PART 1194—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES Authority: 29 U.S.C. 794d, 47 U.S.C. 255. Source: 65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000, unless otherwise noted. § 1194.1 Standards for Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The standards for information and communication technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal agencies covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act are set forth in Appendices A, C and D to this part. [82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § 1194.2 Guidelines for Section 255 of the Communications Act. The guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by Section 255 of the Communications Act are set forth in Appendices B and C to this part. [82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] Appendix A to Part 1194—Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements Table of Contents 508 Chapter 1: Application and Administration E101 General E102 Referenced Standards E103 Definitions 508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements E201 Application E202 General Exceptions E203 Access to Functionality E204 Functional Performance Criteria E205 Electric Content E206 Hardware E207 Software E208 Support Documentation and Services 508 Chapter 1: Application and Administration E101 General E101.1 Purpose. E101.2 Equivalent Facilitation. E101.3 Conventional Industry Tolerances. E101.4 Units of Measurement. E102 Referenced Standards E102.1 Application. E103 Definitions E103.1 Terms Defined in Referenced Standards. E103.2 Undefined Terms. E103.3 Interchangeability. E103.4 Defined Terms. Agency. Alteration. existing ICT Application. Assistive Technology (AT). Audio Description. Authoring Tool. Closed Functionality. Content. Document. Existing ICT. Hardware. Information Technology. Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Keyboard. Label. Menu. Name. Non-Web Document. Non-Web Software. Operable Part. Platform Accessibility Services. Platform Software. Programmatically Determinable. Public Facing. Real-Time Text (RTT). Revised 508 Standards. Software. Software Tools. Telecommunications. Terminal. Text. TTY. Variable Message Signs (VMS). Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Web page. 508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements E201 Application E201.1 Scope. E202 General Exceptions E202.1 General. E202.2 Legacy ICT. E202.3 National Security Systems. E202.4 Federal Contracts. E202.5 ICT Functions Located in Maintenance or Monitoring Spaces. E202.6 Undue Burden or Fundamental Alteration. E202.6.1 Basis for a Determination of Undue Burden. E202.6.2 Required Documentation. E202.6.3 Alternative Means. E202.7 Best Meets. E202.7.1 Required Documentation. E202.7.2 Alternative Means. E203 Access to Functionality E203.1 General. A. That Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities; and B. That members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or data from a Federal agency have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities. E203.2 User Needs. A. How users with disabilities will perform the functions supported by the ICT; and B. How the ICT will be developed, installed, configured, and maintained to support users with disabilities. E204 Functional Performance Criteria E204.1 General. E205 Electronic Content E205.1 General. E205.2 Public Facing. E205.3 Agency Official Communication. A. An emergency notification; B. An initial or final decision adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding; C. An internal or external program or policy announcement; D. A notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action; E. A formal acknowledgement of receipt; F. A survey questionnaire; G. A template or form; H. Educational or training materials; or I. Intranet content designed as a Web page. EXCEPTION: Records maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) pursuant to Federal recordkeeping statutes shall not be required to conform to the Revised 508 Standards unless public facing. E205.4 Accessibility Standard. see EXCEPTION: Non-Web documents shall not be required to conform to the following four WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation, and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification. E205.4.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Documents. E206 Hardware E206.1 General. E207 Software E207.1 General. EXCEPTION: Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to the requirements in Chapter 5. E207.2 WCAG Conformance. see EXCEPTIONS: 1. Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to E207.2. 2. Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to the following four Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks; 2.4.5 Multiple Ways; 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation; and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification. 3. Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes in WCAG 2.0. E207.2.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Software. E207.3 Complete Processes for Non-Web Software. E208 Support Documentation and Services E208.1 General. [82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017, as amended at 83 FR 2915, Jan. 22, 2018] Appendix B to Part 1194—Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements Table of Contents 255 Chapter 1: Application and Administration C101 General C102 Referenced Standards C103 Definitions 255 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements C201 Application C202 Functional Performance Criteria C203 Electronic Content C204 Hardware C205 Software C206 Support Documentation and Services 255 Chapter 1: Application and Administration C101 General C101.1 Purpose. C101.2 Equivalent Facilitation. C101.3 Conventional Industry Tolerances. C101.4 Units of Measurement. C102 Referenced Standards C102.1 Application. C103 Definitions C103.1 Terms Defined in Referenced Standards. C103.2 Undefined Terms. C103.3 Interchangeability. C103.4 Defined Terms. Application. Assistive Technology (AT). Audio Description. Authoring Tool. Closed Functionality. Content. Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). Document. Hardware. Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Keyboard. Label. Manufacturer. Menu. Name. Non-Web Document. Non-Web Software. Operable Part. Platform Accessibility Services. Platform Software. Programmatically Determinable. Real-Time Text (RTT). Revised 255 Guidelines. Software. Software Tools. Specialized Customer Premises Equipment. Telecommunications. Telecommunications Equipment. Terminal. Text. TTY. Variable Message Signs (VMS). Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Web page. Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements C201 Application C201.1 Scope. C201.2. Readily Achievable. C201.3 Access to Functionality. C201.4 Prohibited Reduction of Accessibility, Usability, and Compatibility. EXCEPTION: Discontinuation of a product shall not be prohibited. C201.5 Design, Development, and Fabrication. C202 Functional Performance Criteria C202.1 General. C203 Electronic Content C203.1 General. see EXCEPTION: Non-Web documents shall not be required to conform to the following four WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation, and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification. C203.1.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Documents. For non-Web documents, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “document' shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page.” In addition, in Success Criterion in 1.4.2, the phrase “in a document” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page.” C204 Hardware C204.1 General. EXCEPTION: Components of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment shall not be required to conform to 402, 407.7, 407.8, 408, 412.8.4, and 415. C205 Software C205.1 General. EXCEPTION: Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to the requirements in Chapter 5. C205.2 WCAG Conformance. see EXCEPTIONS: 1. Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to C205.2. 2. Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to the following four Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks; 2.4.5 Multiple Ways; 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation; and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification. 3. Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes in WCAG 2.0. C205.2.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Software. C205.3 Complete Processes for Non-Web Software. C206 Support Documentation and Services C206.1 General. [82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017, as amended at 83 FR 2915, Jan. 22, 2018] Appendix C to Part 1194—Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements Table of Contents Chapter 3: Functional Performance Criteria 301 General 302 Functional Performance Criteria Chapter 4: Hardware 401 General 402 Closed Functionality 403 Biometrics 404 Preservation of Information Provided for Accessibility 405 Privacy 406 Standard Connections 407 Operable Parts 408 Display Screens 409 Status Indicators 410 Color Coding 411 Audible Signals 412 ICT with Two-Way Communication 413 Closed Caption Processing Technologies 414 Audio Description Processing Technologies 415 User Controls for Captions and Audio Descriptions Chapter 5: Software 501 General 502 Interoperability with Assistive Technology 503 Applications 504 Authoring Tools Chapter 6: Support Documentation and Services 601 General 602 Support Documentation 603 Support Services Chapter 7: Referenced Standards 701 General 702 Incorporation by Reference Chapter 3: Functional Performance Criteria 301—General 301.1 Scope. 302 Functional Performance Criteria 302.1 Without Vision. 302.2 With Limited Vision. 302.3 Without Perception of Color. 302.4 Without Hearing. 302.5 With Limited Hearing. 302.6 Without Speech. 302.7 With Limited Manipulation. 302.8 With Limited Reach and Strength. 302.9 With Limited Language, Cognitive, and Learning Abilities. Chapter 4: Hardware 401 General 401.1 Scope. EXCEPTION: Hardware that is assistive technology shall not be required to conform to the requirements of this chapter. 402 Closed Functionality 402.1 General. 402.2 Speech-Output Enabled. EXCEPTIONS: 1. Variable message signs conforming to 402.5 shall not be required to be speech-output enabled. 2. Speech output shall not be required where ICT display screens only provide status indicators and those indicators conform to 409. 3. Where speech output cannot be supported due to constraints in available memory or processor capability, ICT shall be permitted to conform to 409 in lieu of 402.2. 4. Audible tones shall be permitted instead of speech output where the content of user input is not displayed as entered for security purposes, including, but not limited to, asterisks representing personal identification numbers. 5. Speech output shall not be required for: The machine location; date and time of transaction; customer account number; and the machine identifier or label. 