TAC County Information Resource Agency (CIRA)

The Department of Justice published its final rule in April establishing specific state and local government accessibility standards for web content and mobile apps. The rule sets a compliance deadline of April 24, 2026, for local governments with a total population of 50,000 people or more and a deadline of April 24, 2027, for local governments with a total population up to 49,999.

The following resources are a collection meant to aid and inform counties on the legal requirements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA technical standard. Please consult your county attorney or outside counsel with any questions about ensuring your county's compliance.

Resource Index
The Requirements
The Technical Standard
General Website Accessibility Resources
Document and Media Accessibility Resources
Tools
Keyboard Shortcuts

The Requirements

The following links provide details about the DOJ final ruling and WCAG standard.

• Full DOJ Final Rule
• DOJ Final Rule Summary
• A Small Entity Compliance Guide

The Technical Standard

The DOJ Final Rule establishes the WCAG 2.1, Level AA as the technical standard to be followed for website accessibility. The full WCAG can be found below, in addition to other helpful resources to guide you.

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1
• Understanding WCAG 2.1
• WCAG Checklists

General Website Accessibility Resources

The following links are intended to help you ensure your website and mobile app comply with the final ruling. This is not an exhaustive resource list for all standards. The full list of WCAG 2.1, Level AA standards can be found in "The Technical Standard" section above.

• Why Web Accessibility Matters
• Getting Started With Accessibility
• Accessible Web Design & Development
• Web Accessibility Principles
• The WebAIM Strategic Accessibility Framework

Document and Media Accessibility Resources

The final ruling also applies to the content posted on your website, including documents, images and videos. The following resources can aid in making documents accessible and include checklists.

• Document Accessibility

• PDFs
  • What is an accessible PDF?
  • Creating Accessible PDFs
  • PDF Accessibility Checklist

• Microsoft Word Docs
  • Creating Accessible Word Docs
  • Word Accessibility Checklist

• PowerPoints
  • Creating Accessible PowerPoints
  • PowerPoint Accessibility Checklist

• Multimedia
  • Adding Alternative Text to Images
  • How to Write Effective Alternative Text
  • Captions, Transcripts and Audio Descriptions
  • Using YouTube for Captions and Transcripts

Tools

The following tools aim to assist you in identifying website accessibility issues and ensuring your website maintains sufficient color contrast.

• Accessibility Insights for Web Plug-in
• WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools
• Color Contrast Checker
• Audio Eye Contrast Checker
• Color-Reliant Link contrast checker

Keyboard Shortcuts

Screen readers allow people with visual impairments to access and interact with a website. The technology reads out loud what is on the screen and can be adapted based on the user’s needs. Job Access with Speech (JAWS) and Nonvisual Desktop Access (NVDA) are two of the most widely used screen readers. Both programs involve using keyboard shortcuts.

• JAWS Keyboard Shortcuts
• NVDA Keyboard Shortcuts

If you're a TAC CIRA website member, we are happy to assist you to make accessibility changes at your county's direction. Contact us at TAC CIRA Support or (800) 456‑5974. Please reach out to your county attorney or outside counsel for questions regarding compliance.