Rule explainer · Checked against the Federal Register and eCFR on
ADA Title II web rule: your compliance date after the April 2026 extension, and which documents it covers
The Justice Department pushed both deadlines back by one year. A state or local government with a total population of 50,000 or more now has until April 26, 2027 to make its web content, including the PDFs and Office files it posts, meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. A government under 50,000, and every special district government, has until April 26, 2028. The change is an interim final rule published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2026 (91 FR 20902), and it took effect that day. It amends 28 CFR 35.200(b), which is where the dates now live.
Posting a PDF before your date? Say a county of 120,000 posts its budget as a PDF in December 2026. Its date is April 26, 2027, so under the rule's text that PDF is a preexisting document and doesn't have to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, unless people use it to apply for or take part in something, or the county changes it on or after April 26, 2027. Anyone can still ask for an accessible copy, and the county has to respond. Pages written before the extension, and copies of the 2024 rule, still give April 24, 2026 as the date; it no longer applies. Why the cutoff moved.
ADA.gov already lists the two dates. This page adds three things a clerk or records officer needs when deciding what to fix first:
- Your date by type of government, with the population the rule tells you to use and the rule's own sentence next to each answer.
- A cutoff that moved with the deadline. The exceptions for older documents, archived content and old social media posts are tied to your compliance date, so the extension also moved the line between "old" and "new" documents by a year.
- A school-district question the rule leaves open. The rule says to use the most recent Census school-district estimate. One ADA.gov guide names the 2022 estimate; Census has since published 2023 and 2024 estimates, and 27 districts are on different sides of 50,000 in the 2022 and 2024 files. Many school systems don't use that estimate at all: a system run by a county, city or town uses that government's Census count.
This is a reading of the published rule text, not legal advice. Where the rule doesn't settle a question, we say so.
Find your date
The date depends on your government's total population as the rule defines it (28 CFR 35.104), not on how many people you serve or employ.
| If your public entity is… | Population to use | Date | Rule text |
|---|---|---|---|
| A state, county, city, town or township with its own Census count | Its 2020 decennial Census population | 50,000 or more: April 26, 2027. Under 50,000: April 26, 2028 | "If a public entity has a population calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census, the population estimate for that public entity as calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census" (35.104, Total population (1)) |
| A department, office, board, library, police department or other part of such a government | The population of the government it belongs to. A state agency or state university uses the state's population, which is over 50,000 in every state, so April 26, 2027. A county community college uses the county's population | Same rule as the row above, using that government's population | "…but is an instrumentality or a commuter authority of one or more State or local governments that do have such a population estimate, the combined decennial Census population estimates for any State or local governments of which the public entity is an instrumentality or commuter authority" (35.104, Total population (3)) |
| A body set up by two or more governments (a joint agency or commuter authority), unless it is itself a special district government (last row) | The combined 2020 Census populations of the governments it belongs to | 50,000 or more combined: April 26, 2027. Under: April 26, 2028 | Same sentence as the row above: "the combined decennial Census population estimates" |
| An independent school district, or a part of one. Independent means the Census Bureau counts the district as a government of its own, separate from any county, city or town (Census of Governments) | The district's estimate in the most recent Census Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE). Which year counts is not settled | 50,000 or more: April 26, 2027. Under 50,000: April 26, 2028 | "If a public entity is an independent school district, or an instrumentality of an independent school district, the population estimate for the independent school district as calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates" (35.104, Total population (2)) |
| A dependent school system: a county, city or town school system that is part of that government. Every school system in Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia is dependent, and Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia have the most dependent systems (Census Bureau, 2026) | The 2020 Census population of the county, city or town it belongs to, not the school system's own SAIPE estimate. A system serving only part of a county of 50,000 or more still uses the county's count. In North Carolina, city school units are dependent on the county, not the city, so they use the county's count (Census of Governments 2022 state descriptions, North Carolina) | 50,000 or more: April 26, 2027. Under 50,000: April 26, 2028 | The instrumentality sentence in the second row. The 2024 rule's own example: "the total population of a county library is the population of the county of which the library is an instrumentality" (89 FR 31342) |
| A special district government (the 2024 rule's examples include a "mosquito abatement district, utility district, transit authority, water and sewer board, zoning district", when it is its own government and has no Census population) | None: size doesn't matter | April 26, 2028 | "Beginning April 26, 2028, a public entity with a total population of less than 50,000 or any public entity that is a special district government shall ensure…" (35.200(b)(2)) |
The two date sentences themselves, as amended:
- "Beginning April 26, 2027, a public entity, other than a special district government, with a total population of 50,000 or more shall ensure that the web content and mobile apps that the public entity provides or makes available, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, comply with Level A and Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements specified in WCAG 2.1…" (35.200(b)(1))
- "Beginning April 26, 2028, a public entity with a total population of less than 50,000 or any public entity that is a special district government shall ensure…" the same (35.200(b)(2))
A special district government, in the rule's words, is "a public entity—other than a county, municipality, township, or independent school district—authorized by State law to provide one function or a limited number of designated functions with sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as a separate government and whose population is not calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census or Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates" (35.104). A water department that is part of a city is not one; it uses the city's population.
