How fishinglicenseinfo.org/ Works for Everyone — WCAG 2.1 AA, ADA & Section 508
Our commitment to making the site usable with assistive technology, our target conformance level (WCAG 2.1 AA), the U.S. legal framework (ADA Title III, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, U.S. Department of Justice guidance), how to report a barrier, the response time we aim for, and where to escalate.
The accessibility of any specific state fish and wildlife agency website — license-sales portal, fee-schedule PDF, regulations summary — is a separate matter, governed by that agency’s own duties (typically under Title II of the ADA for state government entities and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act). For accessibility issues at a state agency portal, the DOJ ADA complaint process and the agency’s own accessibility coordinator are the right escalation routes.
What is on this page
1. Our Commitment
fishinglicenseinfo.org/ is committed to being usable by everyone, including disabled people, older readers, people using assistive technology, and people on low-bandwidth or older devices. We work to make every page meet the published target standard and we treat accessibility barriers reported by readers as priority corrections.
2. U.S. Legal Framework
| Instrument | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III — 42 U.S.C. §12181 et seq. | Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation. While the ADA does not contain explicit web-accessibility regulations for private websites, federal courts have increasingly held that websites of places of public accommodation are covered, particularly where there is a nexus with a physical place of business. |
| Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act — 29 U.S.C. §794d | Requires federal agency electronic and information technology to be accessible to people with disabilities. While Section 508 binds federal agencies (not private websites), we apply it as a voluntary benchmark. |
| U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance | The DOJ Civil Rights Division has issued guidance on web accessibility under Title III and Title II of the ADA; we monitor DOJ guidance for changes in the federal accessibility-enforcement landscape. |
| State accessibility laws | Some states (California Unruh Civil Rights Act, New York State Human Rights Law, and others) have their own accessibility provisions that can apply alongside the ADA. |
| Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA | The international standard we target, increasingly recognized by U.S. courts as the operational benchmark for ADA Title III website-accessibility cases. |
3. Target Standard — WCAG 2.1 AA
We target conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA. The four guiding principles are:
- Perceivable — information is presented in ways people can perceive (alt text on images; readable color contrast; structured headings; resizable text)
- Operable — the interface can be operated (keyboard accessible; sufficient timing; no content that triggers seizures)
- Understandable — information and operation are understandable (readable language; predictable navigation; input assistance)
- Robust — content works with current and future user agents and assistive technology (clean, parseable markup)
4. Built-In Features
- Mobile-first responsive design — works from 320px width and up
- 17px minimum body text, scalable using browser zoom
- System fonts — no custom font dependency that could degrade readability
- High-contrast color palette with text contrast ratios meeting WCAG 2.1 AA
- Semantic HTML structure with proper heading hierarchy
- Descriptive link text — no “click here”
- Alt text on informational images
- Skip-to-content links for keyboard navigation
- No autoplay video or audio
- No content that flashes more than three times per second
- Focus indicators visible on all interactive elements
- Logical reading order when CSS is disabled
- Respects
prefers-reduced-motionOS-level preference
5. Assistive Technology Compatibility
We test against widely used assistive technology on U.S. consumer devices:
- Screen readers: NVDA (Windows), JAWS (Windows), VoiceOver (macOS, iOS), TalkBack (Android), Narrator (Windows)
- Voice control: Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Voice Control (macOS, iOS), Voice Access (Android)
- Magnification: ZoomText, system zoom
- Switch access on iOS and Android
- Browser readability modes (Reader Mode on Safari, Firefox)
- OS-level high-contrast modes (Windows High Contrast, macOS Increase Contrast, iOS/Android contrast settings)
6. Known Limitations
We work to a strict standard but we are an editorial publisher, not a specialist accessibility consultancy. Known areas of work-in-progress:
- Older state guides may not have full ARIA landmark coverage; we are retrofitting
- Some embedded maps come from third-party providers (Google Maps); we link out to the underlying address as an alternative
- Some comparison tables may lack a textual alternative for the most complex multi-state comparisons; we add textual summaries on report
If you encounter any of these or any other barrier, please tell us — specific reports drive specific fixes.
7. Third-Party Content
The site links to many third-party sources — state fish and wildlife agencies, USFWS, NOAA Fisheries, AFWA, the FTC, state Attorneys General, the U.S. Coast Guard, tribes, authorized retail vendors, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We do not control those sites’ accessibility. Many state-agency websites — particularly fee-schedule PDFs and license-sales portals — do not yet meet WCAG 2.1 AA throughout. We flag accessibility gaps we encounter and encourage agencies to address them.
8. How to Report an Accessibility Barrier
If you cannot use a feature of the site with your assistive technology, please email info@fishinglicenseinfo.org with the subject “Accessibility issue” and include:
- The page URL where the problem appears
- The assistive technology you are using (e.g., “NVDA 2023.3 with Firefox on Windows 11”)
- What you tried to do and what happened
- What outcome you expected
- Whether the barrier blocks you completely or merely makes the task harder
We aim to acknowledge accessibility reports within 1 business day and to fix or work around the issue within 1-3 business days. Where a fix requires structural work, we explain the timeline in our acknowledgement.
9. Escalation — DOJ, State AG, State Human Rights Commissions
If we have not resolved your accessibility issue to your satisfaction, you can escalate. The relevant U.S. bodies include:
| Body | What it does | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division | Enforces ADA Title II and Title III; accepts ADA complaints | ada.gov |
| Your state Attorney General | Many state AG offices accept consumer-protection and accessibility complaints under state law | Find via the National Association of Attorneys General at naag.org |
| State human rights / civil rights commission | State-specific enforcement of state civil-rights laws | Varies by state |
10. Review and Continuous Improvement
We review this statement quarterly. We carry out a full accessibility audit annually. Reader-reported barriers are logged and tracked, and the lessons feed into future template work and new state guides.
11. Contact
For any accessibility question or report, email info@fishinglicenseinfo.org with the subject “Accessibility issue”.
Report a Barrier
Email info@fishinglicenseinfo.org with the subject “Accessibility issue”. We acknowledge within 1 business day and aim to fix within 1-3 business days.
📧 info@fishinglicenseinfo.org