Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Web & Mobile Application Accessibility Rule / Justice Department

1. Introduction and Goals (Including Roadmap and Structure) (0:01-4:19)
2. Why Web Accessibility Matters (Including screen reader demonstrations) (4:19-10:47)
3. Background on the ADA Statute and Regulations (Title II context) (10:47-12:34)
4. Requirements of the Rule (Who, What, When: Public Entities, WCAG 2.1 Level AA, Compliance Dates, Existing Obligations) (12:34-27:40)
5. Exceptions, Alternative Compliance, and Next Steps (5 Exceptions, Fundamental Alteration/Undue Burden, Resources, and Conclusion) (27:40-End of Webinar)

Introduction and Goals

REBECCA: Hi everyone, my name is Rebecca Guterman and I work in the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. We’ve created this webinar to help members of the public better understand a rule on web and mobile app accessibility that the Department published under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act in April 2024. The rule applies to public entities, which we’ll also refer to as state and local governments. For too long, too many people with disabilities have been excluded from important state and local government programs because their state and local governments’ websites and mobile apps are not accessible. This rule is really important because it will help make sure that everyone can access their state and local governments’ websites and mobile apps, regardless of whether they have a disability.

Let’s go over the goals for this webinar: First, we want to help you get generally familiar with what the rule requires. Think of this as your introductory course. If you work for or with a state or local government, this webinar will help you learn about what the rule requires you to do. If you are a person with a disability, or a disability rights organization, this webinar will help you learn more about your or your clients’ rights under the rule.

As I mentioned, this presentation won’t be comprehensive, and we know that you will likely continue to have questions after the presentation is done. So, our second goal is to give you a toolkit that you can consult when you have questions in the future. Those resources are linked in the video description, and we’ll go over them at the end of the presentation.

I also want to clarify what this webinar will not include: This will not be an in-depth presentation on the ins and outs of the technical standard that this rule adopts (which, as I’ll get into later, is called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1). Instead, this will be a presentation on the legal requirements for which content does or does not have to follow that technical standard. The World Wide Web Consortium, which is the group that publishes the technical standard, has other resources that may help you better understand that standard.

I’ll now provide a quick roadmap for our presentation. First, we’ll talk about why web accessibility matters. Then, we’ll provide some background on the ADA statute and regulations. Then, we’ll go over who has obligations under the rule, what those obligations are, and when those obligations go into effect. Then, we’ll talk about some exceptions to the obligations under the rule, and some other situations when state and local governments might have some flexibility in terms of how they meet their obligations. And then finally, as I mentioned, we will provide some additional resources to consult, and we’ll talk about what this rule might mean for you.

Throughout the webinar, we’ll pause for informal “knowledge checks.” These are brief quiz questions for you to think about, so that you can make sure you are understanding the presentation. This webinar will run for a little over an hour. We think it is a helpful presentation with lots of useful information, but if you don’t have an hour to spend watching a webinar, there are some shorter handouts that you can review on ADA.gov that will give you basic information about the rule. We have included links to these documents in the video description.

Why Web Accessibility Matters

REBECCA: So, without further ado, let’s dive into the material. Let’s first take some time to talk about why web accessibility is so important. I want you to take a moment and think about the times in the past that you have visited your state or local government’s website or mobile app. Perhaps you used an app to pay for parking. Maybe you looked at a school calendar on the website for your child’s public school. Maybe your child logged onto a website to download their public-school homework assignment. Maybe you filled out a form to register to vote online. If you went to a public hospital or healthcare system, maybe you used an online portal to sign in for appointments, communicate with your provider, or access test results. Maybe you made a maintenance request, like a request to fill a pothole. Maybe you renewed an ID card. Maybe you reserved a space in a public park.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg—I’m sure you all can think of many other examples of government services you’ve accessed online. And if you work for or with a state or local government, I’m sure you can think about many other services that your state or local government offers online.

