ADA Title II and Digital Accessibility
In April 2024, the Department of Justice finalized a rule requiring all state and local government entities to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards for their digital content. Here's what it means and what you need to do.
April 24, 2026
Entities serving populations of 50,000 or more — counties, cities, MPOs, transit agencies, school districts
April 26, 2027
Entities serving populations under 50,000 and special district governments
What is ADA Title II?
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by state and local government entities. It has applied to physical spaces and public services since 1990.
In April 2024, the DOJ published a final rule extending Title II explicitly to digital content — websites, mobile apps, PDFs, online forms, social media, and all publicly accessible digital materials.
The rule adopts WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard. Any digital content that fails to meet WCAG 2.1 AA is presumed to be discriminatory under the rule unless an exception applies.
Every state and local government entity in the United States is covered — cities, counties, school districts, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), water districts, housing authorities, and every other public entity.
What digital content is covered?
- •All website pages — including content management systems
- •PDF documents, forms, and reports
- •Mobile applications
- •Online services and portals (permits, payments, applications)
- •Social media content posted by the entity
- •Videos with captions and audio descriptions
- •Third-party content integrated into your site
Limited exceptions
- ⚠Archived content (pre-deadline, reference-only, not updated, in dedicated archive)
- ⚠Content posted by third parties without contract
- ⚠Preexisting conventional electronic documents (with conditions)
- ⚠Undue burden (rarely applicable — must be documented)
What does WCAG 2.1 Level AA require?
WCAG 2.1 AA is organized around four principles — Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust — with 50+ specific success criteria.
Perceivable
- ✓Alt text for all images
- ✓Captions for video
- ✓Audio descriptions
- ✓Color not the only conveyor of information
- ✓Text resizable to 200% without loss of content
Operable
- ✓Full keyboard navigation
- ✓No content that flashes more than 3 times/second
- ✓Skip navigation links
- ✓Descriptive page titles
- ✓Focus visible at all times
Understandable
- ✓Language of page declared
- ✓Form input errors described
- ✓Labels for all form controls
- ✓Consistent navigation
- ✓Error prevention on important submissions
Robust
- ✓Valid, parseable HTML
- ✓Name, role, value for all UI components
- ✓Status messages announced to screen readers
What happens if we don't comply?
Non-compliance exposes your entity to complaints filed with the DOJ Civil Rights Division and private litigation under the ADA. Federal enforcement actions can include:
- ⚠Civil penalties: Up to $150,000 per violation under ADA and Section 508
- ⚠DOJ investigation: Formal investigation triggered by a single complaint — can cover your entire digital footprint
- ⚠Corrective action plan: Mandatory remediation timeline imposed by federal order
- ⚠Ongoing monitoring: Federal oversight for multiple years post-violation
- ⚠Private litigation: ADA provides a private right of action — advocacy groups have been active
What regulators look for
Federal reviewers and courts do not expect instant perfection. They look for a credible, documented compliance program demonstrating good-faith effort. That means:
- ✓A completed accessibility audit documenting known issues
- ✓A remediation plan with prioritized action items
- ✓An active accommodation request process for constituents who need accessible materials
- ✓Evidence that accessibility requests are responded to
- ✓Ongoing monitoring — not just a one-time scan
CivicComply documents all of this automatically — audit, requests, remediation, certificates.
Start building your compliance record today.
The free plan includes the accommodation request widget and a 10-page scan — the two things that start your audit trail immediately.