Title II ADA Requirements for State and Local Governments

On April 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an Interim Final Rule(opens in a new tab) (IFR) extending Title II web accessibility compliance deadlines by one year. 

But the requirements of the 2024 rule still apply: State and local governments serving populations of 50,000 or more now have until April 26, 2027 to ensure their websites and digital content conform to the standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(opens in a new tab) (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. Smaller entities and all special district governments have until April 26, 2028. 

Below, we’ll discuss what the Interim Final Rule changed, what it didn’t, and what state and local governments need to do to reach those new deadlines.

What the April 2026 IFR Changed

As mentioned above, the IFR was published on April 20, 206, extending both deadline tiers by one year. The rule took effect immediately upon publication.

The DOJ was direct about why. In the IFR commentary, the department stated it had “overestimated the capabilities (whether staffing or technology) of covered entities to comply with the [Title II Rule] in the time frames provided.” Resource and staffing constraints facing covered entities were cited, along with questions about the dynamic nature of WCAG’s supplementary materials and the emergence of AI-generated content as a new accessibility risk. 

What the IFR did not do: change compliance requirements. WCAG 2.1 Level AA remains the technical standard. The scope of covered content, including websites, mobile apps, PDFs, and other digital documents, is unchanged. Enforcement mechanisms also remain unchanged. 

The IFR also opened a 60-day comment period, which closes on June 22, 2026. The DOJ also signaled it may issue a notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to consider any changes to the 2024 final rule during the extension period. That process, if initiated, would be separate from the deadline extension and would include public comment before any changes take effect. 

For planning purposes, treat the new deadlines and existing technical requirements as fixed. The DOJ stated it “fully anticipates implementing the regulation at the new deadline.”

The 2024 Final Rule: What it Requires

Title II of the ADA has always required state and local governments to make their programs and services accessible to people with disabilities. Before 2024, that included digital content in theory, but there was no defined technical standard, so what “accessible” meant in practice was unclear.

The 2024 final rule closed that gap. The DOJ established WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard that government websites must meet for ADA compliance, and made it clear that it applies to websites, mobile apps, and digital documents — PDFs, presentations, spreadsheets, and anything a government entity publishes or makes available to the public. 

The rule covers all state and local government entities, but who that includes and which deadline applies are worth understanding in detail.

Who Has to Comply with Title II?

Title II applies to all state and local government entities, not just the ones you might immediately think of. Covered entities include:

• State agencies and departments

• County and municipal governments

• Public school districts

• Public universities and community colleges

• Public libraries

• Special district governments (water districts, transit authorities, community development districts, and similar entities)

If your organization is a public entity that provides programs, services, or activities to the public, the rule applies to you.

Which deadline applies depends on the population, with one exception.

Entities serving populations of 50,000 or more must comply by April 26, 2027. Entities serving populations of fewer than 50,000 must comply by April 26, 2028. The population threshold is based on the population the entity serves, not the number of employees or staff size.

The exception: all special district governments are subject to the April 26, 2028 deadline regardless of population. For example, a large transit authority serving a metro area of two million still has until April 2028. If your organization is a special district, the April 2028 deadline applies to you, no population calculation needed.

Stylized laptop with various accessibility icons on the top of the page. The laptop is sitting on top of a closed book.

What WCAG 2.1 Level AA Requires of Government Websites

WCAG 2.1 Level AA determines what accessible digital content looks like in practice. Under Title II, that standard applies across everything a government entity publishes or makes available to the public (as we established above).

Meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA means your content has to satisfy conformance across four principal areas:

• Perceivable: Content can be seen or heard by all users, including those using assistive technology. This includes alt text for images, captions for videos, and sufficient color contrast.

• Operable: All functionality is accessible by keyboard, and users have enough time to interact with content. This includes skip navigation, focus visibility, and no content that causes seizures.

• Understandable: Content and navigation behave predictably. Error messages are clear and helpful. 

• Robust: Content works reliably across browsers, devices, and assistive technologies, including screen readers.

For a more in-depth breakdown of WCAG, see our comprehensive WCAG checklist.

What to do With the Extended Runway

The DOJ’s extension wasn’t an invitation to wait. It was, as the department put it, time for covered entities to “specifically focus on compliance efforts”, and that framing matters. The next 12 to 24 months will produce either a defensible compliance program or a last-minute audit. What you do is the difference.

Compliance is a moving target, not a finish line. Every new blog post, agenda packet, or vendor-supplied component is a chance for new accessibility issues to creep in, and the extra year is the time to build a program that handles those continuously, not retroactively.

In practice, that means:

• Start with a baseline audit: A baseline audit, one that combines automated testing tools and expert review, surfaces common issues, typically ones that result in a DOJ complaint or private lawsuit. This gives you a clear starting point as well.

• Build periodic testing into your workflow: Automated testing should run continuously. Expert audits, which identify more complex issues, should occur at least once per quarter, if not more often.

• Maintain conformance documentation: An accessibility statement should reflect your current state, and documentation of your testing and fixes creates a record that matters in enforcement contexts. 

• Establish a fix workflow: A clear process for finding and fixing accessibility issues throughout your content publishing cycle can help you maintain accessibility moving forward.

• Update vendor procurement requirements: If your RFPs don’t currently require accessibility conformance documentation, typically in the form of a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), the extended runway is the window to fix that.

Generic data visualization of a bar chart and line graph with a hand holding a gavel in front.

Enforcement and Penalties

The April 2026 IFR changed the compliance deadlines. It did not change how Title II is enforced.

State and local governments that miss their deadline face enforcement through two channels. The first is the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which investigates complaints and can initiate compliance reviews independently, usually resulting in settlement agreements with fix timelines and ongoing monitoring obligations. The second is private litigation. Individuals can file suit in federal court if they encounter accessibility barriers without waiting for a DOJ investigation. 

Federal funding is also at risk. Most state and local governments receive federal financial assistance, which means a Title II violation can trigger a funding review from the relevant federal agency. 

The DOJ has been explicit: despite extending deadlines, it “fully anticipates implementing the regulation at the new deadline.” Treating the extension as a reprieve rather than a runway carries real risk.

AudioEye for Government: Continuous Compliance, Not a One-Time Fix

Getting to April 2027 or 2028 in a defensible position means having systems in place, not just intentions. A last-minute audit tells you where you stand. A continuous compliance program builds the documentation and history to show you never fell behind.

That’s the infrastructure AudioEy is built to provide.

AudioEye combines automation with expert audits to provide government entities with the scale and depth Title II compliance requires. Automated monitoring catches new issues as they’re introduced while our expert audits surface what automation can’t catch, including document accessibility gaps. 

Start with a free scan to see where you stand. Then talk to our team about what it takes to stay there.