United States Geological Survey · Department of the Interior
mtbs.gov
Federal: Section 508 applies, not Title II · 13 pages and a keyboard test, checked October 6, 2026
51out of 100
9critical 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 71.
Fixing the 9 critical barriers would raise this from 51 (Behind) to 62 (Behind).
See how it does today
Our latest check was on October 6, 2026, and the next is in January 2027. You can check mtbs.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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9
9 buttons have no name, so a blind visitor’s screen reader says just “button”, with no clue to what they do.
- Screen readers
- Voice control
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237
Text in 237 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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5
5 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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5
5 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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5
5 items that belong in menus, lists or sets of tabs sit outside them, so screen readers may not announce them as part of their group.
- Screen readers
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1
1 control shows no sign when a keyboard user moves to it, so they can’t tell where they are on the page.
- Keyboard users
- Low vision
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1
1 list is built incorrectly, so screen readers may not announce it as a list or say how many items it has.
- Screen readers
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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 13 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 27 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: 1 control shows 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 @mtbs.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.