The National Ocean Service is committed to making its website accessible to the widest possible audience, including people with disabilities, in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d).

Section 508 is a federal law that requires agencies to provide individuals with disabilities equal access to electronic information and data comparable to those who do not have disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

The Section 508 standards are the technical requirements and criteria that are used to measure conformance within this law. More information on Section 508 and the technical standards can be found at Section508.gov.

This website measures conformance against the WCAG 2.1 A and AA conformance standards.

If you have feedback or concerns related to the accessibility of any content on this website, please contact us.

NOAA Section 508 Program Manager

Name: Allison Soussi-Tanani
Email: Allison.Soussi-Tanani@noaa.gov

Accessibility Feedback

If you believe there are websites or digital services with accessibility problems or you'd like to provide general accessibility feedback, you may make an inquiry or ask for help by emailing nos.info@noaa.gov. We will confirm receipt of your inquiry and communicate throughout the process as we work to resolve your accessibility issue.

To ensure we can be most helpful to you, please include in your email:

• A description of your accessibility problem with any information that will help us replicate the problem, such as browser, assistive technology, operating system.
• The web address (URL) of the material with which you are having difficulty or specify the location of the issue if a URL cannot be provided.
• Your contact information such as name.
• If you'd like to receive communications regarding your issue.

File an official complaint

You can file an administrative complaint with the NOAA Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights requesting that existing information and communication technology be reviewed and brought into compliance with the provisions of Section 508.

Contact Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights with complaints at

By mail:
Building SSMC4, Suite 7500
1305 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

OICR phone number, email address, and fax number
Voice: 301-713-0500 or 800-452-6728
Email: noaa.oicr@noaa.gov
Fax: 301-713-0983

You can find out more information on NOAA's OICR on their official NOAA web page.

NOAA employees can access NOAA's Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Equality Suggestion Box offsite link through the Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights internal web page.

Requesting Reasonable Accommodations

NOAA’s Office of Human Capital Services organized the Reasonable Accommodation Program for all NOAA customers. The NOAA Reasonable Accommodation Program is prepared to provide guidance to NOAA supervisors and employees on inquiries or requests regarding reasonable accommodation. Contact the Reasonable Accommodation Office at OHCS.RAC@noaa.gov.

Public information on NOAA's RA Program is available on the Reasonable Accommodation page.

Reasonable accommodations for NOAA employees and job applicants are available through NOAA's Office of Human Capital Services. Information on NOAA's RA process for NOAA employees can be found on the OHCS internal site.

Telecommunications Relay Services Available

NOAA's Telecommunication Relay Services
If you’re deaf or hard-of-hearing, you can request an interpreter for a meeting or event through the Sign Language Interpreting Services program. This program is managed by the NOAA Workplace Relations Division and our service provider that offers a web-based interpreter scheduling system that’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A list of services outside of NOAA
List of TRS services (FCC.gov)

DEIA Policy Resources

NOAA's ultimate goal is to not only embrace these concepts, but ensure they are fully integrated into the agency's business practices and more importantly its organizational culture.

• NOAA Policy Statement on Diversity and Inclusion
• NOAA Policy Statement on Equal Employment Opportunity
• EEO counseling and complaints
• GSA - IT Accessibility Laws and Policies
• Department of Commerce Policy on Reasonable Accommodation

Suggested 3rd-Party Plugins

Some content on this and other NOAA websites may require use of a 3rd-party plugin to view. Links to these plugins are listed below. Please note these are non-government sites and NOAA does not endorse these products nor is this a complete list of plugins you might encounter. They're listed only for your convenience. Please direct questions about each tool to the respective vendor.

• Download Adobe Reader to view Portable Document Format (PDF) files
• Use browsealoud to listen to a web page