Accessibility is equal access to the service
The ADA is not a checklist of visual preferences. It is a civil-rights law. When a public service or a business moves information, transactions, or communication onto the web, the digital experience can become the doorway to that service. An inaccessible doorway can deny people equal access just as a physical barrier can.
The most useful engineering question is simple: can people with different disabilities find, understand, navigate, operate, submit, and recover from errors in the same service? OpenADA helps find some technical problems. It does not decide whether an organization has met every legal obligation.
This is educational product documentation, not legal advice. The official guidance and the applicable statute, regulation, court decisions, and agency rule control. Review the primary sources for the current requirements that apply to your organization.
Who is covered by the ADA web guidance?
Title II: state and local government
Title II covers public entities and their services, programs, and activities. That includes online services such as benefits applications, tax documents, public meetings, school registration, court information, voting information, and transportation services.
A contractor or vendor delivering a public entity's web content does not remove the public entity's responsibility. The service still needs to be accessible.
Title III: businesses open to the public
Title III covers public accommodations such as stores, banks, hotels, hospitals, restaurants, theaters, and sports venues. The ADA requires full and equal enjoyment of their goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations.
Websites and online services can be part of that experience. Effective communication may require captions, interpreters, accessible forms, alternate formats, or other aids depending on the situation.
The Department of Justice explains the Title II and Title III web-accessibility position in its web guidance.
What the current Title II web rule adds
The 2024 Title II rule gives state and local governments a specific technical baseline for web content and mobile apps: WCAG 2.1 Level AA. It applies to content a public entity provides or makes available, including content supplied through an arrangement with another organization.
Technical standard
Build and maintain web content and mobile apps to WCAG 2.1 Level AA unless an applicable rule exception applies.
Equivalent facilitation
An alternative method may be used when it provides equivalent or greater accessibility and usability.
Communication still matters
An exception from WCAG does not erase duties to provide effective communication, reasonable modifications, and equal opportunity.
Compliance dates changed
ADA.gov currently lists April 26, 2027 for public entities with populations of 50,000 or more, and April 26, 2028 for smaller public entities and special districts.
The original ADA.gov web guidance is dated March 18, 2022 and explicitly says it does not reflect the later Title II rule. Use the newer Title II rule fact sheet and the full Federal Register rule for public-entity requirements.
Common web accessibility barriers
These are not abstract edge cases. They are recurring ways a page can block a person from perceiving information, completing a task, or understanding what went wrong.
Build accessibility into the page lifecycle
Start with semantic HTML
Use real headings, buttons, links, form controls, lists, tables, and landmarks before reaching for custom ARIA. Native elements carry behavior that custom widgets must recreate.
Make every action operable
Test the complete experience with a keyboard. Keep focus visible, preserve logical order, trap focus only when necessary, and return focus after dialogs close.
Name controls and states
A screen reader should be able to identify what a control does, its current value, whether it is required, and whether it is expanded, selected, disabled, or invalid.
Design resilient content
Use meaningful link text, descriptive headings, readable language, adequate spacing, responsive reflow, and text that remains usable at higher zoom.
Make errors recoverable
Identify the invalid field, describe the problem in words, preserve user input where possible, and provide a clear correction path.
Treat media and documents as product work
Caption video, provide transcripts when useful, check PDFs and office documents, and make downloadable content part of the accessibility inventory.
These practices expand on the barriers and examples in the official ADA.gov web guidance and should be mapped to the applicable WCAG success criteria.
Exceptions are narrow, not a shortcut
The Title II rule describes limited exceptions for some public-entity content. An exception is a classification to analyze, not a reason to stop making the service accessible.
- Archived content: generally only when it was created before the compliance date, kept only for reference or recordkeeping, placed in a special archive area, and unchanged since archiving.
- Preexisting conventional documents: some older word-processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet files may qualify, but the exception can disappear when the document is updated or used for a current service.