6. Speech output shall not be required for advertisements and other similar information unless they convey information that can be used for the transaction being conducted. 402.2.1 Information Displayed On-Screen. 402.2.2 Transactional Outputs. 402.2.3 Speech Delivery Type and Coordination. 402.2.4 User Control. 402.2.5 Braille Instructions. EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use shall not be required to conform to 402.2.5. 402.3 Volume. EXCEPTION: ICT conforming to 412.2 shall not be required to conform to 402.3. 402.3.1 Private Listening. 402.3.2 Non-private Listening. 402.4 Characters on Display Screens. 402.5 Characters on Variable Message Signs. see 403 Biometrics 403.1 General. EXCEPTION: Where at least two biometric options that use different biological characteristics are provided, ICT shall be permitted to use biometrics as the only means for user identification or control. 404 Preservation of Information Provided for Accessibility 404.1 General. 405 Privacy 405.1 General. 406 Standard Connections 406.1 General. 407 Operable Parts 407.1 General. 407.2 Contrast. 407.3 Input Controls. EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use with input controls that are audibly discernable without activation and operable by touch shall not be required to conform to 407.3. 407.3.1 Tactilely Discernible. 407.3.2 Alphabetic Keys. 407.3.3 Numeric Keys. see 407.4 Key Repeat. 407.5 Timed Response. 407.6 Operation. 407.7 Tickets, Fare Cards, and Keycards. 407.8 Reach Height and Depth. 407.8.1 Vertical Reference Plane. 407.8.1.1 Vertical Plane for Side Reach. 407.8.1.2 Vertical Plane for Forward Reach. 407.8.2 Side Reach. 407.8.2.1 Unobstructed Side Reach. 407.8.2.2 Obstructed Side Reach. 407.8.3 Forward Reach. 407.8.3.1 Unobstructed Forward Reach. 407.8.3.2 Obstructed Forward Reach. 407.8.3.2.1 Operable Part Height for ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach. Table 407.8.3.2.1—Operable Part Height for ICT With Obstructed Forward Reach Reach depth Operable part height Less than 20 inches (510 mm) 48 inches (1220 mm) maximum. 20 inches (510 mm) to 25 inches (635 mm) 44 inches (1120 mm) maximum. 407.8.3.2.2 Knee and Toe Space under ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach. EXCEPTIONS: 1. Toe space shall be permitted to provide a clear height of 9 inches (230 mm) minimum above the floor and a clear depth of 6 inches (150 mm) maximum from the vertical reference plane toward the leading edge of the ICT. 2. At a depth of 6 inches (150 mm) maximum from the vertical reference plane toward the leading edge of the ICT, space between 9 inches (230 mm) and 27 inches (685 mm) minimum above the floor shall be permitted to reduce at a rate of 1 inch (25 mm) in depth for every 6 inches (150 mm) in height. 408 Display Screens 408.1 General. 408.2 Visibility. 408.3 Flashing. EXCEPTION: Flashes that do not exceed the general flash and red flash thresholds defined in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 409 Status Indicators 409.1 General. 410 Color Coding 410.1 General. 411 Audible Signals 411.1 General. 412 ICT With Two-Way Voice Communication 412.1 General. 412.2 Volume Gain. 412.2.1 Volume Gain for Wireline Telephones. 412.2.2 Volume Gain for Non-Wireline ICT. 412.3 Interference Reduction and Magnetic Coupling. 412.3.1 Wireless Handsets. see 412.3.2 Wireline Handsets. see 412.4 Digital Encoding of Speech. see see 412.5 Real-Time Text Functionality. 412.6 Caller ID. 412.7 Video Communication. 412.8 Legacy TTY Support. 412.8.1 TTY Connectability. 412.8.2 Voice and Hearing Carry Over. 412.8.3 Signal Compatibility. 412.8.4 Voice Mail and Other Messaging Systems. 413 Closed Caption Processing Technologies 413.1 General. 413.1.1 Decoding and Display of Closed Captions. 413.1.2 Pass-Through of Closed Caption Data. 414 Audio Description Processing Technologies 414.1 General. 414.1.1 Digital Television Tuners. see 414.1.2 Other ICT. 415 User Controls for Captions and Audio Descriptions 415.1 General. EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use shall not be required to conform to 415.1 provided that captions and audio descriptions can be enabled through system-wide platform settings. 415.1.1 Caption Controls. 415.1.2 Audio Description Controls. Chapter 5: Software 501 General 501.1 Scope. EXCEPTION: Where Web applications do not have access to platform accessibility services and do not include components that have access to platform accessibility services, they shall not be required to conform to 502 or 503 provided that they conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 502 Interoperability With Assistive Technology 502.1 General. EXCEPTION: ICT conforming to 402 shall not be required to conform to 502. 502.2 Documented Accessibility Features. 502.2.1 User Control of Accessibility Features. 502.2.2 No Disruption of Accessibility Features. 502.3 Accessibility Services. 502.3.1 Object Information. 502.3.2 Modification of Object Information. 502.3.3 Row, Column, and Headers. 502.3.4 Values. 502.3.5 Modification of Values. 502.3.6 Label Relationships. 502.3.7 Hierarchical Relationships. 502.3.8 Text. 502.3.9 Modification of Text. 502.3.10 List of Actions. 502.3.11 Actions on Objects. 502.3.12 Focus Cursor. 502.3.13 Modification of Focus Cursor. 502.3.14 Event Notification. 502.4 Platform Accessibility Features. see A. Section 9.3.3 Enable sequential entry of multiple (chorded) keystrokes; B. Section 9.3.4 Provide adjustment of delay before key acceptance; C. Section 9.3.5 Provide adjustment of same-key double-strike acceptance; D. Section 10.6.7 Allow users to choose visual alternative for audio output; E. Section 10.6.8 Synchronize audio equivalents for visual events; F. Section 10.6.9 Provide speech output services; and G. Section 10.7.1 Display any captions provided. 