When Title II starts to judge the public website
The ADA rule that city and township public websites must work for people with disabilities. What Title II is start dates after the 2026 move are 26 April 2027 for cities of 50,000 or more, and 26 April 2028 for smaller cities, towns, townships, and special districts. After that date the public website still has to keep meeting WCAG 2.1 AA. Effective communication duties apply now.
Who this is for
A clerk who heard “2026” on an old slide, or “2027” without the population split. Title II of the ADA is the rule that city and township public websites must work for people with disabilities. The yardstick and the start dates live in the 2024 web rule.
The dates
Read the ADA.gov fact sheet. Then read the 2026 date move.
- 26 April 2027 — cities and towns of 50,000 or more people (Census 2020).
- 26 April 2028 — under 50,000, and special districts.
28 CFR 35.200 names WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical yardstick for the public web content and public mobile apps the rule covers.
After that date the city still has to keep meeting the standard. Stopping a monthly file does not stop that duty. If you miss is what happens if the pages still do not work.
What applies now
Effective communication is not a 2027 problem. Residents who cannot see the page, hear a video, or use a mouse still need licenses, packets, and payments this month. The start dates are when the technical yardstick begins to apply as written. They are not a reason to wait to look.
Old vendor roundups still list 2026. Recheck ADA.gov, not a blog.
The short page
What Title II is is the one-screen why. This note is the date split, the keep-meeting duty, and the 2026 move — so a clerk can correct a stale slide.
This month
Keep a dated record that someone looked at the public pages this month. Forward the tickets and work the list. The start date does not wait for a stamp. We do not certify that the site meets the federal standard.