Knowledge base
ADA Title II vs Title III: What Applies to Your Website?
Title II covers state and local government; Title III covers businesses open to the public. On paper the web rules differ sharply: government entities have a written technical standard with deadlines, businesses do not. In practice, the sensible benchmark for both is the same: WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Sources
Key takeaways
- Title II: state and local governments, public schools, public colleges and universities. WCAG 2.1 AA is required by regulation, with deadlines of 04-26-2027 and 04-26-2028.
- Title III: businesses open to the public. The ADA applies to their web content, but no DOJ regulation names a detailed technical standard.
- The practical convergence: DOJ guidance names WCAG as helpful guidance for businesses, and courts cite it, so WCAG 2.1 AA is the benchmark both sides test against.
- The same service fits both: an initial assessment plus monthly monitoring, with the legal context the only difference.
What does Title II require, and of whom?
Title II of the ADA covers every state and local government entity: cities, counties, public departments and agencies, public K-12 districts, and public colleges and universities. Since the DOJ's April 2024 web rule, 28 CFR § 35.200, their web content and mobile apps must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA by their deadline. The duty covers vendor-provided content too, as our vendor guide explains.
What does Title III require of a business website?
Title III covers public accommodations: stores, restaurants, medical and dental practices, banks, hotels, and every other business open to the public. The DOJ has said for years that the ADA applies to the goods and services these businesses offer on the web. What Title III does not have is a regulation naming a detailed technical standard.
In detail
The Department's published web guidance says businesses have flexibility in how they comply, and names WCAG as helpful guidance. Flexibility is not immunity: Title III complaints over inaccessible business websites are a steady fact of life, and a business defending one is measured, in practice, against the same WCAG checkpoints a government site is. That is why WCAG 2.1 AA is the benchmark we test every site against, government or business.
ADA Title II vs Title III: how do the two compare?
| Title II (government) | Title III (business) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | State and local government entities, public schools, public colleges and universities | Businesses open to the public |
| Technical standard | WCAG 2.1 Level AA, by regulation | None named by regulation; WCAG cited as guidance |
| Deadline | 04-26-2027 or 04-26-2028 by entity size | No fixed date; the obligation already applies |
| Risk driver | Enforcement and the enforceable standard | Complaints and litigation measured against WCAG in practice |
| Sensible benchmark | WCAG 2.1 AA | WCAG 2.1 AA |
Does the monitoring service differ between the two?
No. The initial assessment and monthly monitoring run the same way for a city and for a dental practice: inventory, baseline against WCAG 2.1 AA, human-verified findings, and a dated found-and-verified record. What differs is what the record is for. A government entity is documenting progress toward an enforceable standard with a date on it; a business is documenting a serious, continuing accessibility effort, which is exactly what it wants on file if a complaint ever arrives.