Guidance

Accessibility statement: Google forms

Updated 24 November 2021

© Crown copyright 2021

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-accessible-online-form-and-survey-statement/accessibility-statement-google-forms

Using Google forms

DfT uses third-party software, built by Google, for its online forms and surveys. This includes forms for questionnaires and other documents.

As many people as possible should be able to use Google forms.

You should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • use the service with a keyboard
  • use the service with speech recognition software
  • listen to the service with a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and Voice Over)

How accessible Google forms are

Some people may find Google forms difficult to use because:

  • buttons, labels, tabs and instructional text may not have sufficient colour contrast
  • tables do not have clearly identified column and row headers
  • focus order can be reset when closing dialogs – or deleting images in form builder
  • certain tooltips are not fully keyboard-accessible

Reporting accessibility problems with Google forms

Contact us if you have any difficulties using this service, or if you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements.

Please let us know how you would like us to send you messages and documents. For example, audio recording or large print.

Email webmasterdft@dft.gov.uk


Digital Publishing Team
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR
United Kingdom

We’ll consider the request and get back to you within 7 working days.

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. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about Google form accessibility

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

Google forms are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed in the non-accessible content section.

Non-accessible content

Some content in Google forms is not accessible. As Google Forms is third-party software, we are unable to directly fix the issues listed out in this section.

DfT is reporting accessibility issues to Google.

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Graphs in responses contain generic alternative text or ‘alt-text’. The information has to be retrieved by assistive technologies using visually hidden data tables. This partially meets WCAG success criterion 1.1.1: Non-text content.

Sematic structure is not clear for all headings or lists, and data tables do not identify column and row headings. This partially meets WCAG success criterion 1.3.1: Info and relationships.

In bar charts for grid questions (in responses), keyboard-only users will receive information in tooltips by colour alone. Links in form submission feedback dialog windows are visible by colour alone. This partially meets WCAG success criterion 1.4.1: use of colour.

A small percentage of text, buttons and tabs do not have sufficient colour contrast. Some chart colour combinations are inaccessible. This partially meets WCAG success criterion 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum).

Some tooltips, buttons and tab controls cannot be executed using standard keyboard commands. This partially meets WCAG success criterion 2.1.1: Keyboard.

Focus order is reset when deleting images in the form builder – or dismissing certain dialogs. There’s no visible indication of focus when non-interactive elements receive keyboard focus. This partially meets WCAG success criterion 2.4.3: Focus order and 2.4.7: Focus visible.

Form controls have visible labels, but some edit fields don’t have a permanently visible label. This partially meets WCAG success criterion 3.3.2: Label or instructions.

How we tested Google forms

The service was tested for WCAG version 2.0 compliance by Google in July 2019.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are identifying accessibility issues and informing Google.

Until accessibility improvements are completed, some Google forms may not be fully accessible.

Where this is the case, we’ll provide versions of the forms in an alternative format.

This accessibility statement will be kept up to date, to reflect any issues identified or changes made to Google forms.

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