Title II of the ADA, for government websites.
A 2024 rule turned a general duty into a technical one: state and local government websites and mobile apps have to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Here is who it covers, when, and where to start.
Last reviewed November 5, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
At a glance
- Law
- ADA Title II, 1990
- Web rule published
- April 24, 2024
- Standard
- WCAG 2.1 Level AA
- Population 50,000 or more
- April 26, 2027
- Under 50,000 and special districts
- April 26, 2028
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act bars state and local governments from excluding people with disabilities from their services, programs and activities. Since a 2024 rule, that includes a specific technical standard for websites and mobile apps: WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
- An interim final rule of April 20, 2026 moved the compliance dates back a year. Entities with a population of 50,000 or more have until April 26, 2027. Smaller entities and special district governments have until April 26, 2028.
- The rule covers content a vendor builds or runs for the government, too. A few kinds of content are exempt, such as true archives and documents posted before the compliance date that nobody uses to get a service.
- This page is general information, not legal advice. Check ada.gov for changes and talk to your counsel about your own situation.
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act has applied to state and local governments since 1990. It says they cannot shut people with disabilities out of their services, programs and activities. For years it did not say what that meant for a website. A town could be told its site was a barrier without any rule saying what an accessible one looked like.
That changed on April 24, 2024, when the Department of Justice published a rule naming WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard for government websites and mobile apps. On April 20, 2026 it gave everyone one more year. The fact sheet on ada.gov is the official summary and the place to check for later changes.
This page summarizes the rule in general terms. It is not legal advice and we are not a law firm. For your own entity, talk to your counsel or call the ADA National Network at 800-949-4232.
Who the rule covers
Every state and local government entity: states, counties, cities and towns, public school districts, public colleges and universities, public libraries, courts, police departments, transit agencies, and special districts such as water, fire and park districts.
The rule covers the web content and mobile apps they provide, including those a contractor provides for them. A county park page built by a local agency, a parking app run by a private company for the city, and a hosted payment or booking system all count. If you build or host sites for a public entity, the deadline applies to your work too.
Federal agencies follow Section 508, not Title II. Private businesses open to the public fall under Title III, which has no technical web rule. Our ADA guide covers Title III.
The deadlines
The deadline depends on the total population of the government entity. The original 2024 rule set dates in April 2026 and April 2027. The 2026 interim final rule moved both back one year.
| Who | Compliance date |
|---|---|
| State and local governments, population 50,000 or more | April 26, 2027 |
| State and local governments, population under 50,000 | April 26, 2028 |
| Special district governments, any size | April 26, 2028 |
School districts, libraries and police departments should check which date applies to them in the ada.gov fact sheet, which answers that question directly. The duty does not end on the deadline: new content has to keep meeting the standard.
What the rule requires
Web content and mobile apps have to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. That is 50 success criteria covering text alternatives for images, captions, color contrast, keyboard access, clear labels and error messages on forms, and code that assistive technology can read. Our WCAG checklist lists each one in plain English. Meeting WCAG 2.2 AA covers 2.1 AA as well.
Two details matter in practice. First, a separate “accessible version” of an inaccessible page is allowed only when a technical or legal limit makes fixing the original impossible. Second, a failure so small that it does not change anyone's access, such as text at a contrast ratio of 4.45:1 instead of 4.5:1, does not break the rule. The entity has to show that, and it cannot rely on it as a plan.
The exceptions
Five kinds of content do not have to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Each one has conditions, and if any condition is missing the content is covered.
Even exempt content has to be made available to a person with a disability who asks for it, through effective communication or a reasonable modification.
Where to start
- Inventory. List your sites, subdomains, portals, hosted vendor tools and apps. Most entities find more than they expected.
- Scan the high-traffic pages. Start with the home page, contact pages, payments, permits, meeting agendas and job listings. A free scan runs 60+ WCAG checks in under a minute and shows the common barriers.
- Fix templates first. One fix to a header, menu or form template repairs every page that uses it.
- Test by hand. Tab through each key task with only a keyboard, and try it with a screen reader.
- Sort your documents. Move true archives into a marked archive area, and remediate the PDFs people still use.
- Update vendor contracts. Ask for WCAG 2.1 AA and how the vendor tests it.
- Publish a statement. Say what standard you aim for, what is still open and how to reach a person. The statement generator takes five minutes.
What software can and cannot do
Tools speed up the first pass. They do not finish the job, and no tool can certify that a site meets the rule.
| Work | How Accessora helps |
|---|---|
| Missing alt text on images | AuditAI alt text |
| Low color contrast | AuditAutomated fixWidget |
| Form fields without labels | AuditAutomated fix |
| Keyboard access to menus, forms and payments | Needs you |
| Captions on meeting recordings and videos | Needs you |
| PDF forms, agendas and reports | Needs you |
| Mobile apps | Needs you |
Audits scan your pages on a schedule and list each issue with its WCAG criterion and the elements affected. On Enterprise, automated fixes repair common forms of missing labels, accessible names and link text when the page loads. On Growth and Enterprise, AI alt text writes English descriptions for images that have none, for staff to review. The widget lets visitors raise contrast or text size themselves. Captions, keyboard flows, PDFs and mobile apps need people.
Keep a dated record of each scan and fix. It shows where you started, what you changed and when.
What is Title II of the ADA?
Title II is the part of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 that covers state and local governments. It says they cannot exclude people with disabilities from their services, programs and activities. The Department of Justice's 2024 rule adds a specific standard for how that applies to websites and mobile apps.
When is the ADA Title II deadline?
April 26, 2027 for state and local governments with a total population of 50,000 or more. April 26, 2028 for those under 50,000 and for special district governments. The dates come from an interim final rule published April 20, 2026, which pushed the original 2026 and 2027 dates back a year.
Does Title II apply to private businesses?
No. Private businesses open to the public fall under Title III, which has no technical web rule. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is still the benchmark courts and the Department of Justice use there. Our ADA guide covers Title III.
Does the rule cover PDFs?
Yes. Word, PDF, presentation and spreadsheet files posted after the compliance date have to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Files posted before it are exempt only if nobody uses them to apply for or take part in a service. An old PDF permit application that people still fill in is covered.
Is an accessibility widget enough?
No. The rule asks for the content itself to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. A widget lets visitors adjust text size, contrast and spacing, which helps some people, but it does not add captions, fix a form that a keyboard cannot reach, or make a PDF readable. Treat it as one part of the work.
Our website is run by a vendor. Who is responsible?
The public entity. The rule covers web content and mobile apps a government provides through contracts, licenses or other arrangements, including hosted calendars, payment portals and booking systems. Put WCAG 2.1 AA in the contract and ask vendors how they test.
See where your site stands.
Add your site and Accessora lists each issue its audit finds, with the WCAG criterion and the elements affected, so your team knows where to start. 7-day free trial on every plan.