Is Salt Lake City's Website Ready for the ADA Title II Deadline?
Did you know the deadline already changed?
Here's something many local officials missed: the original compliance deadline has already moved once. On April 20, 2026, the Department of Justice issued an Interim Final Rule pushing each deadline back a full year — which means Salt Lake City's date is now April 26, 2027. A one-time extension is a grace period, not a reprieve. There is no indication another one is coming.
Salt Lake City's latest accessibility scan
Overall compliance risk: Moderate — content reads at grade 12.2, above the grade-8 plain-language target
Top issues, in plain English
- critical Images have no text alternative, so screen readers can't describe them (WCAG 1.1.1 · 1 page)
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What WCAG 2.1 Level AA means for city government websites
Because Salt Lake City serves 217,783 residents — above the DOJ's 50,000-person threshold — it falls in the first enforcement wave, with the earlier of the two federal deadlines.
The rule points to WCAG 2.1 Level AA — a widely used technical checklist. Stripped of jargon, it asks simple questions: can a blind resident using a screen reader pay a bill on your site? Can someone who can't use a mouse complete a form with just a keyboard? Is the text readable against its background?
For first-wave entities, the practical risk isn't only DOJ action — it's private lawsuits and demand letters that cite the federal standard the moment the deadline passes.
Salt Lake City is a major population center, and its website is the front door for recreation registration, utility billing, and building permits. Under ADA Title II, that front door has to work for every resident.
Don't find out about problems from a demand letter
A11yCheck monitors Salt Lake City's website continuously and sends a plain-English weekly digest — no technical background needed.