{"id":993459,"date":"2026-11-10T14:55:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifdb.io\/?page_id=993459"},"modified":"2026-11-10T14:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:55:18","slug":"usa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ifdb.io\/en\/usa\/","title":{"rendered":"USA"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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ADA website compliance \u00b7 Title II \u00b7 Section 508 \u00b7 Section 504 \u00b7 WCAG<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\nADA website compliance<\/span>\n and US accessibility law \u2013 who must do what, by when, and what is still open.<\/span><\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What does ADA website compliance actually require? The honest answer starts with how US law is built. Private businesses fall under ADA Title III, which has no technical standard for websites. State and local governments have a WCAG 2.1 AA rule with deadlines in 2027 and 2028, federal agencies and their vendors work under Section 508, and recipients of HHS funding under Section 504. On this page I explain who must do what, by when, and what really helps.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Trusted by leading companies across the DACH region
Featured as an expert on ZDF WISO<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span>\"Logo<\/span><\/span><\/h2><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Four laws, no single standard: how US accessibility law is built<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is older than the modern web. It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, but it does not mention websites or apps. That gap has been filled in different ways: by a detailed rule for government websites, by procurement rules for federal agencies and, for private businesses, by DOJ guidance and court decisions.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The result is a patchwork with one common thread. Wherever a federal rule names a technical standard, it is WCAG: version 2.0 for Section 508, version 2.1 for Title II and the HHS Section 504 rule. For private websites, WCAG is still what the DOJ calls helpful guidance, even though in 2026 it declined to endorse it as the required standard.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Legal status as of November 10, 2026.<\/strong> US accessibility rules are moving quickly: deadlines have been pushed back, a lawsuit against that delay is pending, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has changed its tone on technical standards. This page explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice; for your situation, please talk to a US attorney.<\/p>

Which law applies to whom: Title III, Title II, Section 508, Section 504<\/h3>

There is no single US \u201cweb accessibility law\u201d. Four federal rules matter, and which one applies depends on who you are.<\/p>
Law<\/th>Who it covers<\/th>Technical standard<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
ADA Title III<\/td>Private businesses that are \u201cpublic accommodations\u201d, such as stores, restaurants, hotels and service businesses<\/td>None set by regulation for websites<\/td><\/tr>
ADA Title II<\/td>State and local governments, including special district governments, and services they provide through contractors<\/td>WCAG 2.1 Level AA (DOJ rule of April 2024)<\/td><\/tr>
Section 504 (HHS rule)<\/td>Organizations that receive funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)<\/td>WCAG 2.1 Level AA (HHS rule of May 2024)<\/td><\/tr>
Section 508<\/td>Federal agencies, and their vendors through procurement<\/td>WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA, also for non-web documents and software<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

For private businesses, the relevant rule is Title III<\/strong>. Its text lists twelve categories of \u201cpublic accommodations\u201d but does not mention websites or apps; the DOJ says the ADA applies to them anyway, and courts have applied it, with differences explained below. Under Title II<\/strong>, a public entity must also make sure its contractors meet the rule, so it reaches vendors who sell software or digital services to cities, counties, public schools or transit agencies (details on our page on ADA Title II<\/a>). Section 508<\/strong> covers the technology that federal agencies develop, procure, maintain or use; vendors are affected through procurement (see our Section 508 page<\/a>). For Section 504<\/strong>, this page covers the HHS rule for the websites, apps and kiosks of HHS funding recipients, for example in health care and social services.<\/p>

Why there is no technical standard for private websites<\/h3>

For Title III there is no regulation that sets a technical standard for private websites. The DOJ withdrew its earlier rulemaking on the websites of public accommodations in December 2017, and we have found no new draft since.<\/p>

The DOJ guidance of March 2022<\/h4>

In its Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA<\/a> of March 18, 2022, the DOJ says it has \u201cconsistently taken the position\u201d that the ADA applies to the web, but that it \u201cdoes not have a regulation setting out detailed standards\u201d. WCAG and the Section 508 Standards provide \u201chelpful guidance\u201d, and businesses \u201ccan currently choose how they will ensure\u201d accessibility. The guidance is not binding; it was still published on ada.gov on November 10, 2026.<\/p>

The DOJ position of February 2026<\/h4>

On February 2, 2026 the DOJ opposed a proposed class action settlement over a retailer\u2019s website (Alcazar v. Fashion Nova<\/a>, N.D. Cal.): little value for consumers with vision disabilities, no mechanism to confirm or enforce the promised fixes, and generous compensation for the attorneys. A footnote reads: \u201cThe United States does not endorse WCAG as the appropriate or necessary standard for the provision of auxiliary aids and services under Title III of the ADA.\u201d As of November 10, 2026 we have found no decision on the settlement.<\/p>

I read this as a warning against fixes that exist only on paper, not as permission to do less. In practice WCAG remains the reference point: the settlement in that case named WCAG 2.1, and the DOJ measured the settlement\u2019s own claims website against it. We test against WCAG 2.2<\/a> Level AA, which includes the success criteria of 2.0 and 2.1 except the removed 4.1.1 Parsing.<\/p>

Online-only businesses: courts disagree<\/h4>

Whether an online-only business is a \u201cpublic accommodation\u201d is not settled; the US Supreme Court has not decided the question. The Ninth Circuit, which covers California and other western states, requires a connection, a \u201cnexus\u201d, to a physical place; in Robles v. Domino\u2019s (2019) a pizza chain\u2019s website and app were covered because they connect customers to its restaurants. According to legal commentary, other circuits read the law more broadly. In 2022 a California appellate court (Martinez v. Cot\u2019n Wash) held that a website without a physical location is not a place of public accommodation under the ADA. Which view applies depends on where you could be sued.<\/p>

How it is enforced: lawsuits, demand letters and state laws<\/h3>

Lawsuits under federal law<\/h4>

Under federal Title III, private plaintiffs can obtain an order to remove the barriers and, if they win, their attorney\u2019s fees, but no money damages. If the Attorney General sues, the court can also award damages to the people affected and civil penalties, currently up to USD 118,225 for a first violation. According to the annual count by the law firm Seyfarth Shaw, 8,667 Title III lawsuits were filed in federal courts in 2025, 3,117 of them about websites, 27% more than in 2024; New York (1,021) and Florida (961) led. Cases in state courts, which matter especially in California and New York, are not included, and we know of no neutral count for them.<\/p>

Demand letters<\/h4>

Some disputes start with a letter from a law firm that lists barriers and proposes a settlement. We have found no reliable figures on how many such letters are sent. My advice: do not ignore a letter, do not pay in a panic, involve a US attorney early, and keep a record of what you have tested and fixed.<\/p>

State laws: California, New York, Colorado, Missouri and Utah<\/h4>