US accessibility legislation
ADA Title III
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation. Courts and the DOJ apply WCAG 2.1 AA as the web accessibility benchmark. In 2025, 3,117 federal ADA website lawsuits were filed — a 27% year-over-year increase.
What is ADA Title III?
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination by 'places of public accommodation' — a category that courts have extended to websites, mobile apps, and digital services. The US Department of Justice finalized a rule under Title II (state and local government) in April 2024, adopting WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for web accessibility. While no equivalent final rule exists for Title III (private sector) as of 2026, courts consistently apply WCAG 2.1 AA as the accessibility benchmark in Title III settlement negotiations and judicial decisions. The DOJ has stated that WCAG 2.1 AA represents the floor of accessibility for websites subject to the ADA.
ADA Title III applies to 'places of public accommodation' — defined in the statute as businesses open to the public, including retailers, restaurants, hotels, banks, healthcare providers, entertainment venues, and e-commerce websites. Courts in several circuits (1st, 2nd, 9th, and 11th) have held that websites of businesses with a nexus to a physical location must be accessible. Federal regulators and courts are moving toward applying ADA Title III to all commercial websites regardless of physical presence. In 2025, 3,117 federal ADA website lawsuits were filed, a 27% year-over-year increase from 2024, making website accessibility litigation a significant business risk for US companies.
The ADA was signed into law in 1990. Title III's application to websites has been litigated since the late 1990s. The DOJ's April 2024 final rule under Title II (state and local government) adopted WCAG 2.1 AA with compliance deadlines of April 2026 (large agencies, ≥50,000 population) and April 2027 (smaller agencies). For Title III, no DOJ final rule exists — instead, plaintiffs file private lawsuits. Common settlements include: WCAG 2.1 AA remediation commitments, 18-month monitoring periods, and damages of $10,000–$90,000. The extension of compliance dates published in the Federal Register in April 2026 reflects ongoing regulatory development, not a weakening of ADA obligations.
Key criteria
The 10 requirements most frequently flagged in automated audits by scan-access.com.
- 42 U.S.C. §12182
General prohibition on discrimination
No individual may be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, or accommodations offered by any place of public accommodation.
- §12182(b)(2)(A)(iii)
Auxiliary aids and services
Businesses must provide auxiliary aids (captioning, screen reader-compatible content, accessible PDFs) unless doing so imposes an undue burden.
- WCAG 2.1 SC 1.1.1
Alt text for images (DOJ standard)
All informational images must have descriptive alt text. One of the most frequently cited violations in ADA Title III complaints targeting e-commerce sites.
Official spec →WCAG 1.1.1 - WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3
Contrast ratio (DOJ standard)
Text contrast must meet 4.5:1 minimum (or 3:1 for large text). Contrast failures are among the top 5 automated ADA violations found in scan-access.com audits.
Official spec →WCAG 1.4.3 - WCAG 2.1 SC 2.1.1
Keyboard accessibility (DOJ standard)
All website functionality must be operable via keyboard. Many e-commerce checkout flows and date pickers are only mouse-operable, triggering ADA exposure.
Official spec →WCAG 2.1.1 - WCAG 2.1 SC 4.1.2
Name, Role, Value (DOJ standard)
Custom UI components (dropdown menus, accordions, carousels) must expose their accessible name and role to screen readers via ARIA or semantic HTML.
Official spec →WCAG 4.1.2 - WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1
Info and Relationships (DOJ standard)
Information conveyed visually (table structure, form relationships, headings) must also be conveyed programmatically, so assistive technologies can interpret it.
Official spec →WCAG 1.3.1 - Undue burden
Undue burden defense
Compliance is not required if it would result in an 'undue burden' — a significant difficulty or expense. Courts apply a multi-factor test; small businesses rarely succeed with this defense for web remediation.
- WCAG 2.1 SC 3.3.1
Error Identification (DOJ standard)
Form validation errors must be identified in text. Critical for checkout and contact forms on e-commerce sites — a common source of ADA complaints.
Official spec →WCAG 3.3.1 - Title II rule 2024
DOJ Title II final rule (WCAG 2.1 AA, April 2024)
State and local government web content must meet WCAG 2.1 AA by April 2026 (large) / April 2027 (small). Sets the precedent for Title III private sector obligations.
How scan-access.com covers ADA Title III
scan-access.com coverage
Reduce ADA Title III litigation risk with automated accessibility scanning
The most cited ADA website violations — missing alt text, contrast failures, unlabeled forms, keyboard traps, and ARIA errors — are exactly what scan-access.com detects automatically. With 3,117 ADA federal lawsuits in 2025, demonstrating a proactive accessibility program is critical. Demand letters typically cite the same 10-20 automated violations that scan-access.com catches. The legal-defense PDF provides a timestamped, hash-signed audit record that shows you identified and are remediating issues — the key documentation your attorney needs in a demand letter response or early settlement negotiation. A $99/month scan-access.com subscription is materially cheaper than a single ADA lawsuit settlement (median: $35,000–$50,000 plus legal fees).
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Frequently asked questions
Does the ADA require websites to be accessible?
There is no federal statute that explicitly states 'websites must be ADA-compliant,' but courts have consistently held that websites of places of public accommodation must be accessible under ADA Title III. The DOJ finalized WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard for government websites (Title II) in April 2024, and has stated that WCAG 2.1 AA is the appropriate benchmark for private sector (Title III) websites as well. In practice, WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is the safe harbor that courts and plaintiffs' attorneys accept.
What WCAG version does the ADA reference?
The DOJ's April 2024 final rule for Title II (state and local government) adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA. For Title III (private sector), no final rule exists as of 2026, but DOJ guidance and court settlements consistently reference WCAG 2.1 AA. Some more recent settlements have incorporated WCAG 2.2 AA as part of the remediation commitment. The safest approach is to target WCAG 2.2 AA, which is backward-compatible with 2.1.
How many ADA website lawsuits were filed in 2025?
3,117 ADA federal website accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025, according to Seyfarth Shaw's annual ADA Title III litigation report — a 27% year-over-year increase from 2024. The top targeted industries are e-commerce (retail, apparel, food delivery), financial services, and real estate. The average settlement is $35,000–$90,000 plus attorney fees; repeat targets face serial litigation by the same plaintiff firms.
Can I use an overlay widget to comply with the ADA?
No. Overlay widgets (automated JavaScript tools that claim to 'fix' accessibility on the fly) do not provide ADA compliance and may worsen the user experience for people using assistive technologies. The National Federation of the Blind, American Council of the Blind, and the US DOJ have all issued statements that overlays are not a substitute for proper remediation. Courts have not accepted overlay usage as a compliance defense. See scan-access.com's comparison pages for documented evidence against overlays.
What is the ADA Title II compliance deadline?
Under the DOJ's April 2024 final rule, state and local government websites must reach WCAG 2.1 AA compliance by: April 24, 2026 (large governments with population ≥ 50,000) and April 26, 2027 (smaller governments with population < 50,000). An extension to some compliance dates was under review in April 2026. Title III (private sector) has no legislated deadline — liability is continuous under the existing statute.
Related standards
WCAG 2.2 AA
WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA is the technical benchmark applied in ADA Title III litigation and DOJ guidance.
Section 508
Section 508 covers federal agencies; ADA Title III covers private businesses. Both reference WCAG.
European Accessibility Act
For companies operating in both US and EU, ADA and EAA together define global web accessibility obligations.