Ability Bazaar guide
What are the ADA Title II web accessibility deadlines?
The short answer
The U.S. Department of Justice's ADA Title II rule generally requires state and local governments' web content and mobile apps to meet WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA. An April 20, 2026 Interim Final Rule extended the compliance dates.
Public entities with populations of 50,000 or more now have until April 26, 2027. Entities with populations below 50,000 and special district governments now have until April 26, 2028. These dates supersede the earlier 2026/2027 schedule.
Important: This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how the rule, its exceptions and other ADA duties apply to your entity with qualified counsel.
Who is covered by the Title II web rule?
Title II covers state and local government entities, including their departments and agencies. DOJ examples include public schools and universities, libraries, police departments, courts, transit systems, election offices and special district governments.
The deadline is based on the population method in the rule, not simply employee count or the number of people a department serves. DOJ's first-steps guide explains special rules for school districts, entities that do not have their own Census population, and special district governments.
What technical standard applies?
The rule uses WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA as its technical standard. The requirements cover web content and mobile applications that a public entity provides or makes available, subject to defined exceptions.
WCAG 2.2 is newer and W3C recommends using the latest version when developing or updating accessibility policies. However, the Title II rule itself references WCAG 2.1. A team can design to 2.2 while documenting the 2.1 legal baseline.
What content may fall within an exception?
DOJ describes five categories with detailed conditions: archived web content; some preexisting conventional electronic documents; content posted by unaffiliated third parties; certain individualized, password-protected documents; and preexisting social-media posts.
An exception is not a reason to ignore accessibility planning. Other ADA obligations, including effective communication and equal access to services, continue to apply. A vendor also does not take over the public entity's responsibility for the content.
Sources for this section: [2]
What should a public entity do now?
- Confirm the applicable population method and compliance date.
- Inventory websites, mobile apps, documents, videos, social posts and third-party systems.
- Prioritise high-use and essential services, including forms, payments, benefits and education.
- Assign owners across accessibility, IT, content, procurement, legal and program teams.
- Evaluate representative content with automated checks, manual review and disabled users.
- Build accessibility requirements, acceptance testing and remediation duties into vendor contracts.
- Create a maintenance process so new content remains accessible after the deadline.
Sources for this section: [2]
Frequently asked questions
- What is the ADA Title II deadline for entities with 50,000 or more people?
The compliance deadline is April 26, 2027 under the April 2026 Interim Final Rule.
- What is the deadline for smaller entities and special districts?
Entities below 50,000 people and special district governments have until April 26, 2028.
- Does the Title II rule require WCAG 2.2?
No. The rule's technical standard is WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA, although W3C recommends using the latest WCAG version when possible.
- Can a government outsource responsibility to a vendor?
No. DOJ says the public entity remains responsible even when outside vendors perform the work.
Sources
- ADA.gov, Title II web rule update and Interim Final Rule
- ADA.gov, First Steps Toward Complying with the Title II Web and Mobile App Rule
- ADA.gov, Fact Sheet: New Rule on Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps
- W3C WAI, WCAG 2 Overview
Sources were checked on August 21, 2026. Regulations, standards and product documentation can change; follow the linked source for the latest version.