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U.S. Section 508

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About U.S. Section 508

The United States Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act in 1998 and 2000 to require federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology (EIT) products (such as software, hardware, electronic content, and support documentation) accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 of the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 US Code §794d) (as amended) is commonly referred to as "U.S. Section 508." U.S. Section 508 mandates that federal agencies procure, maintain, and use EIT in a manner that ensures federal employees with disabilities have comparable access to, and use of, data and EIT relative to other federal employees.

Microsoft is a major software and cloud-services provider to U.S. federal and state governments. To assist government customers in making procurement decisions, Microsoft publishes Accessibility Conformance Reports describing the extent to which our products and services support the criteria of Section 508. This information can help Microsoft customers determine whether a particular product or service meets their specific needs.

Microsoft and U.S. Section 508

Microsoft considers U.S. Section 508 in the development of products and services as part of its commitment to making technology and data accessible for all customers.

Microsoft in-scope cloud platforms & services

  • Azure and Azure Government
  • Azure DevOps Services
  • Dynamics 365 and Dynamics 365 U.S. Government
  • Intune
  • Office 365, Office 365 U.S. Government, Office 365 U.S. Government Defense
  • Windows Server 2016

Office 365 and U.S. Section 508

Office 365 environments

Microsoft Office 365 is a multi-tenant hyperscale cloud platform and an integrated experience of apps and services available to customers in several regions worldwide. Most Office 365 services enable customers to specify the region where their customer data is located. Microsoft may replicate customer data to other regions within the same geographic area (for example, the United States) for data resiliency, but Microsoft will not replicate customer data outside the chosen geographic area.

This section covers the following Office 365 environments:

  • Client software (Client): commercial client software running on customer devices.
  • Office 365 (Commercial): the commercial public Office 365 cloud service available globally.
  • Office 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC): the Office 365 GCC cloud service is available for United States Federal, State, Local, and Tribal governments, and contractors holding or processing data on behalf of the US Government.
  • Office 365 Government Community Cloud - High (GCC High): the Office 365 GCC High cloud service is designed according to Department of Defense (DoD) Security Requirements Guidelines Level 4 controls and supports strictly regulated federal and defense information. This environment is used by federal agencies, the Defense Industrial Base (DIBs), and government contractors.
  • Office 365 DoD (DoD): the Office 365 DoD cloud service is designed according to DoD Security Requirements Guidelines Level 5 controls and supports strict federal and defense regulations. This environment is for the exclusive use by the US Department of Defense.

Use this section to help meet your compliance obligations across regulated industries and global markets. To find out which services are available in which regions, see the International availability information and the Where your Microsoft 365 customer data is stored article. For more information about Office 365 Government cloud environment, see the Office 365 Government Cloud article.

Your organization is wholly responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Information provided in this section does not constitute legal advice and you should consult legal advisors for any questions regarding regulatory compliance for your organization.

Office 365 applicability and in-scope services

Use the following table to determine applicability for your Office 365 services and subscription:

Applicability In-scope services
Client Access, Excel, Office 365 admin portal for Android, Office 365 admin portal for iOS, Office Configuration Tool, Office Lens, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, SharePoint, To Do, Visio, Whiteboard, Word
Commercial Microsoft Entra ID, Bookings, Compliance Manager, Delve, Exchange Online, Forms, Kaizala, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Teams, MyAnalytics, Office 365 Advanced Compliance add-on, Office 365 and Microsoft Entra sign-in, Office 365 Business Center, Office 365 Customer Portal, Office 365 Security & Compliance Center, Office Online, Office Pro Plus, OneDrive for Business, OneDrive, Outlook Groups, Planner, PowerApps, Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint Online, Skype for Business, StaffHub, Stream, Whiteboard, Viva Engage
GCC Microsoft Entra ID, Compliance Manager, Delve, Exchange Online, Forms, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Teams, MyAnalytics, Office 365 Advanced Compliance add-on, Office 365 Customer Portal, Office 365 Security & Compliance Center, Office Online, Office Pro Plus, OneDrive for Business, Planner, PowerApps, Power Automate, Power BI, Skype for Business, Stream, Whiteboard
GCC High Microsoft Entra ID, Exchange Online, Forms, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Advanced Compliance add-on, Office 365 Customer Portal, Office 365 Security & Compliance Center, Office Online, Office Pro Plus, OneDrive for Business, Planner, PowerApps, Power Automate, Power BI, Skype for Business, Whiteboard
DoD Microsoft Entra ID, Exchange Online, Forms, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Advanced Compliance add-on, Office 365 Customer Portal, Office 365 Security & Compliance Center, Office Online, Office Pro Plus, OneDrive for Business, Planner, Power BI, Skype for Business, Whiteboard

Microsoft accessibility conformance reports

Find conformance reports for all our products and services.

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