Summary. Accessibility litigation is high-volume, low-value, and highly repeatable, so the cheapest defense is a documented remediation program rather than a settlement. This checklist works through legal exposure first, then the technical work: an audit combining automated scanning with manual keyboard and screen reader testing, prioritized remediation of the defects that actually block users, and governance that prevents regression. Later phases address mobile apps, PDFs, third-party content, overlays, procurement language, and the first week after a demand letter.

What this checklist is for. Assessing exposure and running a remediation program. Nothing here substitutes for testing with actual assistive technology users.

Phase 1 — Assess legal exposure

  • Identify whether the business is a place of public accommodation under ADA Title III, 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7).
  • Determine the circuit rule: the First, Second, and Seventh Circuits have taken a broader view of whether a website standing alone can be a public accommodation; the Third, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh have generally required a nexus to a physical place.
  • Note Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 993 F.3d 1266 (11th Cir. 2021), vacated as moot, 21 F.4th 775 (11th Cir. 2021) — the vacatur leaves the question unsettled in that circuit.
  • Identify state law exposure: California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 51, provides statutory damages of at least $4,000 per violation and drives a large share of filings; New York State and City human rights laws are also actively used.
  • Determine whether Section 508, 29 U.S.C. § 794d, applies through federal contracting.
  • Determine whether ADA Title II applies — the Department of Justice rule for state and local government entities adopts WCAG 2.1 Level AA with compliance dates keyed to entity size.
  • Identify whether the entity is a recipient of federal financial assistance under Section 504.
  • Adopt WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the working standard. It is the de facto benchmark in consent decrees, DOJ settlements, and the Title II rule, whatever the statute says.

Phase 2 — Audit

  • Run an automated scan across representative templates — automated tools detect roughly 30 percent of issues and are a starting point, not an audit.
  • Perform manual keyboard testing: complete every critical path using only Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space, and arrow keys. Confirm no keyboard traps and a visible focus indicator at every step.
  • Perform screen reader testing on at least two combinations (NVDA with Firefox, JAWS with Chrome, VoiceOver with Safari).
  • Test zoom to 200 percent and 400 percent reflow without loss of content or horizontal scrolling.
  • Test with users with disabilities, not just with tools.
  • Audit the paths that matter most: home, search, product, cart, checkout, account creation, login, contact, and any legally required disclosure.
  • Produce a written report with each defect mapped to a WCAG success criterion, an assigned severity, and an owner.

Why this matters. A documented audit and remediation plan is the single most useful artifact in defending a claim and in negotiating a settlement, because it converts "we ignored it" into "we have a program."

Phase 3 — Remediate the defects that actually block users

  • Images: meaningful alt text; decorative images given empty alt=""; complex images given a long description.
  • Forms: every input has a programmatically associated <label>; errors identified in text, not by color alone; error messages announced to assistive technology; required fields marked programmatically.
  • Headings: a logical h1-h6 structure that reflects the page, not visual styling.
  • Links: descriptive text; no bare "click here" or a raw URL; a link's purpose clear from its text or its programmatic context.
  • Keyboard: all functionality operable; focus order matches visual order; skip-to-content link present.
  • Focus indicator visible, with adequate contrast — a designer removing the focus ring is one of the most common regressions.
  • Color contrast: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text and for user interface components and graphical objects.
  • Color not the sole means of conveying information.
  • Video: synchronized captions for prerecorded and, where applicable, live content; audio description where visual information is essential; transcripts.
  • Time limits adjustable or extendable, which matters for checkout and session timeouts.
  • Motion: no content flashing more than three times per second; a mechanism to pause, stop, or hide moving content.
  • Dynamic content: ARIA live regions announce updates; modal dialogs trap focus intentionally and return focus on close; custom widgets have correct roles, states, and properties.
  • Page title and language set correctly on every page.
  • Tables: header cells marked up with <th> and scope.

Phase 4 — The parts people forget

  • PDFs: tagged, with reading order, alt text, and real text rather than a scan. An untagged PDF of a required disclosure is a defect regardless of how good the HTML is.
  • Mobile applications: audited separately; WCAG applies through platform accessibility APIs, and mobile apps are increasingly named in demand letters.
  • Third-party embedded content — chat widgets, booking engines, payment iframes, video players, review platforms, ad tags. You are responsible for the experience on your page; get commitments from the vendor.
  • Email templates and PDF invoices.
  • The assent flow for terms of service, which must be perceivable to be enforceable. See Website Terms of Service Review Checklist.
  • Kiosks, point-of-sale devices, and IVR phone systems, which draw the same claims.
  • Job application portals, which raise Title I exposure in addition to Title III. See Workplace Harassment and Hostile Work Environment Claims.

Phase 5 — Overlays and what they do not do

  • Understand that an accessibility overlay widget does not remediate the underlying code and has not prevented litigation; overlay vendors have themselves been the subject of enforcement over accessibility and advertising claims.
  • If an overlay is already installed, confirm it does not break assistive technology that users bring themselves.
  • Do not treat an overlay's marketing claim of "compliance" as a legal opinion or a defense.
  • Direct remediation budget to code fixes, not to a subscription.

Phase 6 — Governance and regression control

  • Publish an accessibility statement with the conformance target, known limitations, and a staffed contact channel for accessibility requests.
  • Respond to accessibility complaints promptly and in writing; an unanswered complaint becomes an exhibit.
  • Add accessibility acceptance criteria to the definition of done for new features.
  • Add automated accessibility tests to CI, understanding their limits.
  • Train designers, developers, and content authors — most new defects come from content, not code.
  • Add accessibility warranties and remediation obligations to vendor contracts, and require a current VPAT/Accessibility Conformance Report before purchase. See Software License Agreement Review Checklist.
  • Re-audit annually and after major releases.
  • Keep dated records of audits, remediation tickets, and training — this is the defense file.

Phase 7 — When a demand letter arrives

  • Preserve the current state of the site — a full crawl, screenshots, and the code as deployed. Continuing to deploy without a snapshot destroys the evidence of what the plaintiff actually encountered. See Litigation Hold and Evidence Preservation Checklist.
  • Do not remediate silently and then claim nothing was wrong; do remediate, and document it.
  • Evaluate mootness carefully — voluntary cessation rarely moots a claim, and standing and mootness law is fact-specific.
  • Evaluate the plaintiff's standing, including whether the plaintiff is a tester and whether the plaintiff intends to return. Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, 601 U.S. 1 (2023), was decided on mootness and left the tester-standing question open.
  • Notify insurers — some EPLI and general liability policies respond, many do not.
  • Assess whether a structured settlement with a remediation schedule is cheaper than litigation, and whether a release covering future claims by the same plaintiff is available.
  • Recognize the serial filer pattern and coordinate a consistent response strategy across matters.

Common mistakes

  • Relying on an automated scan alone.
  • Buying an overlay and considering the problem solved.
  • Remediating the home page and leaving checkout broken.
  • Removing the focus ring for visual polish.
  • Ignoring PDFs of required disclosures.
  • No staffed accessibility contact, so complaints go unanswered.
  • No procurement requirements, so each new vendor reintroduces defects.
  • Treating it as a one-time project rather than a program.
  • Failing to preserve the site when a demand letter arrives.

Primary authority

Related

This checklist is educational and not legal advice. Accessibility obligations vary by circuit, by state, and by entity type. Consult qualified counsel about your particular exposure and any demand letter.