--- title: "ADA Website Compliance: What the Law Requires in 2026" description: "What the ADA requires of business and government websites in 2026, current lawsuit numbers, why overlays fail and a WCAG 2.2 AA remediation plan." url: "https://dardo.studio/en/blog/ada-website-compliance/" language: "en" updated: "2026-10-15T15:18:29.412Z" --- [Blog](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/) # ADA website compliance in 2026: what the law requires, why overlays fail and what to fix first No federal rule sets a web standard for private businesses, yet over 5,000 lawsuits were filed in 2025. What the ADA requires, why overlays fail, what to fix. By [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/nicolas-ceron/) ·October 15, 2026 ![A cobbled street at blue hour where a crimson ramp rises beside worn stone steps to an open, lamp-lit doorway, the only red element in a scene of navy and slate.](https://dardo.studio/_astro/01M4YXH8A1ZDBD07J4W4T6ZKJK_2nAnrW.webp) ## Key takeaways - No federal regulation sets a web accessibility standard for private businesses; DOJ's 2022 guidance says the ADA covers their websites and names WCAG as helpful guidance. - After DOJ's April 2026 extension, state and local governments must meet WCAG 2.1 AA by 26 April 2027 (population 50,000 or more) or 26 April 2028 (smaller entities and special districts). - UsableNet counted more than 5,000 digital accessibility lawsuits in 2025, 3,195 in federal court and 1,919 in New York and California state courts, and 360 in September 2026 alone. - The FTC's 2025 order made accessiBe pay USD 1 million over claims, alleged to be false or unsubstantiated, that its widget could make any website WCAG-compliant. - WCAG 2.2 AA, 55 success criteria, is the practical target: content that meets it also conforms to 2.1 AA, and conformance counts only for full pages and complete processes such as checkout. ## What ADA website compliance means in 2026 If your business is open to the public in the United States, the Department of Justice's position is that Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers your website. What doesn't exist is a federal regulation telling private businesses which technical standard to meet. DOJ's [guidance on web accessibility](https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/), published on 18 March 2022, says the department has no regulation setting out detailed standards, gives businesses flexibility in how they comply and names the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as helpful guidance. State and local governments are in a different position: after DOJ's April 2026 extension, they must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA by 26 April 2027 or 26 April 2028, depending on their size and type. For any US website, the defensible target is WCAG 2.2 Level AA, tested by people using a keyboard and screen readers rather than by a scanner alone. A [web accessibility audit](https://dardo.studio/en/services/web-accessibility/) is how you find out how far your site is from it. This article is a plain-language summary for planning, checked against the official texts on 14 October 2026. It isn't legal advice: your lawyer decides which obligations apply to your organization. ## Who has a written rule, and who doesn't | Who | Rule | Technical standard | When | | -------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Businesses and nonprofits open to the public | ADA Title III and DOJ's 2022 guidance; no web regulation | None set by regulation; WCAG named as helpful guidance | Applies now, in DOJ's view | | State and local governments, including special districts | ADA Title II web and mobile app rule of 2024, dates extended in April 2026 | WCAG 2.1 Level AA | 26 April 2027 for a total population of 50,000 or more; 26 April 2028 for smaller entities and special district governments | | Federal agencies | Section 508, Revised 508 Standards | WCAG 2.0 Levels A and AA | Already in force | The federal agency row comes from the U.S. Access Board's [Section 508 standards](https://www.access-board.gov/ict/); the other two are covered below. ## What the law says about business websites Title III bars discrimination by whoever owns, leases or operates a place of public accommodation, which the ADA defines through twelve categories of establishments, from restaurants, shops and hotels to doctors' offices, schools and gyms. DOJ's 2022 guidance says the ADA's requirements apply to all the goods and services a business offers, including those offered on the web. It lists common barriers: poor color contrast, color used alone to convey information, images without text alternatives, videos without captions, forms without labels or clear error messages, and navigation that only works with a mouse. DOJ once planned to write the technical rule for businesses. It published an advance notice covering both government and business websites in July 2010, then [withdrew it on 26 December 