Why the Urgency?
Today: November 2025
Most organizations haven't started compliance efforts. Competition for accessibility consultants will intensify.
December 2025 - June 2026: The Crunch
Organizations realize 12-18 month remediation requirement. Accessibility firms booked solid. Prices increase 40-60%.
April 24, 2026: Compliance Deadline
State and local governments serving 50,000+ must meet WCAG 2.1 AA. No extensions. Immediate lawsuit risk.
Post-April 2026: Enforcement Era
DOJ enforcement, private lawsuits, consent decrees. Settlements averaging $50K-$400K + legal fees + mandatory remediation.
Reality check: If you start remediation in January 2026, you won't finish until mid-2027—over a year late. Every month of delay increases lawsuit risk.
ADA Title II vs. Title III
Title II: Government Entities
Mandatory Compliance
Who Must Comply?
- • State and local governments
- • Public school districts
- • Public universities and colleges
- • County and municipal agencies
- • Public libraries and transit
Requirements
- • WCAG 2.1 Level AA (federal standard)
- • Applies to entities serving 50,000+
- • Deadline: April 24, 2026
- • No exceptions or waivers
Enforcement
DOJ enforcement, private lawsuits, OCR complaints. Penalties include consent decrees, mandatory remediation, attorney's fees, compensatory damages.
Title III: Commercial Entities
Strong Best Practice
Who Should Comply?
- • Private businesses with websites
- • E-commerce platforms
- • Retail, hospitality, healthcare
- • Financial services
- • Professional services
Current Status
- • DOJ considers websites "public accommodations"
- • WCAG 2.1 AA is de facto standard
- • No explicit deadline, but rising enforcement
- • 4,600+ web accessibility lawsuits in 2023
Risk Factors
High-risk sectors: retail, hospitality, healthcare, higher ed. Settlements $20K-$100K + legal fees. Plaintiff firms target non-compliant sites systematically.
Real-World Lawsuit Costs
Government Entity
$750,000
County government consent decree: $250K settlement + $500K mandatory remediation + ongoing monitoring
Healthcare System
$400,000
Hospital patient portal lawsuit: $100K settlement + $200K legal fees + $100K emergency remediation
E-commerce Site
$150,000
Retail chain settlement: $75K plaintiff damages + $50K legal fees + $25K site remediation
Proactive Compliance is 10x Cheaper
Our enterprise audit ($20K-$50K) + remediation ($30K-$80K) = $50K-$130K total. Compare to post-lawsuit costs of $150K-$750K. Prevention saves $100K-$620K per entity.
ADA Compliance Audit Pricing
Transparent tiers—no surprises
Small Municipality
Under 10,000 population
County/City Government
10,000-100,000 population
Rapid Response Track ($5,000-$10,000 premium): 30-day turnaround for urgent deadline situations
Ohio Organizations: Don't Remediate Twice
Critical Ohio State Policy Gap
Ohio IT-09 Policy requires WCAG 2.0 AA by January 2025. But federal DOJ Title II requires WCAG 2.1 AA by April 2026—just 16 months later.
Organizations remediating to WCAG 2.0 today will face expensive second remediation in 2026 for the 20+ new success criteria in WCAG 2.1 (mobile, low vision, cognitive accessibility).
Build to WCAG 2.1 AA Now
Save 40-60% by building to the higher federal standard from the start. WCAG 2.1 AA satisfies both Ohio IT-09 (backward compatible) and DOJ Title II requirements.
Learn more about Ohio IT-09 Policy compliance →Related Services
WCAG 2.1/2.2 Compliance
Technical standard underlying ADA—comprehensive WCAG audit and certification
Section 508 Compliance
Federal contractors and agencies—VPAT creation and certification
Remediation Services
PDF remediation, web content updates, urgent deadline support
Training & Capability Building
Build internal expertise—developer, QA, content author training