Section 508 Legacy ICT: The January 18, 2018 Exception

Federal information and communication technology (ICT) that complies with the pre-2017 Section 508 standards — the standards “as originally published on December 21, 2000” — and has not been altered on or after January 18, 2018 does not have to be modified to conform to the Revised 508 Standards. That exception, known as “Legacy ICT,” appears in the government’s own regulatory text at 36 CFR part 1194, Appendix A, section E202.2 (Access Board, Revised 508 Standards).

This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.

Key points

• The general rule is that federal ICT “shall conform to the Revised 508 Standards” (Access Board, Revised 508 Standards).
• The Legacy ICT exception in section E202.2 excuses ICT that met an earlier Section 508 standard and has not been altered on or after January 18, 2018 (Access Board, Revised 508 Standards).
• The earlier standard being referenced is republished as “Appendix D… as Originally Published on December 21, 2000” (Access Board, Revised 508 Standards).
• The eCFR’s own citation history confirms the December 21, 2000 origin and the January 18, 2017 redesignation of that text (eCFR, 36 CFR part 1194).

The general conformance rule

Before looking at the exception, the underlying obligation is stated plainly in the current Revised 508 Standards:

“ICT that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by agencies shall conform to the Revised 508 Standards.” — Access Board, Revised 508 Standards

That obligation is echoed in the Code of Federal Regulations itself:

“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.” — eCFR, 36 CFR § 1194.1

The Legacy ICT exception itself

Section E202.2 of Appendix A carves out an exception to that general rule, for ICT that already met an earlier standard and has stayed unaltered since a specific date:

“Any component or portion of existing ICT that complies with an earlier standard issued pursuant to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (as republished in Appendix D), and that has not been altered on or after January 18, 2018, shall not be required to be modified to conform to the Revised 508 Standards.” — Access Board, Revised 508 Standards

Appendix D’s earlier standard

The “earlier standard” the exception refers to is not a separate outside document — it is retained inside the same part of the CFR, as its own appendix:

“Appendix D to Part 1194—Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards as Originally Published on December 21, 2000” — Access Board, Revised 508 Standards

The eCFR’s citation history for this part confirms both the original publication date and the later redesignation that produced the current Appendix D and Revised 508 Standards structure:

“[65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017]” — eCFR, 36 CFR part 1194

The current general-conformance rule in § 1194.1 carries the matching citation date:

“[82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017]” — eCFR, 36 CFR § 1194.1

This article states only the text of the Legacy ICT exception, the general conformance rule it excuses agencies from, and the citation dates for the current standard and the retained 2000-era appendix. It does not determine whether any specific federal system or product actually complied with the 2000-era standards, what counts as an “alteration” in a given case, or how any individual agency applies this exception in its own implementation policy. Those are case-by-case and agency-specific questions that the regulatory text above does not itself resolve.

Source links

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-36/part-1194 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-36/section-1194.1 https://www.access-board.gov/ict/