OFCCP Final Rule Eliminates Disability Self-Identification and Utilization Goal Requirements Under Section 503

Federal contractors and subcontractors will soon see a significant reduction in certain affirmative action compliance obligations related to individuals with disabilities. On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published a Final Rule revising its regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. The rule becomes effective September 21, 2026, and eliminates several disability-related requirements that have been fixtures of federal contractor compliance programs for more than a decade. 

What is changing?

The Final Rule rescinds three major requirements previously imposed on covered federal contractors:

• Disability self-identification invitations. Contractors are no longer required to invite applicants or employees to voluntarily self-identify as individuals with disabilities, including through the use of Form CC-305. 
• Disability data collection and analysis. Contractors are no longer required to collect, maintain, and analyze disability-related applicant and hiring data that previously supported Section 503 compliance efforts. 
• The 7% utilization goal. The longstanding goal that individuals with disabilities comprise at least seven percent (7%) of each job group, along with the annual utilization analysis requirement, has been eliminated. 

The OFCCP explained that the disability self-identification requirements conflict with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) (which restrict disability-related inquiries at the pre-offer stage and during employment) and that the utilization analysis framework became impractical following the revocation of Executive Order 11246 and its job-group requirements. 

For this reason, although OFCCP states that it is removing the requirement to seek self-identification, the Final Rule does not give contractors free rein to continue collecting this information voluntarily, at least at the pre-offer stage or from current employees. Because pre-offer disability inquiries are generally prohibited under the ADA, contractors should discontinue them. Similarly, disability-related inquiries of current employees generally must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. The prior requirement to invite current employees to periodically disclose disability status would therefore be problematic.

The Final Rule, however, leaves open the possibility of requesting information that would otherwise be appropriate under the ADA. For instance, employers may make disability-related inquiries after a conditional offer of employment (i.e., post-offer), so long as they do so for all entering employees in the same job category. Consequently, it is possible that a post-offer request for self-identification could be appropriate under the ADA. 

What remains the same?

Although the Final Rule removes several quantitative compliance requirements, it does not eliminate or rescind Section 503 itself. Covered federal contractors must still:

• Refrain from disability discrimination;
• Provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities;
• Take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities; and
• Maintain Section 503 affirmative action programs if they have 50 or more employees and a federal contract or subcontract of $50,000 or more.

Contractors must also continue conducting outreach and recruitment efforts aimed at attracting qualified individuals with disabilities, although contractors are no longer required to evaluate those efforts using disability self-identification data. 

Additional changes

The Final Rule updates the basic Section 503 coverage threshold from $15,000 to $20,000 to reflect an inflation adjustment and removes outdated references to Executive Order 11246, which was revoked in 2025. OFCCP also reorganized certain procedural provisions by relocating administrative enforcement procedures formerly found at 41 C.F.R. Part 60-30 directly into the Section 503 regulations. This change does not take effect until December 21, 2026, three (3) months after the rule’s general effective date. 

Practical steps for federal contractors

Federal contractors should review their current affirmative action and onboarding processes before the rule takes effect on September 21, 2026. In particular, employers should:

• Remove pre-offer (and potentially post-offer) disability self-identification forms and related workflow requirements after the effective date;
• Eliminate periodic requests for current employees to self-identify disability status; 
• Revise Section 503 affirmative action plans to eliminate utilization analyses and disability data calculations that are no longer required;
• Update compliance policies and procedures to reflect the new regulatory framework; and
• Continue to focus on disability nondiscrimination, reasonable accommodation practices, and outreach efforts, which remain core compliance obligations. 

Bottom line

The Final Rule substantially reduces the quantitative reporting and data collection obligations that have defined Section 503 compliance since 2013. However, federal contractors should not view the changes as the end of their disability-related compliance responsibilities. The core nondiscrimination, reasonable accommodation, affirmative action, and outreach requirements of Section 503 remain firmly in place, requiring continued attention from covered contractors and subcontractors.