United States Geological Survey · Department of the Interior
mrlc.gov
Federal: Section 508 applies, not Title II · 20 pages and a keyboard test, checked October 6, 2026
21out of 100
26critical barriers
Controls a visitor can’t use at all. Any one keeps a site at Behind, whatever its score.
Compared
The 23 other Department of the Interior websites checked average 72.
Fixing the 26 critical barriers would raise this from 21 (Far behind) to 30 (Far behind).
See how it does today
Our latest check was on October 6, 2026, and the next is in January 2027. You can check mrlc.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.
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20
20 form buttons have no name, so a blind visitor’s screen reader can’t say what pressing them will do.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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5
5 buttons, links or menu items have no name, so a blind visitor’s screen reader announces them with no clue to what they do.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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1
1 button has no name, so a blind visitor’s screen reader says just “button”, with no clue to what it does.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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135
135 images have no description, so a blind visitor’s screen reader says only “image” or reads out file names.
- Screen readers
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131
131 links have no name, so a blind visitor’s screen reader says just “link”, with no clue to where they go.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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72
72 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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47
47 links in running text stand out only by their color, so people with color blindness or low vision may not see that they are links.
- Color blindness
- Low vision
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47
Text in 47 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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30
30 controls are missing details screen readers need, such as whether they are on or open, so a blind visitor can’t tell their state.
- Screen readers
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29
29 graphics have no description, so a blind visitor’s screen reader can’t say what they show.
- Screen readers
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19
19 pages have to be scrolled sideways on a narrow phone screen, so people who enlarge text must scroll back and forth to read each line.
- Low vision
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16
16 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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4
4 form fields have no label, so a blind visitor’s screen reader can’t say what to enter, and voice-control users can’t name them.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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4
4 drop-down lists have no label, so a blind visitor’s screen reader can’t say what they are for.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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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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1
1 field has no name, so a blind visitor’s screen reader can’t say what to type into it.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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1
1 menu, list or set of tabs is built incompletely, so screen readers may announce it without its items or not let a blind visitor move through them.
- Screen readers
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 63 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.
- Passed: “Skip to content” works. Keyboard users can jump past the menu.
- Problem: 2 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 @mrlc.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 United States Geological Survey?
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.