What ADA requires
Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III) — the short version.
- 1Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by places of public accommodation — which US courts have extended to websites and mobile apps.
- 2There is no federal rule specifying a WCAG version, but DOJ guidance (March 2022) and case law (Robles v. Domino's, Gil v. Winn-Dixie) effectively require WCAG 2.1 AA.
- 3Plaintiffs can seek injunctive relief plus attorneys' fees under Title III. Most settlements require a WCAG-conformance audit plus a remediation timeline.
- 4ADA Title II applies to state and local government websites; Section 508 applies to federal agencies.
How AllyShield maps to ADA
ADA points to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Every scan you run produces a jurisdiction-tagged report that separates ADA requirements from other frameworks you might also target.
Non-text content
All images, icons, and media have meaningful text alternatives for screen-reader users.
Color contrast
Text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background (3:1 for large text).
Keyboard operable
Every interactive element is reachable and operable with the keyboard alone — no mouse required.
Target size (mobile)
Touch targets are at least 44×44 CSS pixels so users with motor impairments can activate them reliably.
Error identification
Form errors are programmatically associated with their fields and announced to assistive tech.
Name, role, value
Custom controls expose their name, role, and state to assistive technologies.
Download a signed ADA compliance certificate.
Every completed scan can produce a PDF certificate containing the scan date, AllyScore, and WCAG target level — HMAC-SHA256 signed and publicly verifiable via QR code. Attach it to vendor questionnaires, legal reviews, or customer RFPs.
Generate a certificateADA compliance FAQ
Does the ADA actually require my website to be accessible?+
Yes, for businesses that serve the US public. The DOJ has reaffirmed this multiple times and federal courts have consistently ruled that Title III applies to websites, whether or not there is a physical storefront. There is no size exemption in the statute — though small-business enforcement is less common.
Which WCAG version and level do I need to meet?+
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the de-facto standard referenced in DOJ guidance and the vast majority of settlement agreements. Our reports tag every rule to its WCAG 2.1 AA criterion so you can evidence conformance exactly.
Can a single scan prove compliance?+
A single scan proves conformance at a point in time. Real ADA defence requires continuous monitoring — every code change can introduce new issues. AllyShield offers scheduled scans on paid plans so you can show a clean history, not just a snapshot.
What do I show my lawyer / insurer?+
We generate a signed PDF certificate with the scan date, AllyScore, covered standards, and an HMAC-SHA256 signature that anyone can verify via a public URL. Attach it to vendor questionnaires, cyber-liability insurance applications, or litigation holds.
Does an automated scan catch everything?+
No automated tool — ours included — catches every possible issue. Expert manual testing is still recommended for user flows and cognitive / cognitive-load issues. But automated scanning reliably catches 40–60% of violations, which is typically what triggers and resolves demand letters in practice.
Stop wondering. Start scanning.
Get a ADA-oriented accessibility report in minutes, then run automated monitoring between releases so issues don't regress unnoticed.
Jurisdiction slug: ada · API: /api/scans/[id]/compliance?jurisdiction=ada