- Independent third-party posts: content posted by members of the public may qualify, while content posted by a contractor, vendor, or the public entity usually does not.
- Individualized secured documents: some password-protected documents about a specific person, property, or account may qualify; the surrounding website still needs to be accessible.
- Preexisting social-media posts: older posts may qualify, but a person who needs the information may still need an accessible way to receive it.
- Fundamental alteration or undue burden: these are fact-specific limits and do not eliminate the duty to provide effective communication and an equal opportunity.
When an exception does not apply, the content generally needs to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. When an exception does apply, the public entity may still need to provide the information in an accessible format to a person who needs it.
Test with automation and people
Automated testing is valuable for repeatable signals: missing names, invalid structure, contrast problems, missing alternatives, and other machine-detectable patterns. It is not a legal certification and it cannot understand every user journey.
Automated pass
- Run a representative page or component scan.
- Fix critical and serious findings first.
- Re-run after content and markup changes.
- Keep results with the release or review record.
Human pass
- Complete the main task with only a keyboard.
- Check a screen reader or other assistive technology.
- Test zoom, text resizing, captions, and reduced motion needs.
- Ask people with disabilities to test meaningful journeys.
ADA.gov specifically cautions that automated checkers and overlays need careful use and that a clean report does not prove full accessibility. Pair automated checks with manual review.
Where OpenADA fits
OpenADA combines an axe-core scan with a LanguageTool-compatible language check so teams can put two repeatable review signals next to the content workflow. The service is a testing aid, not a compliance verdict.
/api/v1/checkRun ADA and language checks together for HTML, text, or a public page URL.
/api/v1/ada/checkRun an accessibility scan against submitted HTML.
/api/v1/language/checkReturn a compact language issue list for application integrations.
/api/v2/checkReturn a LanguageTool-compatible response for CMS provider integrations.
/api/healthCheck whether the API container is available.
The disability-rights laws around the web
OpenADA focuses on web accessibility testing, but web work can sit inside a wider legal context. This map points to the primary federal sources most often relevant to digital services. It is not a substitute for legal advice, and it does not attempt to summarize every state, local, industry, procurement, or court requirement.
The statute covering employment (Title I), public services (Title II), public accommodations and commercial facilities (Title III), telecommunications (Title IV), and miscellaneous provisions (Title V).
The enforceable public-entity regulations, including the web and mobile accessibility requirements and WCAG 2.1 Level AA baseline.
The regulations for businesses and nonprofit organizations that are public accommodations, including effective communication and auxiliary aids and services.
Prohibits disability discrimination in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance; the responsible agency and program facts matter.
Accessibility requirements for information and communication technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by covered federal agencies.
Accessibility requirements and guidelines for covered telecommunications equipment and services, administered with FCC responsibilities.
Housing discrimination protections, reasonable accommodations and modifications, and accessibility obligations for covered housing.
ADA.gov’s federal guide also covers education, air travel, voting, institutional settings, and other rights with the agencies responsible for them.
Use the linked statute, regulation, Federal Register rule, and agency material for decisions. OpenADA’s score is evidence for a review process, never a certification that a site complies with every applicable law.
Official sources and standards
Laws, regulations, agency guidance, and technical standards change on different schedules. Use these primary sources to verify the requirements for your organization and jurisdiction.
General DOJ guidance for state and local governments and businesses open to the public.
Plain-language summary of WCAG 2.1 AA, exceptions, equivalent facilitation, and current compliance dates.
Official ADA statutes, regulations, standards, and guidance index.
Primary text of the ADA with the original title structure and U.S. Code references.
Federal disability-rights overview with responsible agencies and complaint information.
Current DOJ explanation of WCAG 2.1 Level AA, exceptions, and updated public-entity compliance dates.
The technical accessibility guidance referenced by the Title II rule.
Federal information and communication technology accessibility standards.
OpenADA documentation summarizes official sources and should be reviewed when those sources change.