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District of Columbia businesses face ADA Title III requirements for website accessibility. Our scans of 16 District of Columbia websites found an average compliance score of 52/100 with a 50% fail rate — ranking the state #28 out of 51 for ADA compliance risk. District of Columbia also has the DC Human Rights Act, which adds state-level penalties on top of federal ADA exposure.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation. Federal courts have applied this requirement to websites. The DOJ's 2024 final rule formally designates WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the compliance standard for state and local government websites, and courts apply the same benchmark to private businesses. District of Columbia businesses in any sector with a public-facing website can be subject to ADA Title III demands and lawsuits.
The DC Human Rights Act broadly prohibits disability discrimination in places of public accommodation, which courts have applied to websites accessible to DC residents. The DC Office of Human Rights actively investigates complaints.
The DOJ and federal courts consistently reference WCAG 2.1 AA as the benchmark for ADA-compliant websites. All US federal districts — including those in District of Columbia — apply this standard.
All non-decorative images must have descriptive alternative text so screen readers can convey the content to blind and low-vision users.
Every interactive element on your website must be operable with a keyboard alone. Users who cannot use a mouse depend on this.
Form inputs must have programmatically associated labels, and errors must be communicated to assistive technology — not just displayed visually.
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