Now, think about how impactful and disruptive it would be if those websites and mobile apps were not designed in a way that you could use. You might still be able to use the website or mobile app, but it might take you twice as long to complete the task you are trying to complete. You might have to get somebody else to help you every time you want to use a website or mobile app, which could be a real invasion of privacy, especially if you’re trying to do something that involves sensitive personal information. Or worst of all, you might not be able to complete the task at all. If you’re a person with a disability that affects your ability to use the web or mobile apps, this is all too familiar for you. Unfortunately, it’s all too common for there to be accessibility issues on state and local government websites and apps, which has meant that some people with disabilities have been excluded from these kinds of government services for far too long.

To help illustrate this problem, I’m going to play two audio clips for you. One major accessibility issue is that we see websites, mobile apps, and documents aren’t designed for a screen reader to accurately read them. This can make it really hard or impossible for people with visual disabilities to access the content. Let’s first listen to an audio clip demonstrating what it sounds like when a screen reader opens and reads a PDF form that was not designed accessibly. In this audio clip, you’ll hear the screen reader announce what it thinks is in the form as the user moves from one section of the document to the next. As you’re listening, try to decide if you would know what to do with this form based on what the screen reader is saying. What the screen reader is saying will also be included in the captions.

SCREEN READER: Edit type in text, edit type in text, semicolon underline underline underline, State colon underline underline underline, zip code colon underline underline underline, edit type in text, edit type in text, edit type in text.

REBECCA: As the screen reader went through this document, it said “Edit, Type in Text” a number of times, but it’s not clear what text should be typed in. The screen reader also said “City,” “state,” and “Zip code” along with a bunch of odd “colons” and “underlines.” So based on what the screen reader announced, you might guess that this part of the form is for entering your address, but it would be impossible to know what exactly, to know exactly where and when to type each part of your address. As it’s currently formatted, the PDF is basically useless to someone who cannot see the form and uses a screen reader.

This slide shows the form the screen reader was actually trying to read through. There are fields for first name, last name, address, city, state, and zip code. Each field includes a text label and an associated box to type in the information. Let’s listen to an audio clip next that shows what it sounds like when the form is designed accessibly so that the screen reader can accurately read it.

SCREEN READER: First name edit type in text, last name edit type in text, address edit type in text, city edit type in text, state edit type in text, zip code edit type in text.

REBECCA: When the form is designed accessibly, it’s immediately clear what each section of the form is for. For example, a user knows to type their first name after hearing: “First Name, Edit, Type in Text.” Someone who could not see this form would still be able to fill it out using a screen reader. This is just one example of the type of problem that the Department’s new rule is designed to help solve. There are also lots of other kinds of web accessibility issues that can affect people with lots of other kinds of disabilities. As we noted earlier, our hope is that our rule will make sure that everyone can access their state or local governments’ websites and mobile apps, regardless of whether they have a disability.

Background on the ADA Statute and Regulations

REBECCA: I’ll now give some brief background on the ADA statute and regulations. The ADA, for anyone who is not already aware, is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities. The ADA is broken up into five different sections, or titles. This rule is under Title II, which covers requirements for public entities, including state and local governments. The ADA regulations have always made clear that state and local governments have to make sure their services, programs, and activities (which we’ll call “services” for short) are accessible to people with disabilities. The Department has consistently said that these requirements apply to all services that a state or local government offers, including those offered via the web and mobile apps.

But until now, the Department never issued a regulation specifying what technical requirements those state and local governments have to meet to satisfy their obligations under Title II. For years, people had been asking the Department to issue a rule on this topic. And that’s part of what makes this rule so important—it establishes specific requirements, including adopting a specific technical standard, that make clearer for public entities what they have to do to make sure that their web content and mobile apps comply with the ADA.

Requirements of the Rule

REBECCA: So with that, let’s dig in to the requirements of the rule. Let’s first go over who has obligations under this rule; in other words, who is required to take the actions that the rule requires. As I mentioned earlier, the rule applies to “public entities,” as defined under Title II of the ADA. “Public entities” include state and local governments and any agencies or departments within those governments. Examples of public entities include: public schools and universities, State and local law enforcement and courts, public hospitals and healthcare services, parks and recreation programs, libraries, state benefits programs, and many more.

