New: the ADA Title II Handbook & Toolkit — a practical starting point for planning and documenting your agency's digital accessibility work. See the Handbook & Toolkit

ADA Title II Digital Accessibility Help for State and Local Governments

Practical help for city, county, school district and other public-entity teams that need to meet the ADA Title II web accessibility rule. Start with the answers below, try the free Starter Kit, or go straight to the 12-phase Handbook and 20-template Toolkit.

Last reviewed October 30, 2026.

What does the ADA Title II web accessibility rule require?

The Department of Justice’s Title II rule requires state and local governments to make their websites and mobile apps meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. That covers cities, counties, school districts, libraries, special districts and other public entities, and it reaches web content, documents and the third-party platforms they use to deliver services.

What are the current compliance deadlines?

In April 2026, DOJ extended the compliance dates by one year. The new dates are April 26, 2027 for entities serving 50,000 or more people, and April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special districts. The standard did not change: it is still WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

The extension has been challenged in federal court, so confirm the current dates with your counsel or on ADA.gov. We follow it here: what the extension changed and what the court challenge means.

Where should my agency start?

Start with three things, in this order:

  1. Build your digital inventory. List the websites, documents, apps and vendor platforms the agency is responsible for, with an owner for each. Phase 2 of the Handbook walks through it, and Appendix A of the Toolkit is the template.
  2. Sort your legacy PDFs. Not every old file needs fixing. Appendix B is a decision tree that separates files that need remediation from files you can archive under DOJ’s exceptions.
  3. Ask vendors for the right paperwork. Appendices C and F give your procurement team a consistent way to request, and read, a vendor’s conformance claims.

You can try the working inventory first: the free Starter Kit has a roadmap, a scope guide and an inventory worksheet. It needs no email address and nothing you type leaves your browser.

What are the 12 phases?

The Handbook is a twelve-phase roadmap that you can spread across about a year, combine, or compress if you have to. Each phase says what it covers and why it matters, who owns the work, the action items, what you should have when you are done, and the mistakes agencies commonly make at that stage.

The 12 phases of the ADA Title II Digital Compliance Handbook
Phase Name What it covers
1 Foundation Get your team and project structure in place before anyone touches a scan tool. Name an ADA coordinator and document your starting point.
2 Digital Inventory Catalog every website, subdomain, mobile app and third-party platform you are responsible for, with an owner for each.
3 Baseline Audit Run your first real accessibility audit.
4 Remediation Planning Turn the audit into a prioritized plan instead of a list everyone stares at.
5 Web Content Remediation Fix web content. Handled separately from documents because the two break in different ways.
6 Document Remediation Fix PDFs and Word files, including deciding what to remediate, replace or archive.
7 Procurement and Vendors Review third-party platforms, and ask vendors for the right accessibility paperwork instead of assuming their product is accessible.
8 Training and Culture Build the habits that keep fixes from unraveling.
9 Verification and QA Confirm that what you fixed stayed fixed.
10 Policy and Governance Write the policies and procedures that make the program durable instead of dependent on one person.
11 Final Verification and Documentation Close out with a clean, dated record of what your agency decided and did.
12 Ongoing Monitoring Run the program as an operating habit, not a finish line.

For a plain-language walk through the phases, read what is inside the Handbook and Toolkit.

What templates are included?

The Toolkit is 178 pages of editable Word templates, rubrics and checklists: 20 appendices, each mapped to the Handbook phase that uses it.

The 20 appendices of the ADA Title II Digital Compliance Toolkit
Appendix Document
A Digital inventory template
B PDF remediation decision tree
C VPAT request letters
D Undue burden determination form
E RFP and contract accessibility language
F ACR evaluation rubric, for scoring vendor conformance reports
G Scan score rubric
H Department-level accessibility policy templates
I Accessibility statement template and guidance
J Accommodation request and grievance procedure templates
K Vendor review workflow with a RACI matrix
L Training planning and audience guide
M 12-month training calendar
N Social media platform quick reference
O Live meeting and video captioning guidance
P Conformance documentation and remediation progress report
Q Pre-publish checklist
R Accessible procurement RFP template
S WCAG 2.2 AA quick reference
T Glossary of accessibility terms

The Word files are working documents to complete and issue under your own letterhead. You may adapt them.

