Website Accessibility Laws: ADA, Section 508 and the European Accessibility Act

The common thread: WCAG

WCAG is published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It sets testable success criteria at three levels, A, AA and AAA, and laws and public bodies usually ask for Level AA. Versions build on each other: WCAG 2.1 added criteria to 2.0, and WCAG 2.2 added more to 2.1. Different laws name different versions, as the sections below show, so a site that meets WCAG 2.2 AA generally covers what the older versions ask for too. Our guide to website accessibility basics explains what WCAG asks for in practice and includes a checklist you can run yourself.

ADA Title II: state and local government

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers the services, programs and activities of state and local governments, including those offered online and through mobile apps. On 24 April 2024 the Department of Justice published a final rule that sets a specific technical standard for them: according to the ADA.gov fact sheet on the rule, web content and mobile apps usually need to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

The compliance dates have changed. The same fact sheet says an Interim Final Rule published on 20 April 2026 extended them:

• Public entities with a total population of 50,000 or more: 26 April 2027.
• Public entities with a total population under 50,000, and special district governments: 26 April 2028.

The rule reaches further than government staff. It also covers web content and apps that someone else provides for a public entity under an arrangement with it. The fact sheet gives examples: a county web page made and updated by a local web design company must meet WCAG 2.1 AA, and so must a parking payment app run by a private company for a city. If you build or run sites for schools, councils, transit agencies or public hospitals, this rule applies to your work for them.

ADA Title III: businesses open to the public

Title III covers "public accommodations": businesses open to the public, such as shops, banks, hotels, medical offices, restaurants and theatres. The Department of Justice's guidance on web accessibility and the ADA (March 2022) says it has "consistently taken the position" that the ADA applies to all the goods and services such businesses offer, including those offered on the web.

There is no detailed technical regulation for Title III websites. The same guidance says the Department "does not have a regulation setting out detailed standards" and that businesses have flexibility in how they comply, but must comply. It points to WCAG and the Section 508 Standards as existing technical standards that can help. In practice, WCAG Level AA is the usual benchmark a business works to when it wants to show its site is accessible.

Section 508: US federal agencies

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act applies to federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain or use information and communication technology. Section508.gov explains that agencies must give employees and members of the public with disabilities access to information comparable to the access available to others. The technical rules are the Revised 508 Standards from the US Access Board, which require electronic content to conform to WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA success criteria.

Section 508 binds agencies, not private businesses directly. It matters to you if you sell software, websites or digital services to a federal agency, because the agency has to buy and use accessible technology and will ask suppliers how their product conforms.

The European Accessibility Act

The European Accessibility Act is Directive (EU) 2019/882. EU countries had to turn it into national law by 28 June 2022 and, under Article 31, apply those laws from 28 June 2025. Unlike the ADA rules above, it reaches private businesses that sell to consumers.

The services it covers include electronic communications, access to audiovisual media, parts of passenger transport services, consumer banking, e-books, and e-commerce services, so online shops and the websites and mobile apps used to sell to consumers are in scope. The European Commission's EAA page lists the products and services covered.

Points from the directive's text that matter most to a business website:

• Microenterprises providing services are exempt. Article 4(5) exempts them, and Article 3 defines a microenterprise as one that employs fewer than 10 people and has an annual turnover, or balance sheet total, of no more than 2 million euros.
• Some older content is excluded. Pre-recorded audio and video and office files (such as PDFs) published before 28 June 2025 are not covered, nor is third-party content the business does not fund, develop or control.
• There is a transition period. Article 32 lets service contracts agreed before 28 June 2025 continue unchanged until they expire, for no more than five years, and lets services keep using products they already used lawfully until 28 June 2030.
• A disproportionate burden can be claimed, but under Article 14 the business has to assess it, document the assessment, keep it for five years and give a copy to the authorities if they ask.

For the technical detail, the EU's public sector directive and its harmonised standard EN 301 549 include WCAG 2.1 Level AA for web content, as the W3C's summary of EU accessibility policy notes. Because each country passes its own law and enforces it, check the national rules where you sell.

The UK: Equality Act and public sector rules

The UK is not covered by the European Accessibility Act. GOV.UK's guidance on accessibility requirements for public sector websites and apps sets out two layers:

• Everyone providing a service has a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, or the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland. That applies to a business's website as much as to its premises.
• Public sector bodies must also meet the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations, in force since 23 September 2018. They must check their websites and apps against WCAG 2.2, fix the problems they find, and publish an accessibility statement. A "disproportionate burden" can excuse some requirements, but it has to be assessed and explained in the statement.

What this means for your website or app

Whichever law applies, the practical work is much the same:

• Work out which rules apply. That depends on who you are (a public body, a business open to the public, a supplier to government) and where your customers are. If you sell to consumers in the EU, check the EAA and the national law of the countries you sell in.
• Aim for WCAG 2.2 Level AA. It meets or exceeds the versions named in the rules above, and it is easier to build in from the start than to fix later.
• Test with people and tools. Automated checkers catch only part of the problems. Keyboard-only navigation and a screen reader test find many of the rest.
• Cover documents, video and apps. The laws above apply to PDFs, videos and mobile apps as well as web pages.
• Write it into contracts. If someone builds your site or app, name the WCAG version and level in the contract and say how it will be tested before you accept the work. Our guide to software development contracts covers acceptance clauses.
• Keep it up. New pages, plugins and content can break accessibility, so check again after changes.

When the stakes are high, for example a public body facing a compliance date or a business that has received a complaint, take advice from a lawyer who knows the law in your country.

Frequently asked questions

Does the ADA apply to private business websites?

The Department of Justice's position is that Title III covers the goods and services that businesses open to the public offer on the web. There is no detailed technical regulation for these websites, so WCAG Level AA is the usual benchmark.

When do state and local governments have to comply with the ADA web rule?

After an Interim Final Rule published on 20 April 2026, entities with a total population of 50,000 or more must comply by 26 April 2027, and smaller entities and special district governments by 26 April 2028. The standard is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Does the European Accessibility Act apply to my small business?

Microenterprises providing services are exempt: businesses with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros. Larger businesses selling covered services, such as e-commerce, to EU consumers have had to comply since 28 June 2025.

Which WCAG version should a new website aim for?

WCAG 2.2 Level AA. The ADA Title II rule names WCAG 2.1 AA and the Revised 508 Standards name WCAG 2.0 AA, and 2.2 builds on both, so meeting it covers what the older versions ask for.

Is this guide legal advice?

No. It summarises official sources in general terms. Laws and enforcement differ between countries and change over time, so take advice from a lawyer for your own situation.

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