DOJ’s Extension of Government Website Accessibility Guidelines May Impact Private Sector Websites
Just days before the first compliance deadline (April 24, 2026) for the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) final regulation on website accessibility for state and local governments, the department has extended that deadline by one year, as well as the companion deadline for smaller governmental entities. 0:00 4:35 Quick Hits The DOJ extended the deadline for compliance with the rules on website accessibility for most state and local governments from April 24, 2026, to April 27, 2027 . HHS has not yet acted to provide an additional extension on its website compliance regulation for “recipients” subject to the Rehabilitation Act, but may yet extend that May 2026 deadline. The additional year also lengthens the implied “grace period” that state and local government websites had to conform to the website accessibility rule. In an interim final rule published on April 20, 2026, in the Federal Register , the DOJ justified this deadline based on the significant burdens associ...