United StatesADA Title II web rule, accessibility of the web content and mobile apps of state and local government entities
An accessibility requirements rule binding government bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Instrument type
- a regulation made under an act
- Conformance standard
- WCAG 2.1 AA
What it requires
- If you are a public entity, ensure that the web content and mobile apps you provide or make available, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities (28 CFR 35.200(a)).
- From , if you are a public entity other than a special district government with a total population of 50,000 or more, make that web content and those mobile apps comply with Level A and Level AA of WCAG 2.1; the date was before the 2026 interim final rule (28 CFR 35.200(b)(1)).
- From , if you are a public entity with a total population of less than 50,000 or a special district government, make that web content and those mobile apps comply with Level A and Level AA of WCAG 2.1; the date was before the 2026 interim final rule (28 CFR 35.200(b)(2)).
- Where you can demonstrate that compliance would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity or in undue financial and administrative burdens, you must still comply to the extent that it does not; you bear the burden of proving it, the head of the public entity or a designee must decide after considering all available resources and give a written statement of reasons, and you must take any other action that ensures individuals with disabilities receive the benefits or services to the maximum extent possible (28 CFR 35.204).
- Archived web content, preexisting conventional electronic documents not currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in your services, content posted by a third party that is not posting by contractual, licensing, or other arrangement with you, individualized password-protected conventional electronic documents about a specific person, their property or their account, and social media posts made before your compliance date are excepted (28 CFR 35.201).
- Use a conforming alternate version of web content only where it is not possible to make the content directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations (28 CFR 35.202(a)); other designs, methods or techniques are allowed where they result in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability (28 CFR 35.203).
- Noncompliance with WCAG 2.1 is treated as compliance only where you can show its impact on access is so minimal that people with disabilities can still access the same information, engage in the same interactions, conduct the same transactions and otherwise participate in the same services, programs and activities with substantially equivalent timeliness, privacy, independence, and ease of use (28 CFR 35.205).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
A public entity must ensure that the web content and mobile apps it provides or makes available, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
The rule requires that content and those apps comply with Level A and Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, unless the public entity can demonstrate a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity or undue financial and administrative burdens. A 2026 interim final rule moved the compliance date for a public entity, other than a special district government, with a total population of 50,000 or more from to .
The same rule moved the date for a public entity with a total population of less than 50,000 and for any special district government from to . The Department of Justice states that, regardless of the compliance dates, a covered entity has an ongoing obligation under title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that its services, programs, and activities offered using web content and mobile apps are accessible.
A public entity includes any State or local government and any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government. The population of an independent school district, or of an instrumentality of one, is the Census Bureau's estimate for the district in its most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.
The rule excepts archived web content, preexisting conventional electronic documents not currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in a service, content posted by a third party that is not posting by arrangement with the entity, individualized password-protected conventional electronic documents, and social media posts made before the compliance date.
A public entity may use conforming alternate versions of web content only where it is not possible to make the web content directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations. Where compliance would result in a fundamental alteration or undue financial and administrative burdens, the decision must be made by the head of the public entity or a designee after considering all available resources and must be accompanied by a written statement of the reasons.
A public entity that is not in full compliance is deemed to meet the requirements where its noncompliance has so minimal an impact on access that people with disabilities can still use its web content or mobile app with substantially equivalent timeliness, privacy, independence, and ease of use.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface or ships a mobile app.
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