---
title: "Chapter E202: General Requirements"
description: "Chapter E202 sets the foundational scope, vocabulary, and normative framing for the Section 508 ICT Refresh standard."
---

# Chapter E202: General Requirements

Chapter E202 sets the foundational scope, vocabulary, and normative framing for the Section 508 ICT Refresh standard. It establishes accessibility as a mandatory conformance requirement for ICT procured, developed, or maintained by US federal agencies, defines the technical terminology used throughout chapters E205–E208, and incorporates WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA by reference as the underlying technical baseline for electronic content and software.

Source: US Access Board, ICT Accessibility 508 Standards, Chapter E202, <https://www.access-board.gov/ict/#e202-general-requirements>.

## clause-e202-1

**E202.1 Accessibility**

Information and communication technology covered by Section 508 must be accessible to people with disabilities; conformance with chapters E202 through E208 is mandatory whenever covered ICT is procured, developed, maintained, or used.

**Applies to**: All covered ICT (electronic content, software, hardware, and support services) across the procurement and lifecycle scope of Section 508.

**WCAG cross-reference**: n/a (scoping statement; downstream clauses carry the WCAG criteria).

**Assessment heuristics**:

* Confirm that procurement and contracting policy names Section 508 conformance as a gating criterion rather than a preference.
* Confirm that accessibility work is scheduled inside the product development lifecycle rather than treated as a post-release remediation activity.

Source: <https://www.access-board.gov/ict/#e202-general-requirements>

## clause-e202-2

**E202.2 Definitions**

Establishes the normative vocabulary used across the standard, including terms such as electronic content, software, user interface, assistive technology, and the accessibility principles (perceivable, operable, understandable) carried forward from WCAG 2.0.

**Applies to**: Interpretation of all clauses in chapters E202–E208; binding when resolving disputes over the meaning of standard terms.

**WCAG cross-reference**: n/a (definitional content).

**Assessment heuristics**:

* Check that procurement language, contract clauses, and team glossaries use these definitions verbatim rather than synonyms.
* Resolve disagreement about whether a component is in scope by mapping the component to a defined term (for example, distinguishing electronic content from software).

Source: <https://www.access-board.gov/ict/#e202-general-requirements>

## clause-e202-3

**E202.3 Abbreviations**

Lists the abbreviations used throughout the standard, including WCAG, HTML, PDF, and ARIA, so that downstream technical clauses are unambiguous for procurement officers, developers, and assessors.

**Applies to**: All written use of standard abbreviations in conformance documentation, procurement RFPs, vendor responses, and accessibility reports.

**WCAG cross-reference**: n/a (definitional content).

**Assessment heuristics**:

* Confirm that vendor accessibility conformance reports use the abbreviations defined here rather than agency-specific shorthand.
* Treat non-standard abbreviations in conformance documentation as a documentation defect.

Source: <https://www.access-board.gov/ict/#e202-general-requirements>

## clause-e202-4

**E202.4 References to WCAG 2.0**

Incorporates the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level A and Level AA success criteria into the Section 508 standard by reference, so that conformance to the technical chapters (E205 through E208) carries with it conformance to every cited WCAG 2.0 success criterion.

**Applies to**: All technical conformance work under E205 (electronic content), E207 (software), and E208 (support documentation) where WCAG 2.0 criteria are cited.

**WCAG cross-reference**: WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA in full (see the sibling `wcag-22` skill for per-criterion detail).

**Assessment heuristics**:

* Treat WCAG 2.0 Level AA as the default technical baseline for any electronic content covered by E205.
* Treat WCAG 2.0 criteria as the authoritative technical text when the Access Board chapter language is silent on a specific implementation detail.

Source: <https://www.access-board.gov/ict/#e202-general-requirements>