2017](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/26/2017-27510/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-notice-of-withdrawal-of-four-previously-announced), noting that it had published nothing on Title III web accessibility since 2010. As of 14 October 2026, the Federal Register shows no Title III web rule. Courts have filled the gap, unevenly. A [Congressional Research Service report](https://www.congress.gov/crs%5Fexternal%5Fproducts/R/PDF/R48104/R48104.2.pdf) from June 2024 describes three camps: courts that apply Title III to websites without restriction, courts that limit it to physical places, and courts that cover websites connected to a physical business. The best-known case in the third camp is [Robles v. Domino's Pizza](https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/01/15/17-55504.pdf). In January 2019 the Ninth Circuit held that the ADA covered Domino's website and app because they connect customers to its restaurants, that an order to meet WCAG 2.0 was a possible remedy, and that the lack of DOJ regulations didn't remove Domino's duty. The Supreme Court [declined to hear the appeal](https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/18-1539.html) on 7 October 2019. Whether a business that exists only online is covered still depends on the court it's sued in. What a plaintiff can win matters as much as coverage. Under Title III itself, a private plaintiff can get injunctive relief, meaning an order to remove the barrier; damages and civil penalties are for cases the Attorney General brings. The court may also award the winning side [reasonable attorney's fees](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title42/html/USCODE-2023-title42-chap126-subchapIV-sec12205.htm). State law can add money: California's Civil Rights Department says the [Unruh Civil Rights Act](https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/unruh/) requires businesses to comply with the ADA, with statutory damages of no less than USD 4,000 for each offense. ## The Title II rule for state and local governments On 24 April 2024, DOJ published a rule requiring state and local governments to make their web content and mobile apps meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, including content they provide through contractual, licensing or other arrangements. That clause covers content built or run by vendors, so a studio building a city's or a school district's site has to deliver to that standard. The original deadlines were 24 April 2026 for entities with a total population of 50,000 or more and 26 April 2027 for smaller ones and special district governments. On 20 April 2026, four days before the first deadline, DOJ published an [interim final rule](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/20/2026-07663/extension-of-compliance-dates-for-nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web) moving them to 26 April 2027 and 26 April 2028. Comments closed on 22 June 2026. DOJ said it plans future rulemaking on the rule's substance and will consider proposing changes; if it doesn't, and nothing calls for another delay, it fully anticipates implementing the rule at the new deadlines. It also said entities keep their existing duty to make online services accessible, whatever the dates. As of 14 October 2026, no later rule has been published. The rule has five exceptions, listed in DOJ's fact sheet: archived content, documents posted before the compliance date, content posted by members of the public, individualized password-protected documents, and social media posts made before the compliance date. Each comes with conditions, so read them before relying on one. ## How many lawsuits are filed, and against whom UsableNet, an accessibility vendor that tracks these cases, counted more than 5,000 ADA digital accessibility lawsuits in its [2025 year-end report](https://info.usablenet.com/hubfs/Remediated%20-%202025%5FYear-End%5FDigital%5FAccessibility%5FLawsuit%5FReport%5FFINAL.pdf), covering filings from 1 January to 15 December 2025: 3,195 in federal courts and 1,919 in New York and California state courts. The findings worth planning around: - **Repeat defendants.** 1,427 lawsuits, 45% of federal cases, targeted companies that had already been sued. - **Sectors.** E-commerce accounted for 70% of cases and food service for 21%, with healthcare at 2%. - **Company size.** 36% of cases named companies with more than USD 25 million in annual revenue, so most defendants were smaller businesses. - **Large retailers.** 36% of the top 500 e-commerce retailers received at least one lawsuit in 2025. - **No local office needed.