Massachusetts - HHS Section 504
Massachusetts community health centers: website accessibility requirements
Massachusetts's community health centers, FQHCs, and look-alikes receiving federal funding must bring their websites and digital documents to the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard under HHS Section 504. Here is the deadline that applies to you, what the standard requires, and the issues most likely to affect health center sites.
Your deadline
HHS Section 504 web rule · WCAG 2.1 AA
- May 11, 2027
- 15 or more employees
- May 10, 2028
- Fewer than 15 employees
Which date applies depends on your employee count. Providers with 15 or more employees fall under the earlier date.
These dates are set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Section 504 web accessibility rule. This is general information, not legal advice.
What WCAG 2.1 AA requires
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the technical standard both federal rules point to. In practice it means your website, mobile app, and the documents you publish must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust: usable with a keyboard alone, readable by a screen reader, legible at high zoom and adequate contrast, and free of barriers in forms and media.
For community health centers, the surfaces that matter most are usually appointment and patient-portal logins, new-patient and intake forms, sliding-fee and insurance information, and location and hours pages.
Common issues on community health centers websites
These are the barriers that most often turn up on health center sites. Use them as a starting checklist.
Appointment and portal access
Online scheduling and patient-portal logins that fail keyboard or screen-reader use block access to care.
Intake and eligibility forms
New-patient, sliding-fee, and insurance forms without proper labels cannot be completed independently.
PDF documents
Notices, policies, and forms posted as untagged PDFs are a frequent barrier.
Missing image alt text
Service graphics and staff photos without text alternatives exclude screen-reader users.
Video without captions
Health-education and welcome videos need synchronized captions.
Other Massachusetts categories
Know exactly where you stand
We'll check your health center website against WCAG 2.1 AA and send a plain-language findings report. No overlay widget, no obligation.