This accessibility statement applies to the following websites, owned and operated by Imperial War Museums:

These websites are run by the Board of Trustees of Imperial War Museums. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels, and fonts
  • zoom in up to 400% 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)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

For help customising your experience using accessibility features already on your computer, or by installing extra assistive technologies, try these sites:

How accessible this website is

We've tried to build in features to increase general accessibility including: 

  • Text content written in plain English to make it easier to understand
  • A logical layout using structural elements including headings
  • Supporting assistive technology users in better labelling images
  • Skip to content links to help keyboard users
  • Having transcripts on audio and video

We know that some parts of this website aren't fully accessible and are working to improve their accessibility, including the following issues:

  • Not all buttons and forms are labelled fully
  • Images with missing or unhelpful alternative text
  • Links with missing or unhelpful text
  • Missing headings
  • A lot of older content might not be accessible e.g. some PDF documents are not formatted to be accessible.
  • Some audio content and collections media does not have transcriptions.
  • Our third-party booking system may not be fully accessible.
  • Our third-party online shop may not be fully accessible. 

Feedback and reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website and welcome your feedback. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact Customer Services  via our online form. 

To contact us by telephone:

  • Customer Services: +44 (0)20 7091 3067
    Reception: +44 (0)20 7416 5000

Calls are answered Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, standard call charges apply

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).

Technical information about our website’s accessibility

Imperial War Museums are committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 (Opens in new window) AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The following are the most common problems found across the site:

  • Images on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails WCAG 2.2. success criterion 1.1.1
  • Some tables are structured so screen readers cannot understand the relationships between information in the table. This fails  WCAG 2.2. success criterion 1.3.1
  • Some lists are structured so screen readers cannot understand the order of information. This fails  WCAG 2.2. success criterion 1.3.1
  • Some text may not have sufficient contrast against its background, especially when text has been laid over images. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3
  • Some pages use images of text instead of text. This fails. WCAG 2.2. success criterion 1.4.5 
  • Some pages do not have unique or descriptive link text, making it difficult to navigate links out of context. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4
  • Some pages lack headings or have non-sequential headings. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6
  • Alternative accessible formats may not be available to: 
    • Purchase pre-booked general admission tickets 
    • Purchase air show and event tickets
    • Booking an appointment to the research room
    • Licensing IWM collections

We are currently working to address these issues.

We are also working on re-designing many of our PDFs to make sure they are more accessible.

Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Some problems fall outside the scope of the accessibility regulations:

  • Objects within our collections, archives, and libraries
    These are exempt under the Accessibility Regulations and there are no plans to update all heritage collection content. However, where possible, and on request, we may be able to provide information in alternative formats. 
  • PDFs and other documents
    Many of our older PDF documents do not meet accessibility standards and may not be structured so they are accessible to a screen reader. The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services, however if they are still regularly used by our visitors then we will improve their accessibility.
  • Video and audio
    Some of the audio and video on this site does not have captions, descriptions, or a text equivalent.
  • Maps
    Essential information is provided in alternative accessible formats

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are working to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared in April 2025. The statement was last reviewed on 11 February 2026

This website was lasted tested for accessibility in July 2025

The tests were carried out by members of the Digital team at IWM, in parallel to the Government Digital Service audit over the same period. We also run automated tests across the main website (iwm.org.uk), using  We also worked with a third party, Hassell Inclusion, to further test our most important user journeys. 

The website was last audited for accessibility in November 2025 by the Government Digital Service.