** UsableNet notes that New York courts accept cases against businesses whose websites New York residents can use, even without a physical presence in the state. The pace hasn't slowed. UsableNet's [monthly tracker](https://info.usablenet.com/ada-website-compliance-lawsuit-tracker) recorded 360 new web accessibility lawsuits in September 2026, and its [midyear analysis](https://blog.usablenet.com/inside-the-2026-midyear-numbers-where-digital-accessibility-litigation-is-going) in July said 2026 was on track to pass 6,000. Counts differ between trackers, mostly because some include state courts and others count only federal cases, so compare like with like. ## Why an overlay won't make your site compliant Overlays are scripts that add a toolbar or automatic adjustments on top of a site without changing its code. The clearest test of their claims came from the Federal Trade Commission. In January 2025 the FTC announced a proposed order requiring accessiBe to pay USD 1 million. It alleged that the company's claims that its accessWidget tool could make any website WCAG-compliant were false, misleading or unsubstantiated, and that it formatted third-party articles and reviews to look independent. The FTC [approved the final order](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/04/ftc-approves-final-order-requiring-accessibe-pay-1-million) on 22 April 2025. It bars accessiBe from claiming, without evidence, that its automated products can make any website WCAG-compliant or keep one compliant over time. The order settles allegations about one company's advertising; it isn't a ruling on every overlay. But it matches what the standards body and the litigation data say. The W3C states that [evaluation tools can't determine accessibility](https://www.w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/tools/selecting/); they can only assist. UsableNet counted between 95 and 155 lawsuits a month in 2025 against companies that already had a widget installed, and 91 in September 2026. The barriers lawsuits describe, a checkout a screen reader can't complete or a menu that only opens with a mouse, live in the site's markup, components and content. That's where the fix has to happen. ## What WCAG 2.2 AA requires in practice [WCAG 2.2](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/) became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023 and was approved as the international standard ISO/IEC 40500:2025 in October 2025. Level AA means meeting 55 success criteria: 31 at Level A and 24 at Level AA. Content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.0 and 2.1, and the W3C's working group recommends 2.2 as the target even where a rule names an earlier version. If a rule names 2.1, as the Title II rule does, you may still need to test and report 4.1.1 Parsing, which 2.2 removed. To check your own site against each criterion, use our free [WCAG 2.2 checklist](https://dardo.studio/en/tools/wcag-2-2-checklist/): every Level A and AA criterion as a plain question, with how to test it, the usual fix and a prioritized plan. Two conformance rules catch teams out. Conformance applies to full pages only, including every responsive variation of a page. And a process conforms only if every step does: a checkout that fails on the payment step fails as a whole. These checks find most real problems, with the criteria behind them: | What to check | WCAG 2.2 criterion | Level | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | Every link, control and field works with a keyboard alone | 2.1.1 Keyboard | A | | The focus indicator is visible and not entirely hidden by sticky headers or banners | 2.4.7 Focus Visible and 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | | Text contrast is at least 4.5:1, or 3:1 for large text | 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) | AA | | Text resizes to 200% and content reflows at 320 CSS pixels wide without sideways scrolling | 1.4.4 Resize Text and 1.4.10 Reflow | AA | | Images have text alternatives and prerecorded videos have captions | 1.1.1 Non-text Content and 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) | A | | Form fields have labels, and errors are identified and described in text | 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions and 3.3.1 Error Identification | A | | Custom components expose their name, role and state to assistive technology | 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value | A | | Pointer targets are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or spaced far enough apart | 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) | AA | | Anything done by dragging also works with a single pointer without dragging | 2.5.7 Dragging Movements | AA | | Signing in doesn't depend on remembering or solving something unless there's an alternative or help | 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | ## A realistic remediation plan Most sites can't fix everything at once, and they don't need to. This is the order we work in: 1. **Agree the scope with counsel.** Confirm which rules apply, whether a deadline, a tender or a demand letter sets the timing, and which standard to report against. 2. **Choose a representative sample.** Every template type, the journeys that matter (contact, sign-up, login, search, booking, checkout) and the documents people need to complete them, following the W3C's evaluation methodology, WCAG-EM. 3. **Scan, then test by hand.