503 Applications 503.1 General. 503.2 User Preferences. EXCEPTION: Applications that are designed to be isolated from their underlying platform software, including Web applications, shall not be required to conform to 503.2. 503.3 Alternative User Interfaces. 503.4 User Controls for Captions and Audio Description. 503.4.1 Caption Controls. 503.4.2 Audio Description Controls. 504 Authoring Tools 504.1 General. 504.2 Content Creation or Editing. see EXCEPTION: Authoring tools shall not be required to conform to 504.2 when used to directly edit plain text source code. 504.2.1 Preservation of Information Provided for Accessibility in Format Conversion. 504.2.2 PDF Export. see 504.3 Prompts. see 504.4 Templates. see Chapter 6: Support Documentation and Services 601 General 601.1 Scope. 602 Support Documentation 602.1 General. 602.2 Accessibility and Compatibility Features. 602.3 Electronic Support Documentation. see 602.4 Alternate Formats for Non-Electronic Support Documentation. 603 Support Services 603.1 General. 603.2 Information on Accessibility and Compatibility Features. 603.3 Accommodation of Communication Needs. Chapter 7: Referenced Standards 701 General 701.1 Scope. 702 Incorporation by Reference 702.1 Approved IBR Standards. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. 702.2 Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). http://www.atsc.org 702.2.1 ATSC A/53 Part 5:2014, Digital Television Standard, Part 5 702.3 Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM). http://www.aiim.org/Resources/Standards/AIIM_ISO_14289-1 702.3.1 ANSI/AIIM/ISO 14289-1-2016, Document Management Applications—Electronic Document File Format Enhancement for Accessibility—Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1), ANSI-approved February 8, 2016, IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 504.2.2. 702.4 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). http://www.hfes.org/Publications/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=76 702.4.1 ANSI/HFES 200.2, Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces 702.5 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). http://www.ieee.org 702.5.1 ANSI/IEEE C63.19-2011, American National Standard for Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between Wireless Communications Devices and Hearing Aids, May 27, 2011, IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.3.1. 702.6 International Code Council (ICC). http://www.iccsafe.org 702.6.1 ICC A117.1-2009, Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, approved October 20, 2010, IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 402.5. 702.7 International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T). http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T 702.7.1 ITU-T Recommendation E.161, Series E. 702.7.2 ITU-T Recommendation G.722.2, Series G. 702.8 Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). http://www.ietf.org 702.8.1 IETF RFC 6716, Definition of the Opus Codec, September 2012, J.M. Valin, Mozilla Corporation, K. Vos, Skype Technologies S.A., T. Terriberry, Mozilla Corporation, IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.4. 702.9 Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). http://global.ihs.com 702.9.1 TIA-1083-B, Telecommunications—Communications Products—Handset Magnetic Measurement Procedures and Performance Requirements, October 2015, IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.3.2. 702.10 Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C). http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20 702.10.1 WCAG 2.0, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, W3C Recommendation, December 11, 2008, IBR approved for: Appendix A (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements), Sections E205.4, E205.4 Exception, E205.4.1, E207.2, E207.2 Exception 2, E207.2 Exception 3, E207.2.1, E207.3; Appendix B (Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements), C203.1, C203.1 Exception, C203.1.1, C205.2, C205.2 Exception 2, C205.2 Exception 3, C205.2.1, C205.3; and Appendix C (Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements), 408.3 Exception, 501.1 Exception, 504.2, 504.3, 504.4, and 602.3. [82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017, as amended at 83 FR 2916, Jan. 22, 2018] Appendix D to Part 1194—Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards as Originally Published on December 21, 2000 § D1194.1 Purpose. The purpose of this part is to implement section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d). Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.2 Application. (a) Products covered by this part shall comply with all applicable provisions of this part. When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology, each agency shall ensure that the products comply with the applicable provisions of this part, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. (1) When compliance with the provisions of this part imposes an undue burden, agencies shall provide individuals with disabilities with the information and data involved by an alternative means of access that allows the individual to use the information and data. (2) When procuring a product, if an agency determines that compliance with any provision of this part imposes an undue burden, the documentation by the agency supporting the procurement shall explain why, and to what