Content Covered by the Rule

REBECCA: So let’s talk about the kinds of content that the rule applies to. The rule applies to web content and mobile apps that a state or local government provides or makes available, whether directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements. The rule includes a technical definition of web content that’s based on the definition that’s in the technical standard, which you can check out in the rule itself. But in simple terms, web content means basically anything that’s posted on the web, including web pages, images, sounds, videos, PDFs, and other documents.

Basically, think about functions that a city or a county or a state might offer on its website—signing up for weather emergency alerts, filing a police report, paying bills, applying for a permit, among many others. All of those functions would generally have to comply with the technical standard in this rule. The rule applies to both content that is on the state or local government’s own website, as well as the state or local government’s web content that is posted elsewhere on the web. This includes, for example, a public entity’s social media posts. The rule also applies to mobile apps, which are software applications that are downloaded and designed to run on mobile devices.

The technical standard applies not only to web content and mobile apps that a state or local government creates or posts itself, but also to web content and mobile apps that are created or posted by someone else on behalf of that government. For example, if a city government hires a contractor to build the government’s website, that government generally has to meet the technical standard. Also, if a city government uses a mobile app created by a private company to offer services to the public, the city generally has to make sure it uses an app that complies with the technical standard. Both before and after this rule, state and local governments cannot avoid complying with the ADA by hiring someone else to do work for them.

• Knowledge Check 1: Answer is E, all of the above! (A PDF flyer, a video on social media, a website to pay taxes, and an online system for reservations all generally need to meet the technical standard.)

The Technical Standard

REBECCA: Under the final rule, public entities will need to make sure that their web content and mobile apps comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1 Level AA. WCAG is a bit like the ADA Standards for Accessible Design in the physical access space. The technical standard will let public entities know what they need to do to make their web content and mobile apps accessible.

WCAG 2.1 is broken down into “success criteria,” classified as Level A, Level AA, or Level AAA. This rule adopts Level AA, which includes all of the core Level A criteria as well as the AA criteria. Examples of what WCAG requires include:

• Alternative text for visual images (so screen readers can present the information).
• Captioning (for people who are deaf to access certain content).

Compliance Dates

REBECCA: The date on which public entities will need to comply with the technical standard depends on the size of the entity.

• April 26, 2027: Fewer than 50,000 people (and special district governments)
• April 24, 2026: 50,000 or more people

The basic principle is that state and local governments’ populations are based on their populations as calculated by the United States Census Bureau. If public entities don’t have populations calculated by the Census Bureau (like a library or a police department), their population is determined by the population of the state or local government that the entity is affiliated with.

Important Note: Public entities are already required to make sure that their services offered via the web and mobile apps are accessible. They must:

• Make reasonable modifications.
• Ensure effective communication.
• Provide equal opportunity to people with disabilities to participate in or benefit from government services offered online and through mobile apps.

We refer to these as public entities’ “existing obligations,” and they still apply even before the compliance dates for this rule arrive.

• Knowledge Check 2: Answer is A. The community college has to comply by April 2026. (Its population is determined by the county’s population of 1 million, which is over the 50,000 threshold.)
• Knowledge Check 3: Answer is B. This is false. (The county still has existing obligations under the ADA and should start planning ahead for compliance before April 2026.)

Exceptions to the Rule

BADAR: State and local governments’ web content and mobile apps will generally need to meet the technical standard of WCAG 2.1 Level AA. However, there are five limited exceptions for situations when some content would not need to meet the technical standard at the outset. These exceptions are included to give governments flexibility to prioritize the most important content.

A crucial point: Even if certain content falls within an exception, public entities still need to comply with their other existing obligations under the ADA and must make the services accessible on a case-by-case basis when needed.

1. Archived Web Content Exception

BADAR: The content must meet all four elements to qualify:

1. Created before the compliance date, or reproduces physical media created before that date.
2. Kept only for reference, research, or record-keeping.
3. Kept in a special area for archived content on the website.
4. Has not been changed since it was archived.

