Free resource

The ADA Title II Readiness Checklist

Ten steps to get a public entity from “we should look into this” to defensibly compliant before the DOJ deadlines — April 26, 2027 for populations of 50,000 or more, April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special districts. Published as accessible HTML: screen-reader friendly, printable, no download required.

Email me the checklist

Get the link in your inbox so it’s easy to find when you need it.

We’ll only email you about Title II readiness. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

  1. Confirm your deadline

    • Determine your entity’s total population per the DOJ rule: 50,000 or more → April 26, 2027; under 50,000 or a special district → April 26, 2028.
    • Note the technical standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA, for web content and mobile apps.
    • Put the date in front of leadership with a working-backward timeline.

  2. Assign ownership

    • Name one accountable owner for Title II digital compliance (not a committee).
    • Identify content owners for every site, subdomain, and app you operate.
    • Budget for remediation now — costs scale with how late you start.

  3. Inventory your digital estate

    • List every website, subdomain, web application, and mobile app your entity provides.
    • Include third-party platforms that provide your services (payment portals, registration systems).
    • Inventory documents: PDFs, Word files, PowerPoints posted on or linked from your sites.

  4. Run automated scans

    • Scan every site against WCAG 2.1 AA with an automated checker to find the machine-detectable issues.
    • Scan posted PDFs for tagging, reading order, and alt-text failures.
    • Record baseline violation counts — you’ll need them to show progress.

  5. Test key user journeys by hand

    • Automated tools catch only part of WCAG — walk your top tasks (pay a bill, register, apply) with keyboard only.
    • Repeat with a screen reader (VoiceOver, NVDA, or JAWS).
    • Test forms, PDFs-as-forms, and anything behind a login.

  6. Triage your documents

    • Retire what no longer needs to be posted — the cheapest remediation is deletion.
    • Replace documents that should be web pages with accessible HTML.
    • Convert or remediate the rest, starting with the most-downloaded and legally required documents.

  7. Map the rule’s exceptions honestly

    • Archived content, pre-existing documents not currently used to apply for or access services, and certain third-party content have limited exceptions.
    • Document why each excepted item qualifies — the exception evaporates the moment the content is used to offer a service.
    • Do not build your plan around exceptions; they are narrower than they look.

  8. Fix procurement

    • Require a current ACR (VPAT-based conformance report) from every digital vendor.
    • Add WCAG 2.1 AA conformance language to new contracts and renewals.
    • Grade the ACRs vendors send you instead of filing them unread.

  9. Publish an accessibility statement & feedback channel

    • Post an accessibility statement with a working contact method.
    • Commit to a response time for barrier reports, and staff it.
    • Log reports and fixes — they are evidence of good faith.

  10. Make it continuous

    • Re-scan on a schedule (monthly, or per-release in CI) so new content doesn’t regress.
    • Train content authors — most new violations come from new content.
    • Keep the audit trail: scans, fixes, training, and statements, dated.

Steps 4 and 6 are where the work piles up

Run the automated scan with TheAccessibleAudit (free) and convert your document backlog with TheAccessiblePDF from $1/page — both produce the dated reports your audit trail needs.