Evaluation Criteria

The FirstGov.gov staff evaluates all suggested links using the following criteria:

• Is the recommended website an official government-owned or supported website?
• Does the recommended website provide official government information or services?
• Does the recommended website complement existing information, products and services on FirstGov.gov?
• Is the recommended website accessible and applicable to a wide audience?
• Is the recommended website's content relevant, useful and authoritative for citizens, businesses and/or government officials?
• Does the recommended website's information appear to be accurate and current?
• Is the recommended website's approach to the privacy of personal information consistent with the government's privacy and security policies?
• Is the recommended website "user-friendly?"
• Does the recommended website meet one or more of the following "highly desirable" criteria?
  • The website crosses agency or intergovernmental boundaries (e.g., students.gov, fedforms.gov and nutrition.gov);
  • The website enables citizens, businesses and/or government officials to conduct transactions online (e.g., buying stamps or coins, replacing Medicare cards, and filing taxes);
  • The website provides citizens, businesses and/or government officials with the information they need to interact directly with government organizations (e.g., clearly available telephone numbers, street addresses, e-mail addresses and instructions);
  • The website provides citizens with information about service performance (e.g., Nursing Home Compare, AirNow and Ontime Airline Statistics); and/or
  • The website provides community-level information and services (e.g., MapStats, post office locators, Social Security Office locators, National Park Service Guides and veterans' facilities).
  
  

Links to Government Websites

FirstGov can add a link to any government website that is publicly available unless directed not to by the agency that owns the site. Acceptable federal government-owned or government-sponsored website domains include .gov, .mil and .fed.us. FirstGov.gov also links to: quasi-government agencies and websites created by public sector/private sector partnerships; state and local government sites (e.g., www.maryland.gov); and some government-sponsored websites that end in .com, .org, or .net (e.g., www.usps.com for the U.S. Postal Service and www.ncfy.com/clear.htm for the National Clearinghouses and Resource Centers on Families and Youth).

Links to Non-Government Websites

In rare instances, FirstGov.gov links to websites that are not government-owned or government-sponsored if these websites provide government information and/or services in a way that is not available on an official government website. FirstGov.gov provides these non-government websites as a public service only. The U.S. government, including the U.S. General Services Administration (the primary sponsoring federal agency of FirstGov.gov), neither endorses nor guarantees in any way the external organizations, services, advice, or products included in these website links. Furthermore, the U.S. government neither controls nor guarantees the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of the information contained in non-government website links. (See Disclaimer of Endorsement for more information on this topic.)

Featured Links

FirstGov.gov highlights links of special interest to wide audiences by temporarily posting them in a position of prominence on the website. Featured links may include: online transactions; seasonal information; current topics on the minds of citizens, businesses or government officials; community-level services and information; cross-agency portals that enhance the public's interaction with government; kids' websites; and new links.

Prohibitions

FirstGov.gov will not link to any website that exhibits hate, bias, or discrimination. Furthermore, FirstGov reserves the right to deny or remove any link that contains misleading information or unsubstantiated claims, or is determined to be in conflict with FirstGov.gov's mission or policies.

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The information posted on the FirstGov.gov website includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. FirstGov.gov provides these links and pointers solely for our users' information and convenience. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the FirstGov.gov site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website.

• The General Services Administration (GSA) and FirstGov do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
• The GSA and FirstGov do not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.
• The GSA and FirstGov cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website.
• The GSA and FirstGov are not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
• The GSA and FirstGov do not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

Privacy and Security

Check the FirstGov.gov Privacy and Security Notice for more information about FirstGov.gov Privacy and Security policies.