Because "best effort" is no longer enough.
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It established, for the first time, specific technical standards for government websites and mobile apps. The standard is WCAG 2.1 Level AA, a globally recognized set of accessibility guidelines covering visual, auditory, physical, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.
This rule applies to every state and local government in the country. Cities, counties, special districts, school districts, libraries, and public agencies all fall under it. If your government offers services or information through a website or app, you are covered.
The rules for government website accessibility deadlines were just pushed back to 2027. Every city, county, and special district in the U.S. must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. The new deadlines give you more time, but they don’t give you permission to wait. Here’s what matters, what changed, and what to do next.
Deadline Update: The DOJ extended the ADA Title II web accessibility compliance deadlines.
The DOJ officially extended the ADA Title II web accessibility compliance deadlines. On April 18, 2026, the Department of Justice published an Interim Final Rule extending compliance dates for all covered entities. This rule took effect on April 20, 2026.
State & Local Government
(50,000+ population)
Old Deadline: April 24, 2026
New Deadline: April 26, 2027
State & Local Government
(under 50,000 population)
Old Deadline: April 24, 2027
New Deadline: April 26, 2028
This extension is a real relief for agencies still working through remediation. However, it does not change your underlying ADA obligations. Private lawsuits over web accessibility don’t wait for federal deadlines. Over 8,600 ADA-related lawsuits were filed in 2025 alone. Accessibility still protects your agency and your community.
What WCAG 2.1 Level AA Actually Requires
Not as complicated as it sounds. More important than you think.
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Level AA is the middle tier. It addresses the most common and most impactful barriers people with disabilities face online. Here’s what your website needs to do:
Keyboard-only navigation. Not everyone uses a mouse. Users with limited mobility must be able to navigate your full site using only a keyboard.
Text alternatives for non-text content. Videos need captions or transcripts. Images that convey meaning need alt text. Infographics need descriptions that screen readers can interpret.
Adequate color contrast. A luminance ratio of at least 4.5:1 helps users with low vision or color blindness read your content.
Consistent navigation. Menus and repeated elements should appear in the same order across all pages. This helps users with cognitive disabilities build familiarity and navigate confidently.
Screen-reader-compatible form fields. Status messages, field labels, and error alerts must be coded in accessible formats. A blind user submitting an online permit application should know immediately if something went wrong and why.
Descriptive link text. “Click here” tells no one anything. “Apply for a Building Permit” does.
Resizable text. Content must remain readable and functional when text is enlarged up to 200%.
Time limit extensions. If a form times out, users must have the option to extend or disable the timer.
Why Online Forms Require Special Attention
The most common place government websites fail disabled users.
Online forms and portals are high-stakes. They are also among the most technically complex parts of any government website, and among the most likely to have accessibility gaps.
Here are the compliance issues that show up most often in portals and forms:
Form field labels. Every input field must have a visible, coded label. A screen reader cannot identify an unlabeled field. That leaves users guessing or giving up.
Error messages. When a form submission fails, the error must be clearly identified, screen-reader-accessible, and specific. Vague error states are a compliance problem and a user experience problem.
Document uploads. If your portal requires users to upload supporting documents, the upload controls must be keyboard-accessible and clearly labeled.
Status notifications. When a request status changes, automated notifications must be accessible across formats. This includes email and any in-portal messaging.
Third-party integrations. If your forms or portals are provided by a vendor, your ADA obligations do not disappear. The DOJ rule applies to vendor-managed content posted on your behalf. Your contracts should require WCAG 2.1 AA compliance from every vendor.
What the Exceptions Actually Cover
Yes, there are carve-outs. No, they don’t cover as much as you think. The rule includes narrow exceptions. These are frequently misunderstood.
Archived content is exempt only if it was created before your compliance deadline, is kept exclusively for reference or recordkeeping, is stored in a designated archive section, and has not been modified since archiving.
Pre-existing electronic documents (PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets) are exempt only if they were posted before your compliance deadline and are not being used to deliver current services or access programs.
Pre-existing social media posts are exempt, but anything posted after your compliance deadline must meet accessibility standards.
Third-party content posted independently by members of the public is exempt. A resident commenting on your social media page does not create a compliance burden. A vendor managing your website does.
If a person with a disability requests access to any exempt content, you are still obligated under the ADA to provide it in an accessible format.
A Practical Path to Compliance
Start here. Keep going.
Most government websites have significant work ahead. Research from AudioEye found an average of 307 accessibility violations per page on government websites. That number is fixable. But it requires a real plan.
Run an accessibility audit. Automated tools like WAVE, AXE, and Google Lighthouse catch major issues quickly. They don’t catch everything. Manual testing with a screen reader is necessary.
Include users with disabilities in testing. No tool replaces lived experience. Direct feedback from residents who use assistive technology reveals issues that automated scans miss.
Fix the highest-impact items first. Start with missing alt text, unlabeled form fields, and poor color contrast. These affect the most users and are often the easiest to address.
Train your content (communications, marketing, etc.) teams. Accessibility erodes over time if staff are not trained. Every person who uploads content, edits pages, or creates documents is part of your compliance infrastructure.
Post a public accessibility statement. Tell residents what your standards are and give them a way to report issues. This shows good faith and helps you identify problems before they become legal complaints.
Build compliance into your contracts. Any third-party vendor managing or contributing to your website must meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Make it a contract requirement.
Plan for ongoing monitoring. Accessibility is not a one-time project. Regular audits, staff training, and community feedback should be part of your annual operations.
What’s Next: Let’s Get Your Site Ready
The deadline extension gives your team more runway. Use it.
Whether your website needs a full rebuild or targeted remediation, GovBuilt’s team of government website specialists knows exactly what compliance looks like at the municipal and county level. We have done this for hundreds of agencies across the country.
Here’s how to move forward:
Step 1: Get a free accessibility scan. Find out where you stand right now. No obligation.
Step 2: Talk to a GovBuilt consultant. We will walk through your results and help you prioritize what to fix.
Step 3: Build a site that stays compliant. Our WCAG 2.2 AA standard means you are ahead of the curve, not behind it.
Your residents with disabilities deserve access to their government. Your agency deserves a website that makes that easy.
Break free from the compliance scramble. Get more good days done.