This article is part of our Law Firm Marketing Guide: how clients find lawyers online, what the advertising rules allow, and how to choose the right help. Want to know where your firm's site stands? Get a free 20–30 page website audit within 24 hours.
A law firm website should be usable by people with disabilities, and the safest working target is WCAG 2.2 Level AA. The Department of Justice says the ADA applies to what businesses open to the public offer online, but it has not set a detailed technical standard for private businesses. That leaves your firm free to choose how it complies, and still responsible if a client cannot use your site.
Accessibility matters for more than legal risk. A person with low vision, a tremor or a screen reader may be the injured worker, the parent in a custody fight or the business owner who needs a contract reviewed. If they cannot read your practice pages or submit your intake form, they call the next firm.
This guide is part of our Law Firm Marketing Guide. It explains what the rules say as of October 2026, what WCAG asks for, and where to start. It is marketing guidance, not legal advice: confirm your obligations with your own counsel.
Key Takeaways
- The DOJ says the ADA's requirements apply to goods and services businesses offer on the web, but there is no DOJ regulation with a detailed technical standard for private businesses.
- The April 2024 DOJ web rule sets WCAG 2.1 AA for state and local governments, not private law firms, and its compliance dates were pushed to April 2027 and April 2028.
- WCAG 2.2 is the current W3C version and is backwards compatible, so meeting 2.2 AA also covers 2.1 and 2.0.
- Most barriers on firm sites are fixable basics: contrast, alt text, captions, keyboard use and form labels.
- Automated tools and overlay widgets cannot make a site compliant on their own; human testing is required.
What the ADA says about websites
The DOJ's guidance on web accessibility and the ADA, dated March 18, 2022, says Title III "prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by businesses open to the public." It adds that the ADA's requirements apply to all goods and services of public accommodations, "including those offered on the web."
The same page says the Department "does not have a regulation setting out detailed standards." Instead, it points to existing technical standards such as WCAG and the Section 508 Standards as helpful guidance. Businesses "have flexibility in how they comply," but they still must comply.
For a law firm, that means three practical things:
- Your website is part of how you offer services to the public.
- No federal rule tells a private firm "use WCAG 2.2 AA" word for word.
- WCAG is the yardstick most people will use to judge your site anyway.
State laws can add their own requirements, and they vary. Ask your counsel whether any apply to your firm's locations.
The 2024 Title II rule: who it covers
You may have read that the DOJ adopted WCAG for websites in 2024. That is true, but it covers governments, not private firms.
According to the DOJ's fact sheet on the Title II web rule, the final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2024. It "applies to all state and local governments" and sets WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for their web content and mobile apps.
The dates moved in 2026. On April 20, 2026, the DOJ published an Interim Final Rule that extended compliance to April 26, 2027 for governments serving 50,000 or more people, and to April 26, 2028 for smaller governments and special districts.
| Question | Title II web rule (2024) | Your private law firm |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | State and local governments | Businesses open to the public (Title III) |
| Technical standard named | WCAG 2.1 AA | No DOJ regulation sets one |
| Compliance date | April 26, 2027 or April 26, 2028 | No federal deadline; the ADA already applies |
| Practical target | WCAG 2.1 AA | WCAG 2.2 AA is the sensible goal |
If your firm builds or runs web content for a city or county, such as a public defender contract portal, ask counsel whether the Title II rule reaches that work.
WCAG 2.2 in plain English
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It is published by the W3C, the body that sets web standards. The W3C's WCAG overview says WCAG 2.2 was published on 5 October 2023 and updated on 12 December 2024.
WCAG is built on four principles. Content must be:
- Perceivable: people can see or hear it, or get a text version.
- Operable: people can use it with a keyboard, voice or switch, not only a mouse.
- Understandable: text, navigation and errors make sense.
- Robust: it works with screen readers and other assistive technology.
Each rule, called a success criterion, has a level: A, AA or AAA. Level AA is the level the DOJ's 2024 government rule uses, and a practical target for a firm site. W3C says WCAG 2.2 is "backwards compatible," so content that meets 2.2 also meets 2.1 and 2.0. It also "encourages you to use the latest version of WCAG."
You may hear about WCAG 3. W3C describes it as an early draft, so it is not something to build to yet.
