State & federal requirements and deadlines
A summary of the federal rules that apply to state and local government websites, current as of 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Website & app standards — WCAG 2.1 AA
Under Department of Justice Title II rules (28 CFR Part 35), local and state government entities must make their websites, digital documents, and mobile apps conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA. This applies to cities, towns, counties, school districts, public colleges, transit agencies, and other public entities — not just the main website, but PDFs, forms, and apps published for public use.
Compliance deadlines
Larger entities
April 24, 2026
Public entities serving a population of 50,000 or more.
Small entities
April 26, 2027
Public entities serving a population under 50,000, and special district governments.
Deadlines are set from the rule's publication date and are calculated per-entity — confirm your organization's exact date with legal counsel, since eligibility and exceptions can vary.
Effective communication
Separately from the website rule, Title II has long required public entities to ensure effective communication with residents who have disabilities. That means providing auxiliary aids and services — such as sign language interpreters, real-time captioning, Braille, or accessible electronic documents — upon request, at no extra cost to the person requesting them.
Do state laws add anything?
Yes, often. Many states layer their own requirements on top of the federal baseline — for example, state IT accessibility policies that reference WCAG for state agency websites, or state civil rights laws (like California's Unruh Act) that let ADA violations also be pursued as state law claims. These vary significantly by state and change over time, so we recommend confirming current requirements with your state's IT accessibility office or legal counsel in addition to meeting the federal Title II deadlines above.
Where to start
- Run a free scan of your homepage and a few key pages (forms, PDFs, service pages).
- Fix critical issues first — missing alt text, unlabeled forms, and keyboard traps affect the most people.
- Document your effective-communication process for auxiliary aid requests.
- Plan for a full manual audit before your deadline — automated scans catch roughly a third of WCAG issues.
Need help planning toward your deadline?
Paid customers get free ADA compliance consulting from Chenango Web Design LLC, on request.
Request consulting