a path to full accessibility, ensuring your eBooks speak to everyone.
Feel free to contact Bob Mehta at 515-865-4591 or email him at Bob@ebookconversion.com to discuss creating 508-compliant PDFs or to discuss your end goals. We’re here to provide a cost-effective and compliant solution for creating Section 508-compliant PDFs that meet WCAG 2.0 standards.
Section 508 compliant eBook Conversion Services is rated 4.8 out of 5 by 58 users.