The most common barriers on law firm sites
The DOJ guidance lists typical problems. Here is how each one shows up on firm websites, and the fix.
| Barrier (per DOJ) | Where it hides on firm sites | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Poor color contrast | Gray text on white, white text on gold buttons | Check every text and button color pair against AA contrast |
| No alt text on images | Attorney headshots, award badges, office photos | Describe the image: "Jane Doe, managing partner" |
| No captions on videos | Attorney intro and FAQ videos | Add accurate captions, not raw auto-captions |
| Mouse-only navigation | Drop-down practice menus, sliders, chat pop-ups | Make every menu and widget work with Tab and Enter |
| Inaccessible forms | Intake forms with placeholder-only labels | Use visible labels, clear errors and keyboard focus |
Firm-specific items to check
- Intake and contact forms. Each field needs a real label. Error messages must say what went wrong in text, not only in red.
- PDFs. Retainer guides, fee schedules and brochures are often scanned images. Publish key content as web pages, or tag the PDFs.
- Chat and scheduling widgets. Third-party tools must be reachable by keyboard and closable. If a widget traps focus, a keyboard user is stuck.
- Disclaimers and pop-ups. A modal disclaimer that cannot be closed by keyboard blocks the whole site.
- Spanish and other language pages. Set the page language so screen readers pronounce text correctly.
If you are reviewing your full site, our guide to law firm website must-haves covers the other parts of the build, and law firm website speed and mobile experience covers the phone side.
Why overlays and scanners don't fix it
An overlay is a script, often a small icon in the corner, that promises to make a site accessible automatically. It is tempting: one line of code, a monthly fee, done.
The record says otherwise. In April 2025 the FTC approved a final order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million. The FTC said the company claimed its accessWidget plug-in "can make any website compliant" with WCAG. The order bars that claim unless the company has evidence to back it up.
Automated scanners have the same limit. The W3C's guide to selecting evaluation tools says tools "can not determine accessibility, they can only assist in doing so," and that "human judgement is required."
Do this, not that:
- Do use a scanner to find obvious issues fast. Don't treat a clean scan as proof of compliance.
- Do fix the code and content. Don't layer a widget over a broken template.
- Do test with a keyboard and a screen reader. Don't rely only on a vendor's badge.
A fix-first checklist for your firm
You do not need to rebuild the site to make progress. Start here:
- Keyboard test. Put the mouse away. Tab through the home page, a practice page and the contact form. Can you reach and use everything? Can you see where focus is?
- Contrast check. Test your brand colors, button text and footer text.
- Headshots and badges. Add meaningful alt text to every image that carries information.
- Forms. Add visible labels, required-field notes in text and clear error messages.
- Video. Caption every attorney and FAQ video. Edit auto-captions for legal terms and names.
- Headings. Use one main heading per page and a logical order of subheadings.
- PDFs. Move the most-used PDF content onto web pages.
- Third-party tools. Ask each chat, booking and review-widget vendor how they meet WCAG 2.2 AA.
- Document it. Keep a short record of what you tested, when and what you fixed.
- Repeat. Re-test after every redesign, new page template or new widget.
Accessibility also overlaps with trust. Clear headings, readable text and simple forms help every visitor, which is why we build them into our WCAG accessibility services rather than adding them at the end.
Next step
Once your site is accessible, the next question is whether it brings in the right cases. Read our Law Firm SEO Basics to see how people find firms in search. Or get a free 20–30 page website audit within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Does the ADA apply to my law firm's website?
The DOJ's guidance says the ADA's requirements apply to goods and services that businesses open to the public offer on the web. There is no DOJ regulation with a detailed technical standard for private businesses. Ask your own counsel how this applies to your firm and your state.
Which WCAG version should a law firm follow?
WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the sensible target. W3C says 2.2 is backwards compatible, so meeting it also meets 2.1 and 2.0. The 2024 DOJ rule for governments names 2.1 AA, which 2.2 AA covers.
Does the 2024 DOJ web rule apply to private law firms?
The DOJ's fact sheet says the rule applies to state and local governments. After an April 2026 extension, their compliance dates are April 26, 2027 and April 26, 2028, depending on population. Private firms are covered by Title III instead, which has no matching technical rule.
Will an accessibility overlay protect my firm?
No tool can promise that. The FTC's 2025 order against accessiBe barred it from claiming its widget makes any site WCAG compliant without evidence. W3C says automated tools can only assist and human judgment is required.
How often should we test our site?
Test after any redesign, new template or new third-party widget. Many firms also add a short keyboard and contrast check to their quarterly website review. Keep a record of each round.