** Run an automated scan across the sample, then work through each journey with a keyboard, a screen reader such as NVDA, VoiceOver or TalkBack, 200% zoom and a 320-pixel-wide viewport. 4. **Log each issue against its criterion**, with a screenshot, who it affects, its severity and the fix. 5. **Fix blockers on revenue journeys first.** A form that can't be submitted with a keyboard outranks a contrast issue on an old blog post. 6. **Fix at the source.** Correct shared components once in the [design system](https://dardo.studio/en/services/design-systems/) so the fix reaches every page that uses them, then fix content: alt text, captions, headings and PDFs. Third-party tools such as chat, booking and payment widgets need an answer from their vendor, or a replacement. 7. **Retest and publish a statement.** Retest every fix, then publish an accessibility statement with the date, the standard, known limitations and a way to report barriers. 8. **Keep it from coming back.** Add automated checks and a keyboard pass to every release, and review new templates before they ship. UsableNet's repeat-defendant figure shows what happens when fixes stop at the surface. If a [website redesign](https://dardo.studio/en/services/website-redesign/) is due in the next few months, build accessibility into it rather than remediating a design you're about to replace, unless a complaint or deadline means you need evidence sooner. ## How Dardo handles accessibility work We audit by hand against WCAG 2.2 AA, fix what we find in code, content and the design system, retest every fix and write the accessibility statement. We don't sell overlays. Audits start at USD 690; the final price depends on the number of templates and journeys, logged-in areas, documents, the assistive technologies to cover and whether we also make the fixes. Once a site is clean, a [maintenance plan](https://dardo.studio/en/services/website-maintenance/) with accessibility checks keeps new pages from bringing issues back, and a [UX audit](https://dardo.studio/en/services/ux-audit/) covers the usability problems WCAG doesn't. No audit can guarantee legal compliance: it gives you and your counsel evidence of where the site stands and what was fixed. If you're working to a deadline, a tender or a demand letter, [send us the site and the date](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/?service=web-accessibility) and we'll propose a test sample and the next step. ## Common questions **Is there a law that requires websites to meet WCAG?** Not for private businesses at the federal level. Title III of the ADA applies to their websites in DOJ's view, but no regulation names a technical standard, and DOJ's 2022 guidance only points to WCAG as helpful. Courts can still order WCAG conformance as a remedy, as the Ninth Circuit noted in Robles v. Domino's. State and local governments must meet WCAG 2.1 AA under the 2024 Title II rule, and federal agencies follow the Section 508 standards, which incorporate WCAG 2.0 Levels A and AA. **Do small businesses get sued over website accessibility?** Yes. In UsableNet's 2025 year-end data, 64% of digital accessibility lawsuits named companies with less than USD 25 million in annual revenue. E-commerce sites accounted for 70% of cases and food service for 21%. A local office isn't required either: UsableNet notes that New York courts accept cases against businesses whose websites New York residents can use. Company size changes your budget for fixes, not whether a plaintiff's firm can find your site. **Will an accessibility widget or overlay protect us from a lawsuit?** The evidence says no. UsableNet counted between 95 and 155 lawsuits a month in 2025 against companies that already had a widget, and 91 in September 2026. In April 2025 the FTC finalized an order requiring accessiBe to pay USD 1 million over claims it alleged were false or unsubstantiated, including that its tool could make any website WCAG-compliant. An overlay doesn't change the markup, components and content where the barriers are. **Should we test against WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2?** Test against WCAG 2.2 AA. The W3C states that content conforming to 2.2 also conforms to 2.0 and 2.1, and its working group recommends 2.2 even where a policy names an earlier version. Version 2.2 adds six success criteria at levels A and AA, including focus not obscured, target size and accessible authentication, and removes 4.1.1 Parsing. If a rule names 2.1, as the Title II rule does, you may still need to test and report 4.1.1. **What should we do after receiving an ADA demand letter about our website?