Compliance with ADA Website Requirements
June 12, 2026
Under a 2024 rule, state and local governments will soon be required to ensure that their online and mobile app programs, services, and activities are accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This means that political subdivisions will need to implement accessible options within their websites and mobile apps. Local governments will be required to ensure their online and mobile app content meets the WCAG 2.1 Level A and Level AA requirements. Common accessible options include integrating screen readers, using “alternative text” below images, and allowing users to make color or text adjustments. Many websites already utilize accessible options. Lauber Municipal Law’s new website is a good example – click on the Accessibility Menu icon in the lower left hand corner.
When is the compliance deadline?
Cities serving 50,000 or more residents must be in compliance by April 26, 2027. Cities serving fewer than 50,000 residents must be in compliance by April 26, 2028. Special district governments, which is a public entity that is not a county, city, township, or school district, must be in compliance by April 26, 2028. These compliance deadlines were extended by the Department of Justice in an Interim Final Rule effective April 20, 2026.
What sort of website or mobile app does this apply to?
This rule applies to all websites or mobile apps that local governments host, such as a city or department website, a park reservation system, or a mobile parking app. The rule also applies to third-party websites to the public that are integrated into local government websites or apps, such as CivicPlus or CentralSquare. Many national companies that provide online services to local governments have adapted to the rule, but local governments will still need to ensure that their third-party vendors are in compliance with the rule.
What about posts made to social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram?
Because social media sites are third-party websites that the local government utilizes, unlike an integrated service like CivicPlus, local governments are not required to ensure that those sites comply with the rule. However, the content that local governments post to those sites does need to comply with the rule. For example, if a city posts an image, that post should include alternative text below it. Screen readers cannot read the image, but it can read the alternative text below the image.
Does this rule apply to all website and mobile app content, or just future content?
The rule applies to all website and mobile app content. On the local government’s own websites or mobile apps, all content should be made accessible. There are a few exceptions to this portion of the rule of the web content is “archived web content.” Our attorneys can help assist you in understanding whether content is archived web content. On social media sites as discussed above, local governments need not retroactively add alternative text or provide other accessible options, but all future content should have accessible options.
What if we can’t comply?
If you believe your local government will have difficulty in complying with this rule, please reach out to your assigned attorney or LML offices at (816) 525-7881. There are limited circumstances in which local governments may not comply with the rule.