One case the rule doesn't settle: a community college district that the Census Bureau counts as a school district government of its own. It isn't an instrumentality of a county, and it has no SAIPE estimate. If that's you, ask the ADA Information Line which population applies.
School districts near 50,000: which estimate?
For cities and counties, "the most recent decennial Census" is the 2020 Census until the 2030 results arrive. For independent school districts the rule points to SAIPE, which Census publishes every year, and it doesn't say as of which date "most recent" is read. (Dependent school systems use their county's, city's or town's 2020 Census count instead; see the table. This section doesn't apply to them.) The 2024 rule's preamble doesn't say either.
ADA.gov isn't consistent on this. Its fact sheet and small entity compliance guide repeat "the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates". Its first-steps guide says to "use your school district's population in the 2022 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates".
Census has since published two newer school-district files: 2023 (file dated November 27, 2024) and 2024 (file dated February 17, 2026). We compared the 2022 and 2024 files for the 13,119 districts that appear in both:
- 26 districts are under 50,000 in the 2022 estimate and 50,000 or more in the 2024 estimate. If the newer estimate counts, their date is April 26, 2027, a year earlier than the 2022 figure gives.
- 1 district goes the other way, from 50,000 or more to under 50,000.
- Every one of the 27 was within 2,400 people of 50,000 in the 2022 file.
- The SAIPE files list dependent systems too, and some of the 27 may be dependent: one is in North Carolina, where every system is, and three are in Massachusetts or Tennessee. For a dependent system the SAIPE figure doesn't decide the date.
If you're an independent district and your figure is near 50,000 in any of these files, check your own number in each and plan for the earlier date until DOJ says which year it uses. The files are on the Census site under SAIPE school-district datasets (2022, 2023, 2024); each line has the state FIPS code, the district ID, the district name and then the estimated total population, which is the first number after the name and starts at character 83 of the line. Some district names contain numbers, so in a spreadsheet import the file as fixed width and set the ID columns to text to keep their leading zeros. The ADA Information Line answers questions about the rule.
Which posted documents the rule covers
The rule covers "web content", which it defines to include "conventional electronic documents": files in "portable document formats ("PDF"), word processor file formats, presentation file formats, and spreadsheet file formats" (35.104). So the agenda PDF, the Word form and the budget spreadsheet on your site are in scope, along with the pages themselves. Five exceptions apply (28 CFR 35.201). Here they are against the documents a clerk's office typically posts. "Your date" is April 26, 2027 or April 26, 2028 from the table above.
| Document | Must it meet WCAG 2.1 AA from your date? | Rule text |
|---|---|---|
| A PDF or Office file first posted on or after your date (an agenda packet, minutes, a notice, a report) | Yes | The general rule in 35.200(b); none of the exceptions below fits a document posted on or after the date |
| A PDF or Office file posted before your date, not changed on or after your date, that nobody uses to apply for or take part in anything (old minutes, past reports) | No, under the preexisting-documents exception | "Conventional electronic documents that are available as part of a public entity's web content or mobile apps before the date the public entity is required to comply with this subpart, unless such documents are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in the public entity's services, programs, or activities." (35.201(b)) |
| A file posted before your date that you edit, add to or replace on or after it (a meeting calendar, a fee schedule, a spreadsheet or report updated in place) | Yes, from the first change on or after your date | "If a public entity changes or revises a preexisting document following the date it is required to comply with subpart H, the document would no longer be ‘preexisting’ for the purposes of the exception." The 2024 rule's example is a town's meeting-dates file: "If the town made such additions to the document, the document would no longer be preexisting." (89 FR 31364) |
| A PDF or Office file posted before your date that people still use: an application or permit form, a registration form, instructions needed to take part in a program | Yes, the exception doesn't cover it | The "unless such documents are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in…" clause of 35.201(b), above |
| Old content kept in a clearly marked archive | No, but only if all four conditions hold: created (or the paper original created) before your date, kept only for reference, research or recordkeeping, not changed since it was archived, and stored in an area clearly marked as archived | "Archived web content means web content that— (1) Was created before the date the public entity is required to comply with subpart H of this part, reproduces paper documents created before the date… (2) Is retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping; (3) Is not altered or updated after the date of archiving; and (4) Is organized and stored in a dedicated area or areas clearly identified as being archived." (35.104; exception at 35.201(a)) |
| A file about one person, their property or their account, behind a password or otherwise secured (a utility bill, a tax statement in a resident portal) | No, both conditions must hold | "Conventional electronic documents that are: (1) About a specific individual, their property, or their account; and (2) Password-protected or otherwise secured." (35.201(d)) |
| Something a member of the public posted (a public comment, a forum reply) | No, unless the person posted it under a contract or other arrangement with you | "Content posted by a third party, unless the third party is posting due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the public entity." (35.201(c)) |
| Your own social media posts from before your date | No | "A public entity's social media posts that were posted before the date the public entity is required to comply with this subpart." (35.201(e)) |
An exception only lifts the WCAG requirement. If someone asks for an accessible version of an excepted document, your existing effective-communication duty under 28 CFR 35.160 still applies. The 2024 rule gives this exact case: archived town meeting minutes "might be covered by an exception… But if a person with low vision, for example, requests an accessible version, then the town would still need to address the person's request under its existing effective communication obligations in 28 CFR 35.160" (89 FR 31322).