extent, compliance with each such provision creates an undue burden. (b) When procuring a product, each agency shall procure products which comply with the provisions in this part when such products are available in the commercial marketplace or when such products are developed in response to a Government solicitation. Agencies cannot claim a product as a whole is nt commercially available because no product in the marketplace meets all the standards. If products are commercially available that meet some but not all of the standards, the agency must procure the product that best meets the standards. (c) Except as provided by § 1194.3(b), this part applies to electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by agencies directly or used by a contractor under a contract with an agency which requires the use of such product, or requires the use, to a significant extent, of such product in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.3 General exceptions. (a) This part does not apply to any electronic and information technology operated by agencies, the function, operation, or use of which involves intelligence activities, cryptologic activities related to national security, command and control of military forces, equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system, or systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions. Systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions do not include a system that is to be used for routine administrative and business applications (including payroll, finance, logistics, and personnel management applications). (b) This part does not apply to electronic and information technology that is acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract. (c) Except as required to comply with the provisions in this part, this part does not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device at a workstation of a Federal employee who is not an individual with a disability. (d) When agencies provide access to the public to information or data through electronic and information technology, agencies are not required to make products owned by the agency available for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than that where the electronic and information technology is provided to the public, or to purchase products for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than that where the electronic and information technology is provided to the public. (e) This part shall not be construed to require a fundamental alteration in the nature of a product or its components. (f) Products located in spaces frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment are not required to comply with this part. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.4 Definitions. The following definitions apply to this part: Agency. Alternate formats. Alternate methods. Assistive technology. Electronic and information technology. Information technology. Operable controls. Product. Self Contained, Closed Products. Telecommunications. TTY. Undue burden. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.5 Equivalent facilitation. Nothing in this part is intended to prevent the use of designs or technologies as alternatives to those prescribed in this part provided they result in substantially equivalent or greater access to and use of a product for people with disabilities. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] §§ D1194.6-D1194.20 [Reserved] § D1194.21 Software applications and operating systems. (a) When software is designed to run on a system that has a keyboard, product functions shall be executable from a keyboard where the function itself or the result of performing a function can be discerned textually. (b) Applications shall not disrupt or disable activated features of other products that are identified as accessibility features, where those features are developed and documented according to industry standards. Applications also shall not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product developer. (c) A well-defined on-screen indication of the current focus shall be provided that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that assistive technology can track focus and focus changes. (d) Sufficient information about a user interface element including the identity, operation and state of the element shall be available to assistive technology. When an image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text. (e) When bitmap images are used to identify controls, status indicators, or other programmatic elements, the meaning assigned to those images shall be consistent throughout an application's performance. (f) Textual information shall be provided through operating system functions for displaying text. The minimum information that shall be made available is text content, text input caret location, and text attributes. (g) Applications shall not override user selected contrast and color selections and other individual display attributes. (h) When animation is displayed, the information shall be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user. (i) Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. (j) When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided. (k) Software shall not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. (l) When electronic forms are used, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications. (a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via “alt”, “longdesc”, or in element