In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice finalized a new rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), setting clear digital accessibility standards for state and local governments (the New Rule). If you’re a political subdivision or an agency of a political subdivision, this rule applies to you.
What’s Required?
All public-facing digital content must meet specific Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards. That includes content on websites, mobile apps, and—critically—Portable Document Formats, i.e., PDFs.
Why PDFs Matter
Ever tried copying text from a PDF and couldn’t? That’s likely an “image-only” PDF—essentially a scanned picture of a document. These are not accessible to screen reader applications, meaning someone who is blind or visually impaired cannot read them.
Under the new rule, PDFs must be readable, searchable, and structured for assistive technology like screen readers.
Common PDF Content That Must Comply
- Meeting agendas and minutes
- Ordinances and resolutions
- Event flyers
- Public notices
- Online forms and applications
PDF Accessibility Checklist
To comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, your PDFs must:
- Contain searchable text (not just scanned images)
- Be compatible with screen readers (no blocking security settings)
- Use proper tagging for headings, lists, and tables
- Include alternative text for meaningful images
- Example: If a city posts a picture of one of its parks on social media, then the picture should include an alternative text description of the image.
- Support keyboard navigation
- Have clear structure and bookmarks within the PDF if practical
- Meet contrast and readability standards
What’s Exempt (For Now)
Some content is exempt, including:
- Archived materials (if unchanged, no longer in active use, and marked as archived material)
- Pre-existing documents (unless currently used to access or participate in the public entity’s services, programs, or activities)
- Third-party content (unless contractually required)
- Password-protected personal documents
- Social media posts made before the compliance date
Important: Even exempt content must be made accessible upon request.
Compliance Deadlines are Based on Size
- State or local governments with a population of 50,000 or more persons
- Compliance deadline: April 24, 2026
- State or local governments with a population of 0 to 49,999 persons
- Compliance deadline: April 26, 2027
- Special district governments[1]
- Compliance deadline: April 26, 2027
Practical Steps to Get Ready
- Audit your website: Identify non-compliant PDFs and other content
- Train your team and prepare your IT staff: Use tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro to create accessible documents
- Consider HTML: For frequently updated or critical content, HTML may be a better alternative
For further reading and implementation guidance, the following resources offer official standards and practical steps.
Resources
[1] Under the New Rule, a special district government means 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. Source: https://www.ada.gov/assets/pdfs/web-rule.pdf
[View source.]