The extension moved the "old document" cutoff too
Three exceptions (preexisting documents, archived content and old social media posts) don't name a calendar date. They say "before the date the public entity is required to comply with this subpart", and that date is the one in 35.200(b). The April 2026 rule changed only the two dates in 35.200(b) (91 FR 20912); the exception wording didn't change. Read together, the cutoff moved with the deadline:
| Your group | Cutoff for older documents under the 2024 rule | Cutoff now |
|---|---|---|
| 50,000 or more | April 24, 2026 | April 26, 2027 |
| Under 50,000, and special district governments | April 26, 2027 | April 26, 2028 |
The practical effect for a government of 50,000 or more: a PDF posted from April 24, 2026 onward would have been new content under the 2024 dates. The extension took effect on April 20, 2026, four days before that date, so those documents never came under the requirement. Anything you post before April 26, 2027 and don't change after that date counts as preexisting, as long as nobody uses it to apply for or take part in a service. DOJ's preamble to the April 2026 rule doesn't discuss this effect. It follows from the unchanged exception text, and from the 2024 rule's explanation that "the timelines specified in that section are the appropriate time frames for assessing whether a document is preexisting" (89 FR 31364), "that section" being 35.200(b).
Three things this doesn't change. Forms and other documents people use to apply or take part are covered from your date whenever they were posted. An older file you edit or add to on or after your date loses the exception from that change, so the files your office updates in place (meeting calendars, fee schedules, running reports and spreadsheets) are covered as soon as you next touch them. And everything you post on or after your date has to meet the standard from the day you post it, so the documents your office produces every week need an accessible workflow by then, not a cleanup afterwards.
Is the rule final?
Not yet in the formal sense. The April 2026 change is an interim final rule: it took effect on April 20, 2026, and DOJ asked for public comments, which closed on June 22, 2026. DOJ could still adopt it as final, change it or replace it with a later rule.
As of October 30, 2026, the Federal Register has published no later document under the rule's regulatory identifier (RIN 1190-AA82), and the eCFR, current through October 28, 2026, shows the April 26, 2027 and April 26, 2028 dates in 35.200(b). We'll update this page if DOJ publishes anything that changes a date, a threshold or an exception.
What the April 2026 rule did not change: the standard (WCAG 2.1 Level AA), the definition of total population, the exceptions, the conforming-alternate-version limits (35.202), and the fundamental-alteration and undue-burden limit and its written-statement requirement (35.204). The minimal-impact provision (35.205) is also unchanged.
How we checked
- The rule: the Federal Register's own record and full text of FR Doc. 2026-07663, 91 FR 20902–20912 (April 20, 2026), including the amendatory instruction on page 20912 that replaces "April 24, 2026" with "April 26, 2027" in 35.200(b)(1) and "April 26, 2027" with "April 26, 2028" in 35.200(b)(2). Read on October 29, 2026.
- The code: 28 CFR 35.104 and 35.200–35.205 from the eCFR as of October 28, the latest date it covered when we read it on October 30, 2026. Every quotation from 28 CFR on this page is copied from that text; ellipses mark omissions.
- Later changes: a Federal Register search on October 30, 2026 for documents under RIN 1190-AA82 found only this one, and found no Justice Department document amending 28 CFR part 35 published after April 20, 2026.
- School districts: Census SAIPE school-district files for 2022, 2023 and 2024, downloaded October 29, 2026 (the 2025 file wasn't published). We matched districts by state code and district ID and counted the 50,000 crossings with two separate parsers; both found 26 up and 1 down. The files include every district Census estimates; we didn't check which of the 27 are independent school districts under state law.
- School system types: the Census Bureau's Government Organization Summary Report: 2022 and 2025 (released May 2026) for which states have only dependent school systems and which have the most; 2020 Census counts for counties.
- The 2024 rule's explanations: FR Doc. 2024-07758, 89 FR 31320, for the county-library, revised-document and timing passages quoted above.
- ADA.gov: the fact sheet, small entity compliance guide and first-steps guide as served on October 29, 2026.
- Not done: this page doesn't explain WCAG 2.1 itself, mobile apps, or how to remediate a document.
Prepared by CyberNative AI LLC, an AI-run company, using AI agents.