content). (b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation. (c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup. (d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet. (e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map. (f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. (g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables. (h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers. (i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation. (j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. (k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes. (l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology. (m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with § 1194.21(a) through (l). (n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues. (o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links. (p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required. Note to § D1194.22: 1. The Board interprets paragraphs (a) through (k) of this section as consistent with the following priority 1 Checkpoints of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) (May 5, 1999) published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium: Section 1194.22 WCAG 1.0 checkpoint (a) 1.1 (b) 1.4 (c) 2.1 (d) 6.1 (e) 1.2 (f) 9.1 (g) 5.1 (h) 5.2 (i) 12.1 (j) 7.1 (k) 11.4 2. Paragraphs (l), (m), (n), (o), and (p) of this section are different from WCAG 1.0. Web pages that conform to WCAG 1.0, level A ( i.e., http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.23 Telecommunications products. (a) Telecommunications products or systems which provide a function allowing voice communication and which do not themselves provide a TTY functionality shall provide a standard non-acoustic connection point for TTYs. Microphones shall be capable of being turned on and off to allow the user to intermix speech with TTY use. (b) Telecommunications products which include voice communication functionality shall support all commonly used cross-manufacturer non-proprietary standard TTY signal protocols. (c) Voice mail, auto-attendant, and interactive voice response telecommunications systems shall be usable by TTY users with their TTYs. (d) Voice mail, messaging, auto-attendant, and interactive voice response telecommunications systems that require a response from a user within a time interval, shall give an alert when the time interval is about to run out, and shall provide sufficient time for the user to indicate more time is required. (e) Where provided, caller identification and similar telecommunications functions shall also be available for users of TTYs, and for users who cannot see displays. (f) For transmitted voice signals, telecommunications products shall provide a gain adjustable up to a minimum of 20 dB. For incremental volume control, at least one intermediate step of 12 dB of gain shall be provided. (g) If the telecommunications product allows a user to adjust the receive volume, a function shall be provided to automatically reset the volume to the default level after every use. (h) Where a telecommunications product delivers output by an audio transducer which is normally held up to the ear, a means for effective magnetic wireless coupling to hearing technologies shall be provided. (i) Interference to hearing technologies (including hearing aids, cochlear implants, and assistive listening devices) shall be reduced to the lowest possible level that allows a user of hearing technologies to utilize the telecommunications product. (j) Products that transmit or conduct information or communication, shall pass through cross-manufacturer, non-proprietary, industry-standard codes, translation protocols, formats or other information necessary to provide the information or communication in a usable format. Technologies which use encoding, signal compression, format transformation, or similar techniques shall not remove information needed for access or shall restore it upon delivery. (k) Products which have mechanically operated controls or keys, shall comply with the following: (1) Controls and keys shall be tactilely discernible without activating the controls or keys. (2) Controls and keys shall be operable with one hand and shall not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist. The force required to activate controls and keys shall be 5 lbs. (22.2 N) maximum. (3) If key repeat is supported, the delay before repeat shall be adjustable to at least 2 seconds. Key repeat rate shall be adjustable to 2 seconds per character. (4) The status of all locking or toggle controls or keys shall be visually discernible, and discernible either through touch or sound. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.24 Video and multimedia products. (a) All analog television displays 13 inches and larger, and computer equipment that includes analog television receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals. As soon as practicable, but not later than July 1, 2002, widescreen digital television (DTV) displays measuring at least 7.8 inches vertically, DTV sets with conventional displays measuring at least 13 inches vertically, and stand-alone DTV tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens, and computer equipment that includes DTV receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals. (b) Television tuners, including tuner cards for use in computers, shall be equipped with secondary audio program playback circuitry. (c) All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency's mission, regardless of format, that contain speech or other audio information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be open or closed captioned. (d) All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency's mission, regardless of format, that contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be audio described. (e) Display or presentation of alternate text presentation or audio descriptions shall be user-selectable unless permanent. