National Library of Medicine, NIH · Department of Health and Human Services
clinicaltrials.gov
Federal: Section 508 applies, not Title II · 20 pages and a keyboard test, checked October 6, 2026
70out of 100
0critical barriers
The automated checks found no control a visitor can’t use at all.
Compared
The 39 other Department of Health and Human Services websites checked average 81.
See how it does today
Our latest check was on October 6, 2026, and the next is in January 2027. You can check clinicaltrials.gov yourself now, free. You get a report of your own; this page changes at our next check.
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What we found
What is wrong and who it affects, most serious first.
-
26
26 drawings or icons have no description, so a blind visitor’s screen reader can’t say what they show.
- Screen readers
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3
3 controls show no sign when a keyboard user moves to them, so they can’t tell where they are on the page.
- Keyboard users
- Low vision
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3
3 lists are built incorrectly, so screen readers may not announce them as lists or say how many items they have.
- Screen readers
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2
Text in 2 places is too faint against its background, so people with low vision, or anyone reading a phone in sunlight, may struggle to read it.
- Low vision
- Color blindness
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2
2 controls sit inside others, such as buttons inside links, so screen readers may skip some of them and keyboard users may not reach them.
- Screen readers
- Keyboard users
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1
1 list of terms and meanings is built incorrectly, so screen readers may read it as a jumble instead of pairs.
- Screen readers
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1
1 form field has no label, so a blind visitor’s screen reader can’t say what to enter, and voice-control users can’t name it.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
More in the full report
The full report is for the agency’s own staff. It adds:
- The 20 pages we checked, by name
- Where each problem is, with a screenshot
- What needs to change, in the order to fix it
- A new check any day, once something is fixed
The keyboard test
We pressed Tab 60 times through the homepage, as someone who can’t use a mouse would. What it found is shown here and is not yet counted in the score.
- Problem: 3 controls show no sign of focus. Keyboard users may not be able to tell where they are.
Questions about this page
Does this mean the agency is breaking the law?
No. Federal agencies follow Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, whose standards are built on WCAG 2.0 AA. This is an automated check against WCAG 2.1 AA, which includes every WCAG 2.0 AA requirement. Automated checks find many problems but not all, and only a full review can say whether a site meets Section 508.
Why isn’t there a Title II deadline?
The ADA’s Title II rule and its April 2027 and April 2028 deadlines are for state and local governments. Federal websites already have to meet Section 508.
How often is this page updated?
Every three months, in January, April, July and October. Once its staff claim this page, they can also scan the site again, once a day; the new result shows here like our regular check, marked as checked at their request. The date at the top shows the latest check, and the score can go up as problems are fixed.
How can the agency respond?
Staff with an email address ending in @clinicaltrials.gov can claim this page to set its status, see where each problem is, and scan the site again. Think a result is wrong? Tell us and we will check it again.
Work for the National Library of Medicine, NIH?
Claim this page to see where each problem is and what needs to change, set its status for the public, and scan again any day.