** Call a lawyer first: how to respond is a legal decision. On the technical side, don't install an overlay as a quick answer, and don't promise fixes you haven't scoped. Get an audit of the pages and journeys named in the letter and the templates behind them, fix the blockers, retest and keep the evidence. UsableNet found that 1,427 lawsuits filed in 2025 targeted companies that had already been sued, so a narrow fix rarely ends the exposure. **How much does a website accessibility audit cost?** Dardo's accessibility audits start at USD 690. The final price depends on the number of distinct templates and journeys, logged-in areas and their states, documents, which assistive technologies to cover and whether remediation is included. A brochure site and a portal with accounts and forms are very different audits. Fixes are quoted once the audit shows which issues share a cause, because one fix in a shared component can clear every page that uses it. ## Sources & further reading Sources behind this page, with further detail from the original publishers. - [ADA.gov: Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA (18 March 2022)](https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/) · ada.gov - [Federal Register: Interim final rule extending the ADA Title II web and mobile app compliance dates (20 April 2026)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/20/2026-07663/extension-of-compliance-dates-for-nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web) · federalregister.gov - [ADA.gov: Fact sheet on the Title II web and mobile app accessibility rule](https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/) · ada.gov - [Federal Register: DOJ withdrawal of four ADA rulemaking actions, including Title III web accessibility (26 December 2017)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/26/2017-27510/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-notice-of-withdrawal-of-four-previously-announced) · federalregister.gov - [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: Robles v. Domino's Pizza, opinion (15 January 2019)](https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/01/15/17-55504.pdf) · cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov - [Congressional Research Service: The ADA and Public Accommodations in Web Services (17 June 2024)](https://www.congress.gov/crs%5Fexternal%5Fproducts/R/PDF/R48104/R48104.2.pdf) · congress.gov - [FTC: Proposed order requiring accessiBe to pay USD 1 million (3 January 2025)](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-order-requires-online-marketer-pay-1-million-deceptive-claims-its-ai-product-could-make-websites) · ftc.gov - [FTC: Final order requiring accessiBe to pay USD 1 million (22 April 2025)](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/04/ftc-approves-final-order-requiring-accessibe-pay-1-million) · ftc.gov - [W3C: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/) · w3.org - [W3C: WCAG 2.2 approved as ISO/IEC 40500:2025 (21 October 2025)](https://www.w3.org/WAI/news/2025-10-21/wcag22-iso/) · w3.org - [UsableNet: 2025 Year-End Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Report (December 2025)](https://info.usablenet.com/hubfs/Remediated%20-%202025%5FYear-End%5FDigital%5FAccessibility%5FLawsuit%5FReport%5FFINAL.pdf) · info.usablenet.com - [UsableNet: ADA website lawsuit tracker, September 2026 figures](https://info.usablenet.com/ada-website-compliance-lawsuit-tracker) · info.usablenet.com [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/nicolas-ceron/) Nicolás Cerón is the founder of Dardo, a brand, web design and development studio in Bogotá, Colombia. ## Related articles - [**How much does a website migration cost in 2026? Published prices by platform, site size and migration type**What website migrations cost in 2026 from providers that publish prices, by type and site size, plus what drives a quote and what a botched move risks.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/website-migration-cost/) - [**Webflow vs WordPress in 2026: real costs, editing, SEO and speed**What a bilingual 20-page site with a 300-post blog costs over three years on Webflow and WordPress, and how editing, SEO, speed and security compare.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/webflow-vs-wordpress/) - [**How much does a website redesign cost in 2026? Refresh, redesign and rebuild prices in USD**Published 2026 prices for a website refresh, redesign or rebuild in the US, what a redesign adds over a new site, and how to get quotes you can compare.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/website-redesign-cost/) - [**How much does a website accessibility audit cost? Published prices, cost drivers and how to compare quotes**Vendors that publish prices put most accessibility audits between USD 1,250 and 8,000. What moves the quote, the 2026 ADA dates and how to compare proposals.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/website-accessibility-audit-cost/) ## Keep exploring. - [Service · **Web accessibility audit and remediation (WCAG 2.2 AA)**](https://dardo.studio/en/services/web-accessibility/) - [Your project · **Start a conversation**](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/)