Which should we buy: the Handbook, the Toolkit or the bundle?

The Handbook is the sequence: it tells you what to do, who owns it and when. The Toolkit is the paperwork: the documents you fill in when you reach each phase. They are designed to be used together, and each is also sold on its own.

ADA Title II Handbook and Toolkit options
Option Price What you get
Handbook $397 The 12-phase roadmap, with action items by owner role and a checkpoint at the end of each phase.
Toolkit $397 All 20 editable appendices.
Handbook + Toolkit Bundle $597 Both titles. Saves $197 against buying them separately.

Every purchase includes an interactive web edition, a PDF and editable Word files. The web edition is a single file that opens in your browser with no account and no internet connection.

Is this a substitute for hiring a consultant?

No. This package does not replace consulting work or the judgment your counsel and accessibility staff bring. Some firms charge $15,000 or more for a full ADA Title II engagement with a customized plan, and not every agency can start there. What the Handbook and Toolkit do is give your team a structured way to start: do the inventory, see which decisions you need help with, and work out what a consultant would need to know before quoting. Many agencies can do a good deal themselves, and the rest becomes a much better-defined request.

If you would like outside help with parts of the work, see our services or get in touch. If your agency signs a new consulting engagement with Accessiblü within 30 days of buying the bundle, we apply a $500 credit toward it. One credit per agency.

How is this different from the free guidance on ADA.gov?

ADA.gov and DOJ publish the requirements and suggest first steps for state and local governments, and your team should read them. This package adds what those pages are not built to provide: editable working documents, an owner role for each action, a checkpoint at the end of each phase, and one sequence that connects them.

We have thousands of legacy PDFs and no bandwidth for a twelve-phase program. Can we still use this?

You do not have to read the Handbook cover to cover or fix every historical file before you start. The Toolkit’s decision tree sorts what needs fixing from what DOJ’s exceptions let you archive, and each phase is written so it can be delegated. For example, Phase 1 asks you to name an ADA coordinator, pull your team together and document your starting point. Phase 2 begins with asking IT to list every URL and subdomain and asking each department head what they run.

Can we buy with an invoice or purchase order?

Yes. Request an invoice from any product page and we will confirm your billing details and delivery arrangements before payment. Purchasing and approval requirements vary by agency, so follow your own rules. Pricing, delivery, license, refunds and support are in the Terms of Sale.

Does it guarantee we will not be sued or cited?

No. No product can promise that, and compliance is ultimately decided by courts and regulators. This package helps you organize records of your decisions, responsibilities and implementation work. It is not legal advice, and your counsel should review anything you adopt.

How current is it, and what does it not cover?

This is the first edition, 2026, and it reflects the extended April 26, 2027 and April 26, 2028 dates. When either title is revised, we email the current version to the purchaser. Support for using the files is available by email at hey@accessiblu.com.

It covers digital accessibility: websites, documents, apps and vendor-supplied software. It does not address other parts of Title II, such as physical access or program accessibility.

We sell to government. Is there something for vendors?

Yes. Public agencies ask vendors to prove accessibility in RFPs and at renewal. The Vendor Handbook is a ten-stage guide to proving accessibility to public-sector customers, from RFP response to renewal, and the Vendor RFP/RFQ Response Toolkit adds a bid checklist, answer bank, ACR and VPAT checklists and contract language. Each is $397; the vendor bundle is $597.

What if we need to claim undue burden?

The Undue Burden Documentation Guide and Worksheet is an 86-page guide and 106-item worksheet covering what to collect, who should be involved and what your counsel will need. For background first, read this practical guide to undue burden under Title II.

More Title II resources