US web accessibility laws: ADA, Section 508 and more

This page is general information, not legal advice. It summarizes the federal rules and one state law, each checked against its primary source on October 11, 2026. For other countries, see web accessibility laws by country.

US accessibility rules at a glance

ADA Title II: state and local government

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers state and local governments, including special district governments. In 2024 the Department of Justice issued a rule (28 CFR Part 35, subpart H) that, for the first time, sets a technical standard for their websites and mobile apps: WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

The compliance dates have moved. An interim final rule published on April 20, 2026 (91 FR 20902; see also the notice on ADA.gov) set them one year later than the original rule:

• April 26, 2027 for public entities with a population of 50,000 or more.
• April 26, 2028 for entities with a population under 50,000, and for special district governments.

The rule has five exceptions, listed on ADA.gov's web rule fact sheet: archived content; documents posted before the compliance date, unless they are used to apply for or access services; content posted by third parties; individualized, password-protected documents; and social media posts made before the compliance date. Our ADA Title II deadline guide covers the dates and exceptions in detail.

ADA Title III: businesses open to the public

Title III covers businesses open to the public, which the ADA calls public accommodations. Unlike Title II, there is no Title III web regulation. No federal rule names a technical standard for a business website.

What exists is guidance. On March 18, 2022 the DOJ published guidance on web accessibility and the ADA. It says the ADA applies to the web offerings of public accommodations, and that the department "does not have a regulation setting out detailed standards" (written in 2022, before the Title II rule; for businesses that is still the case). It describes WCAG and the Section 508 Standards as "helpful guidance" and says businesses "have flexibility in how they comply". The guidance itself is not binding.

Remedies and penalties

• Private lawsuits. A person who sues under Title III can get an injunction, a court order to fix the barrier (42 U.S.C. 12188(a)), and the court may award the winning party a reasonable attorney's fee (42 U.S.C. 12205).
• DOJ enforcement. When the DOJ brings a Title III case, a court can impose civil penalties. The statute sets them at up to $50,000 for a first violation and $100,000 for a later one; adjusted for inflation, the maximums for penalties assessed after July 3, 2025 are $118,225 and $236,451 (28 CFR 85.5).

What courts have said

The leading appeals decision is Robles v. Domino's Pizza, 913 F.3d 898 (9th Cir. 2019). The Ninth Circuit held that the ADA covered Domino's website and app because they connect customers to the goods and services of its physical restaurants. The Supreme Court declined to review the case on October 7, 2019.

Courts do not agree on businesses that exist only online, with no physical location. Federal appeals courts are split on whether Title III reaches them, so the answer can depend on where a case is filed. If that question matters to you, ask a lawyer about your circuit.

How often businesses are sued

Federal website accessibility lawsuits rose from 2,452 in 2024 to 3,117 in 2025, according to Seyfarth Shaw's ADA Title III tracking.

For what a business can do in practice, read ADA website compliance for businesses. If you have already received a letter, read what to check first after an ADA demand letter.

Section 508: federal agencies

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to make their information and communication technology accessible. The Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR 1194) incorporate WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA and apply them to websites, documents and software. They were published on January 18, 2017 and have been required since January 18, 2018 (U.S. Access Board).

Section 508 binds federal agencies rather than private companies, but it applies to agencies "when they develop, procure, maintain, or use" this technology, so it reaches what agencies buy as well as what they build. Documents are part of the scope, so PDFs matter: the PDF accessibility checker runs a first pass on one.

Section 504: organizations funded by HHS

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act applies to organizations that receive federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services adopted a web and mobile app rule under it in 2024 (45 CFR Part 84) using WCAG 2.1 Level AA. It covers recipients of HHS funding, such as hospitals. An interim final rule published May 11, 2026 (91 FR 25496) moved the dates:

• May 11, 2027 for recipients with 15 or more employees.
• May 10, 2028 for recipients with fewer than 15 employees.

Air Carrier Access Act: airlines

The Department of Transportation's rule at 14 CFR 382.43 applies to US and foreign airlines that operate at least one aircraft with more than 60 passenger seats and market flights to the US public on a primary website. That website must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Pages for core services such as booking, check-in and flight status had to conform by December 12, 2015, and all remaining pages by December 12, 2016.

New York State

New York's chapter 734 of 2023 (bill S3114A) added section 103-b to the State Technology Law. It requires state agency websites to meet "the most current version" of WCAG. The bill was signed on December 22, 2023 and took effect 180 days later. The most recent W3C Recommendation is WCAG 2.2 (W3C).

Other states have their own disability rights and technology laws. This page lists only state laws we have verified against the statute text; the editorial policy explains that rule.

What this means for your website

Every US rule that names a standard names WCAG: version 2.0 for Section 508 and airlines, 2.1 for the Title II and HHS rules, and the current version for New York agencies. Each WCAG version keeps the criteria of the one before (W3C), so building to WCAG 2.2 Level AA covers all of them. See which WCAG version the law requires and the WCAG 2.2 checklist.

The free tools cover common failures one at a time: alt text, color contrast, headings and link text. To check which laws reach your organization, try the accessibility laws finder.