• Example: An unedited water quality report from 1998 stored only for research in an “archive” section.
• Knowledge Check 4: Answer is B. No. (A manual used to explain current services is not “only” for reference/research, and being periodically updated means it has been changed since it was archived.)

2. Preexisting Conventional Electronic Documents (CEDs) Exception

BADAR: There are three elements that must be met:

1. Must be a Conventional Electronic Document (CED), which is limited to PDFs, word processor files, presentation files, and spreadsheet files.
2. Must be “preexisting” (posted before the compliance date).
3. Is not currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in the public entity’s services.

• Example: A PDF flyer for an event that has already happened, posted in 2018.
• Knowledge Check 5: Answer is B. No. (Updating the document in 2030, after the compliance date, means it is no longer considered “preexisting.”)

3. Third-Party Content Exception

BADAR: There are two elements that must be met:

1. The content must be posted by a third party.
2. The third party cannot be posting due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the public entity.

This applies to people truly not acting for the public entity, like a lawyer filing a document on a state court’s website. The tools or platforms provided by the government (like the filing system itself) must still meet the technical standard.

• Knowledge Check 6: Answer is False. (A private company designing, managing, and updating a website is doing so due to a contractual arrangement, and thus the content is not covered by the exception.)

4. Certain Individualized, Password-Protected Documents Exception

BADAR: There are three elements that must be met:

1. The document must be a Conventional Electronic Document (CED).
2. The document must be about a specific person, property, or account.
3. The document must be password-protected or otherwise secured.

• Example: A PDF version of a person’s water bill available in their secure account on a city’s website.

REBECCA:

• Knowledge Check 7: Answer is False. (The exception does not apply because the document is not about a specific person, property, or account; it is general public information.)

5. Limited Exception for Public-Facing Content in the Control of a Contractor

REBECCA: This exception only applies to public entities with a population of less than 50,000. The exception applies to web content that:

1. Is under the operational control of a contractor; AND
2. Is created or posted on the entity’s behalf; AND
3. Is public-facing.

• Knowledge Check 8: Answer is B. A village with a population of 2,000. (The exception only applies to public entities with a population of fewer than 50,000.)

Alternative Means of Compliance

REBECCA: Public entities have flexibility in certain other situations:

• Fundamental Alteration and Undue Burden: Public entities do not have to comply with the technical standard if doing so would result in a fundamental alteration of their services or an undue financial and administrative burden. However, they must still comply with the standard to the maximum extent feasible, and they must still ensure that the individual with a disability can access the information or services offered by the inaccessible content.
• Knowledge Check 9: Answer is False. (The town must still ensure an individual can access the service offered by the inaccessible form; it cannot wait for a complaint.)
• Equivalent Facilitation: A public entity may use designs, methods, or techniques that result in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability than the requirements of the technical standard (e.g., using a later version of WCAG).
• Knowledge Check 10: Answer is A. A county uses a later version of WCAG to make its web content accessible.

Next Steps and Resources

REBECCA: We encourage you to use the resources available on the Department’s ADA website at ADA.gov. There you can find the full text of the rule, a Fact Sheet, and a Small Entity Compliance Guide. If you still have questions, you can call the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (or 800-514-0383 TTY).

If you are a state or local government, we suggest you get started now on:

• Developing an inventory of your existing web content and mobile apps.
• Conducting an assessment to see what needs to be made accessible.
• Setting priorities and developing a corrective action plan.
• Creating processes for people to make accessibility requests and report accessibility issues.
• Training your staff.

If you are a person who has rights under the Title II rule, starting in April 2026 or 2027, you can expect that the web content and mobile apps of state and local governments should meet the requirements in the rule.

Legal Disclaimer: “The contents of this presentation do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This presentation is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or the Department’s policies.”

Thank you so much for joining us for this presentation on the Department of Justice’s Title II website and mobile app accessibility rule. We hope you’ve found this information helpful. Please check out the links in the description for more information on the rule.

BADAR: Thank you, Rebecca, for giving that detailed description of the rule. We appreciate you for joining us today, and we hope you found the presentation useful. Goodbye.

REBECCA: Bye.