Guide

# ADA Website Rules for Wisconsin Towns, Villages & Counties

What the DOJ's 2024 ADA Title II web rule means for Wisconsin local governments: WCAG 2.1 AA, deadlines, PDFs, vendors and a practical compliance plan.

By the Wisconsin Tech Solutions team · Updated October 30, 2026

**Short answer:** under the U.S. Department of Justice's **2024 ADA Title II rule**, state and local governments must make their websites, mobile apps and online documents meet **WCAG 2.1 Level AA**. Governments serving **50,000 or more people** had to comply by **April 24, 2026**. Those serving **fewer than 50,000**, which includes most Wisconsin towns and villages, and special district governments have until **April 26, 2027**. Deadlines and guidance can change, so confirm your obligations with your attorney and ADA.gov.

## Who this applies to

- Counties, cities, villages and towns
- Public school districts and public colleges
- Special districts such as utility and sanitary districts
- Their websites, apps, online forms, documents and videos, with some exceptions

## What WCAG 2.1 AA means in practice

- **Text alternatives** for meaningful images
- **Captions** for videos
- **Color contrast** of at least 4.5:1 for normal text
- **Keyboard access** to everything, with no mouse required
- **Labeled forms** and clear error messages
- **Accessible documents:** tagged PDFs with a logical reading order, or HTML versions
- **Layouts that still work** when zoomed to 200%

## The PDF problem

Many Wisconsin municipal websites hold years of agendas, minutes, ordinances and forms as scanned PDFs. A scanned image of text is not accessible. The rule includes exceptions for some archived content, but documents still in active use generally need to be made accessible or converted to web pages.

## A practical compliance plan

- **Inventory** your pages, documents, forms and third-party tools (payment portals, agenda software).
- **Audit** with automated tools plus manual keyboard and screen-reader testing.
- **Fix templates first:** headers, menus and footers appear on every page.
- **Remediate high-traffic documents** and adopt accessible templates for new ones.
- **Ask vendors** for accessibility conformance reports.
- **Publish an accessibility statement** with a way to report problems.
- **Train the staff** who post content.

## Overlays are not a fix

Accessibility overlay widgets do not make a site compliant. Fixing the underlying site and documents is what counts.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does this apply to our online payment portal?

Generally, yes. Services you provide through vendors are still your responsibility, so ask your payment and agenda vendors how they meet WCAG 2.1 AA.

### Our town has a tiny budget. Where do we start?

Start with the homepage, contact information, the forms residents use most and current agendas, then work backward.

We help Wisconsin municipalities get compliant affordably. See [websites for towns, villages and counties](https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/web-design/municipal-website-design/) and [ADA website compliance](https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/web-design/ada-website-compliance/).

## Related services

- [Websites for Towns, Villages & Counties](https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/web-design/municipal-website-design/): Accessible, easy-to-update websites for Wisconsin towns, villages, cities and counties, with agendas, minutes, permits, alerts and online payments. (From $2,000)
- [ADA Website Compliance & WCAG Accessibility](https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/web-design/ada-website-compliance/): Accessibility audits and fixes that bring your website to WCAG 2.1 AA, so customers with disabilities can use it and your legal risk goes down. (From $750)
- [Online Utility & Municipal Bill Pay](https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/payments/utility-bill-pay-portal/): Online and autopay bill payments for water, sewer, electric and municipal fees, imported from your billing system and posted back cleanly. (From $2,000)
- [Document Automation, PDF Generation & E-Signatures](https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/custom-software/document-automation/): Generate proposals, contracts, work orders, certificates and reports automatically from your data, and collect e-signatures without printing. (From $1,250)

## Tell us what you need

Get a free, no-pressure quote from a Wisconsin development team. Tell us a little about your business and we'll reply within one business day with next steps, rough pricing and honest advice.

- Big projects and small ones are all welcome
- Fixed-price quotes, no surprise invoices
- You own your code, data and accounts
- A client portal to track progress, invoices and payments
- Serving businesses in every corner of Wisconsin

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Source: https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/guides/ada-website-rules-wisconsin-municipalities/
Contact: hello@wisconsintechsolutions.com · https://wisconsintechsolutions.com/contact/