Accessibility statement

Published
23 September 2020
Last updated
14 February 2024
Next review due
15 April 2024

This accessibility statement applies to the www.notifications.service.gov.uk domain. It does not apply to the GOV.UK Notify API documentation subdomain.

This website is run by the GOV.UK Notify team at the Government Digital Service (GDS). It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. You should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

The text should be clear and simple to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • some validation errors may be confusing for screen reader users
  • if a team adds template folders, screen readers may announce the page heading in a confusing way
  • screen reader users may find it hard to expand or collapse groups of checkboxes
  • the example content shown in some iframes may be confusing
  • some of the content shown in iframes appears cropped when viewed on a small screen
  • when you choose an existing branding, 2 consecutive pages have the same title and h1
  • the ‘skip’ link makes some branding pages load with the main content area focused, which is confusing, especially for screen reader users
  • when you go back to the first page of the branding journey, any options you’ve chosen are lost
  • when you try to send an email, the page loads with the focus on the text input field
  • when you upload contact details and then tab through the page you can focus on the table when it does not scroll, which is confusing for some users
  • screen readers do not announce the column or row headings for a table of contact details
  • one page links to a PDF document that is not fully accessible
  • the Notify status page has several accessibility issues

We also know that the emails Notify sends are not fully accessible. The NVDA screen reader announces extra spaces in emails when you view them in Microsoft Outlook.

Feedback and contact information

If you need any part of this service in a different format like large print, audio recording or braille, contact the GOV.UK Notify team.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you by the end of the next working day.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the GOV.UK Notify team.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Find out how to contact the GOV.UK Notify team.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

GDS is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

GOV.UK Notify is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

The following content on the Notify website is not compliant with the WCAG version 2.1 AA standard:

  1. Duplicate titles and h1 headings between pages breaks success criterion 2.4.2: Page Titled.
  2. Problems with the skip link breaks success criterion 2.4.3: Focus Order.
  3. The email address field being focused on page load breaks success criterion 2.4.3: Focus Order.
  4. The table showing example CSV data being focusable breaks success criterion 2.4.3: Focus Order.
  5. The table showing example CSV data not having its column and row headings announced breaks success criterion 1.3.1: Info and Relationships.
  6. The lack of a title on iframes showing a preview of a branding breaks success criterion 4.1.2: Name, Role, Value.
  7. Iframes showing a preview of a branding being wrapped in a fixed-width container breaks success criterion 1.4.10: Reflow.
  8. The content of the iframe showing a preview of an email branding has a link with text that breaks success criterion 2.4.9: Link Purpose - Link Only and success criterion 2.4.3: Focus Order.

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Problems with using the interface

  1. Our validation errors cause problems for screen readers. This means it can be hard to know when an error has occurred or what to do next. We have started updating our validation errors.
  2. The JAWS screen reader announces template folder page headings as multiple sentences. We are investigating this issue.
  3. Expanding and collapsing groups of checkboxes using a screen reader can be confusing.
  4. There are several problems with our branding preview iframes. They do not have a title attribute and include content that may be confusing for screen reader users. They also have a fixed width, which means they appear cropped on devices with small screens.
  5. If you select an existing branding from the list of options, 2 consecutive pages will have the same title and h1. This is especially confusing for screen reader users.
  6. The ‘skip’ link forces screen readers to jump to the main content area on every branding page. This may be confusing for screen reader users.
  7. If you use the ‘back’ link to return to the first page of the branding journey, any options you’ve chosen will be lost.
  8. When you select ‘Get ready to send’, the next page loads with the focus on the text input field. This may be confusing for screen reader users.
  9. When you upload contact details and then tab through the page, the focus jumps to the table. This may be confusing for screen reader users.
  10. Screen readers do not announce the column headings for a table of contact details.

PDFs and other documents

One page links to a PDF document that is not fully accessible. This is not a fail under any WCAG 2.1 success criterion.

We provide a written description of the information in the PDF on an HTML page as an accessible alternative.

Emails

The NVDA screen reader announces extra spaces in emails when viewed in Microsoft Outlook.

Status page

The following content on the Notify status page is not compliant with the WCAG version 2.1 AA standard:

How we tested this service

The parts of the website used to add email branding or letter branding were tested on 9 October 2023. The button for copying text in the page to your clipboard and the component for choosing the day and time to send notifications were also tested as part of this.

The parts of the website used to send text messages, emails and letters were last tested in February 2021. The emails we send out, the web pages users see when they are sent a file by Notify and a sample letter PDF were last tested on 11 March 2019. All tests were carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre.

We originally decided which pages to test based on the most common tasks that GOV.UK Notify users need to complete. We also tested a sample of pages with common user interface components. Since then, we test any new features or substantial changes to the service.