ADA Title II and your Word and PowerPoint files

The Department of Justice's ADA Title II rule requires state and local governments' web content and mobile apps to meet WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA. Documents you post, such as Word files and PowerPoint decks, are part of that work.

Deadlines

DOJ moved these dates in an interim final rule published April 20, 2026 (the original dates were April 24, 2026 and April 26, 2027).

What the rule says

28 CFR 35.200 requires a public entity to ensure that web content it provides or makes available, directly or through contractual, licensing or other arrangements, complies with WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA, unless it can show a fundamental alteration or undue financial and administrative burdens.

Exceptions that matter for documents

28 CFR 35.201 lists exceptions, including: archived web content; preexisting conventional electronic documents made available before your requirement date, unless they are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in your services, programs or activities; content posted by a third party (unless under contract with you); individualized documents about a specific person that are password-protected or otherwise secured; and preexisting social media posts. Definitions are in 28 CFR 35.104. Ask your counsel how they apply.

Where Accessmith helps

Accessmith helps you find and fix issues against WCAG 2.1 AA inside Word and PowerPoint:

• Pictures and objects without alt text, or alt text that is just a file name
• Skipped heading levels and empty headings in Word
• Tables without a header row
• Missing or duplicate slide titles in PowerPoint
• Document title not set
• Text colour contrast below the WCAG 2.1 AA ratio
• Vague link text such as "click here", and bare web addresses
• Empty paragraphs used for spacing, and lists typed with "-" or "•"

A person still has to check what no automatic tool can judge: whether alt text is accurate and useful, reading order on complex slides, meaning carried by colour alone, captions for media, plain language, and anything Accessmith flags as "check by hand".

Use the Title II checklist for Word to track both.

Sources (checked 25 October 2026): 28 CFR 35.200 (eCFR); 28 CFR 35.201 (eCFR); DOJ interim final rule, 91 FR 20912 (Apr. 20, 2026).