The DOJ's ADA Title II rule now covers your website, your PDFs, and the public records and social posts your agency puts out. Here's what the deadlines actually require, where most agencies fall short and how to get compliant, from a designer who already builds and maintains sites for Ohio counties, townships and agencies.
Under ADA Title II, a compliant agency has to cover all three. A website that passes but posts inaccessible PDFs, or never archives its public records, still isn't compliant. Here's how the pieces fit, and where to go deeper on each.
Your public-facing site must meet WCAG 2.1 AA: page structure, color contrast, keyboard navigation, alt text and screen-reader support. No overlay widgets or accessibility-in-a-box shortcuts that don't actually pass an audit.
Government web design & builds →Title II covers the PDFs and forms you post: applications, permits, agendas, minutes, public records. Inaccessible fillable PDFs are the single most common gap. We rebuild them into accessible HTML that passes.
Why PDFs can't be made compliant →Your social media posts, comments and messages can be public records under Ohio sunshine laws, and they have to be captured, retained and producible on request, not just deleted. Most agencies have no system for it.
Social media archiving & retention →Following an April 2026 interim final rule, public entities serving 50,000 or more residents must meet ADA Title II web and document compliance by April 26, 2027. Smaller entities, most villages, townships and special districts, have until April 26, 2028.
The standard is WCAG 2.1 AA, and it applies to the documents you post, not just your web pages. We map your agency to the right deadline, audit what you have and hand you a prioritized plan.
For police departments, county offices and agencies, what you publish and receive on social media can be a public record, subject to Ohio sunshine laws and retention schedules. It's the compliance gap almost no web vendor talks about, and the one that surfaces fast in a records request or lawsuit.
Comments, replies, direct messages and even deleted content can qualify as public records. If it documents agency business, it's likely subject to retention, regardless of which platform it lives on.
Ohio public-records and open-meetings law expects agency communications to be preserved for set periods and produced on request. "We deleted it" is not a defense, and courts have treated failures seriously.
Platforms don't archive for you, and screenshots don't hold up. Without a capture-and-retain process, a routine records request can become a compliance problem overnight.
A proper archiving approach captures posts and interactions automatically, timestamps them and keeps them producible. We help agencies understand the obligation and point them to the right setup.
Read the compliance tips guide →Not stock photos. Real county offices, townships and public agencies whose websites we build and maintain today, accessible and compliant.
I'm Crissy Devine. I build and maintain websites for Ohio county offices, townships, villages, transit authorities, sheriff's offices and councils, the exact agencies the DOJ deadline is aimed at. I keep up with the rules so your clerk doesn't have to read the federal register.
When you call Web Chick you get me, not a call center in another state. Compliance matters. Accessible by design. That's how every government site and document leaves my desk.
Crissy, Web Chick
Your public-facing website, and the documents posted on it, must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. That covers page structure, color contrast, keyboard navigation, alt text, screen-reader support and accessible PDFs. A site that passes on the pages but posts inaccessible PDF forms is still not compliant.
After the April 2026 DOJ interim final rule, public entities serving 50,000 or more residents must comply by April 26, 2027. Smaller entities, most villages, townships and special districts, have until April 26, 2028. Not sure which applies? A free audit will tell you.
Yes, and this is where most agencies fall short. Title II covers the documents you post, not just web pages. Inaccessible fillable PDF forms, applications, permits, agendas and minutes are the most common gap. We rebuild inaccessible fillable PDFs into accessible HTML at $75 per form (1-3 pages). Here's why PDFs fail.
In most cases, yes. For government agencies and police departments, social media posts, comments and messages can qualify as public records under Ohio sunshine laws and retention schedules. They must be captured and preserved, not simply deleted, and produced on a records request. Most agencies have no archiving system, which is a growing risk. See our compliance tips.
Often it can be remediated. We start with a WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 audit of your current site and documents, then give you a prioritized report. Depending on the platform, we remediate in place or recommend a clean custom rebuild when the existing template simply can't be made compliant. A straight answer, not an upsell.
Yes. Web Chick builds and maintains sites for Ohio counties, county offices, townships, villages, transit authorities, sheriff's offices, family & children first councils and veteran services commissions, the same agencies facing the deadline now. 350+ active clients and a 4.9-star Google rating. See our government work.
Based in Fairfield County and working with agencies right across Central and Southeast Ohio, and remotely with public entities statewide.
Free WCAG 2.1 AA & Section 508 audit of your current site and documents. No pitch, no spam, just a real report with the actual issues, prioritized and the deadline that applies to you.
