What the rule says
In April 2024 the Department of Justice published a rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Title II already required state and local governments to make their services, programs and activities accessible to people with disabilities. The rule adds a specific technical standard for the web content and mobile apps they provide: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1, Level AA. The guidelines are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium and spell out what makes a page usable, such as text descriptions for images and captions for videos.
On April 20, 2026, the Department extended the compliance dates by one year:
- Governments with a total population of 50,000 or more: April 26, 2027.
- Governments with fewer than 50,000 people, and all special district governments: April 26, 2028.
The extension changed the dates and nothing else in the rule. In the same document, the Department wrote that covered governments have "an ongoing obligation" under Title II to make the services they offer online accessible, whatever the compliance dates. The extra year is time to get the work done. The duty to residents with disabilities applies today.
What it covers
The Department's fact sheet says the standard applies to web content and mobile apps a government provides or makes available, including through a contractor. Its own example: a county parks page has to meet the standard even if a local web design company built it and keeps it updated. The same goes for a parking payment app run by a private company for the city.
Calendars, scheduling tools, maps, reservation systems and payment systems from outside companies count too, because the government put them on its site. A city police department or library uses the city's population to find its date.
The exceptions, briefly
The rule has a few limited exceptions. Archived content can be exempt, but only if it was created before your compliance date, is kept only for reference or recordkeeping, sits in a clearly marked archive area, and has not been changed since. Older PDFs and other documents posted before your date are usually exempt as well. That exception does not cover documents people still use to apply for or take part in a service, so a 2020 permit application that residents still fill out has to meet the standard.
Social media posts made before your date are exempt. Individual bills and similar documents behind a login can be too. Even when content is exempt, you will likely still need to provide it in an accessible form to a person with a disability who asks.
What to do now
Start by finding out what you have. List your main site, any separate department sites, your mobile apps, and every outside tool residents use, from bill pay to meeting video.
Next, put the things people use most at the top. The fact sheet says the exceptions exist so governments can make "current or commonly used information" accessible first. In practice that usually means your home page, contact and hours pages, and the online forms where residents actually get something done: paying a bill, applying for a permit, requesting records, signing up for a program.
Then look at your vendors. Ask each one for accessibility documentation for its product, and test the tool yourself with a keyboard and a screen reader. Put the Level AA requirement in new contracts and renewals so the responsibility is written down.
Fix how new content gets made, too. After your compliance date, new documents, meeting packets and presentations do not qualify for the older document exception. The staff who post agendas, flyers and news need a simple routine for headings, image descriptions, readable PDFs and captions.
Finally, clean up. Delete pages that are finished or duplicated, since every page you remove is one less to fix. Move true records into a marked archive and leave them unchanged.
Many of the barriers residents already hit — out-of-date pages, unreadable PDFs, forms that block keyboard users — are the same ones we cover in our guide to common website problems that cost trust.
Quick questions and answers
What standard do we have to meet?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1, Level AA, for web content and mobile apps.
Our population is right around 50,000. Which date applies?
The fact sheet says most governments can find their population in the 2020 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. If yours is 50,000 or more, your date is April 26, 2027.
Does the rule apply to sites our vendors run for us?
Yes. Content and apps provided through a contractor or other arrangement are covered.
Do we have to fix every old PDF?
Usually not, if it was posted before your date and nobody uses it to apply for or take part in a service. Documents still in use have to be accessible.
Could the dates move again?
The Department wrote that it may propose changes to the rule during the extension period, and that if it doesn't and nothing suggests more delays, it "fully anticipates implementing the regulation at the new deadline." Plan for April 26, 2027.
Where can we ask the Justice Department a question?
The ADA Information Line is 800-514-0301 (voice) and 1-833-610-1264 (TTY).
A place to start
Want a quick look at your own site? The free Awesome Audit check looks at your home page and up to 25 more pages. In about 10 minutes you get a letter grade and the biggest problems in plain language, with what to fix first. No account, no password.
