A Practical Guide to ADA Title II Web Accessibility Rule
The Department of Justice rule, issued in 2024, that sets a technical standard for the websites and mobile apps of state and local governments in the United States.
Marcus Adeyemi
What is at stake
It is the first ADA regulation to name a specific web standard, WCAG 2.1 AA, and it applies to public bodies and the contractors who build their digital services.
The playbook
- Inventory every public website, app and document
- Audit against WCAG 2.1 AA and prioritize critical services
- Build accessibility requirements into procurement
- Train content editors who publish documents and pages
- Publish a way for the public to report barriers
Where it goes wrong
Avoid:
- Assuming third-party platforms are someone else's responsibility
- Leaving PDF documents out of scope without checking exceptions
- Starting remediation just before the deadline
- Relying on overlays for compliance
The numbers behind it
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Standard adopted | WCAG 2.1 level AA |
| Rule published | April 2024 |
| Compliance date, entities serving 50,000 or more people | April 24, 2026 |
| Compliance date, smaller entities and special districts | April 26, 2027 |
| Coverage | web content and mobile apps of state and local government entities |
Getting outside help
When to hand it over: Bring in help when a public entity needs an accessibility plan, audit or vendor requirements before its compliance date.
Where this comes from
- ADA.gov — Fact sheet: New rule on the accessibility of web content and mobile apps
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative — WCAG 2.1
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Performance & Accessibility work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
