ADA Title II: the accessibility deadline for your website.
A Justice Department rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires state and local governments to make their websites, apps and documents meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The first deadline is April 26, 2027.
Two dates, set by population.
The Justice Department moved both dates back one year in April 2026. The standard did not change: WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
April 26, 2027
State and local governments with a total population of 50,000 or more.
April 26, 2028
Governments with fewer than 50,000 people, and special district governments.
Every state and local government.
Counties, cities and towns and their departments and agencies, state agencies, special purpose districts, and public transit authorities. Public schools, colleges, libraries and courts are part of state or local government too.
More than the website.
- Your website and web apps, including the ones a vendor runs for you
- Mobile apps you offer the public
- Documents you post: PDFs, Word files, slide decks and spreadsheets
- Third-party tools on your site, such as calendars, payment portals, agendas and forms
- Social media posts made after your deadline
They are narrow, and each has conditions:
- Archived content made before the deadline, kept only for reference in a marked archive, and unchanged since
- Documents posted before the deadline, unless people still use them to apply for or get a service
- Content the public posts, such as comments
- Individual, password-protected documents about one person, property or account
- Social media posts made before the deadline
Audit, fix, document, keep it that way.
We hold our own work to WCAG 2.2 AA, which includes everything in 2.1, so what we fix stays ahead of the next update.
- 01
Audit
We test your site, key documents and the tools on it against WCAG 2.1 AA, by hand and with automated checks, and rank what we find by how many people it stops.
- 02
Fix
We repair what can be repaired and rebuild what can’t, starting with the services people use most.
- 03
Document
You get a plain-language report for leadership and an accessibility statement you can publish.
- 04
Keep it
Training for the staff who post content, and checks before each release, so it stays accessible after launch.
This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. The rule itself is on ADA.gov.
What people ask us
Does the rule apply if a vendor runs our website?
Yes. Content you provide through a contract or license is covered, so sites and tools a vendor hosts for you need to meet WCAG 2.1 AA too.
What standard do we have to meet?
WCAG 2.1 Level AA, from the World Wide Web Consortium. It covers things like text alternatives for images, captions, color contrast, keyboard access and forms people can complete.
Do our old PDFs have to be fixed?
Not if they were posted before your deadline and nobody needs them to apply for or use a service. Anything people still rely on does need to be accessible.
Is an accessibility overlay enough?
Not on its own. Overlay widgets don’t change the code underneath, and that code is what WCAG measures.
What happens if we miss the deadline?
The Justice Department can investigate complaints, and people can sue under the ADA. Fixing things on your own schedule costs less than fixing them after a complaint.
Does this apply to nonprofits?
Title II covers governments. Nonprofits that receive federal funds may have similar duties under Section 504; more on that here.
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