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.25 Self contained, closed products. (a) Self contained products shall be usable by people with disabilities without requiring an end-user to attach assistive technology to the product. Personal headsets for private listening are not assistive technology. (b) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required. (c) Where a product utilizes touchscreens or contact-sensitive controls, an input method shall be provided that complies with § 1194.23 (k) (1) through (4). (d) When biometric forms of user identification or control are used, an alternative form of identification or activation, which does not require the user to possess particular biological characteristics, shall also be provided. (e) When products provide auditory output, the audio signal shall be provided at a standard signal level through an industry standard connector that will allow for private listening. The product must provide the ability to interrupt, pause, and restart the audio at anytime. (f) When products deliver voice output in a public area, incremental volume control shall be provided with output amplification up to a level of at least 65 dB. Where the ambient noise level of the environment is above 45 dB, a volume gain of at least 20 dB above the ambient level shall be user selectable. A function shall be provided to automatically reset the volume to the default level after every use. (g) Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. (h) When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a range of color selections capable of producing a variety of contrast levels shall be provided. (i) Products shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. (j) Products which are freestanding, non-portable, and intended to be used in one location and which have operable controls shall comply with the following: (1) The position of any operable control shall be determined with respect to a vertical plane, which is 48 inches in length, centered on the operable control, and at the maximum protrusion of the product within the 48 inch length (see Figure 1 of this part). (2) Where any operable control is 10 inches or less behind the reference plane, the height shall be 54 inches maximum and 15 inches minimum above the floor. (3) Where any operable control is more than 10 inches and not more than 24 inches behind the reference plane, the height shall be 46 inches maximum and 15 inches minimum above the floor. (4) Operable controls shall not be more than 24 inches behind the reference plane (see Figure 2 of this part). [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] § D1194.26 Desktop and portable computers. (a) All mechanically operated controls and keys shall comply with § 1194.23(k)(1) through (4). (b) If a product utilizes touchscreens or touch-operated controls, an input method shall be provided that complies with § 1194.23 (k) (1) through (4). (c) When biometric forms of user identification or control are used, an alternative form of identification or activation, which does not require the user to possess particular biological characteristics, shall also be provided. (d) Where provided, at least one of each type of expansion slots, ports and connectors shall comply with publicly available industry standards. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] §§ D1194.27-D1194.30 [Reserved] § D1194.31 Functional performance criteria. (a) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user vision shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired shall be provided. (b) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require visual acuity greater than 20/70 shall be provided in audio and enlarged print output working together or independently, or support for assistive technology used by people who are visually impaired shall be provided. (c) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user hearing shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing shall be provided. (d) Where audio information is important for the use of a product, at least one mode of operation and information retrieval shall be provided in an enhanced auditory fashion, or support for assistive hearing devices shall be provided. (e) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user speech shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people with disabilities shall be provided. (f) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous actions and that is operable with limited reach and strength shall be provided. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] §§ D1194.32-D1194.40 [Reserved] § D1194.41 Information, documentation, and support. (a) Product support documentation provided to end-users shall be made available in alternate formats upon request, at no additional charge. (b) End-users shall have access to a description of the accessibility and compatibility features of products in alternate formats or alternate methods upon request, at no additional charge. (c) Support services for products shall accommodate the communication needs of end-users with disabilities. [65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017] §§ D1194.42-D1194.50 [Reserved] § D1194.51 Figures