ADA website compliance checklist

Updated October 14, 2026 · 6 min read

There is no official ADA checklist for websites. The Department of Justice's guidance on web accessibility points to existing technical standards — WCAG and the Section 508 Standards — and lists typical barriers: poor colour contrast, images without alt text, videos without captions, inaccessible forms and mouse-only navigation. This checklist turns WCAG 2.2 level AA into practical checks, grouped by area, for a business website or online store. It is general information, not legal advice, and completing it does not certify anything.

Download the checklist as a PDF below.

Download the checklist as a PDF

Every success criterion of levels A and AA with what to check and a tick box. Free, with a link by e-mail.

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Automated check, not a full audit. Not legal advice.

How to use this checklist

Pick the pages that matter: home, a category or collection page, a product or service page, cart, checkout, account, contact form, and one long content page.
Run an automated scan first. Our free ADA compliance checker finds many code-level issues in about a minute; items marked (auto) below are partly covered by it.
Work through the manual items with a keyboard, a screen reader and browser zoom.
Write down what you found and fixed, with dates. That record is useful whatever happens.

The criterion numbers in brackets refer to WCAG 2.2.

Images and graphics

[ ] Every informative image has a text alternative (auto: presence) that describes its content or purpose (1.1.1).
[ ] Decorative images have empty alt text so screen readers skip them (1.1.1).
[ ] Image links and icon buttons say where they go or what they do — "Cart", not "icon" (1.1.1, 2.4.4) (auto).
[ ] Text is not shown as an image, except logos (1.4.5).
[ ] Charts and infographics have a text summary nearby (1.1.1).

Colour and contrast

[ ] Body text has a contrast of at least 4.5:1, large text 3:1 (1.4.3) (auto). Test pairs with the contrast checker.
[ ] Icons, input borders and focus indicators have at least 3:1 against their background (1.4.11).
[ ] Colour is never the only way to show information, such as required fields, errors or sale prices (1.4.1).

Keyboard and focus

[ ] Every link, button, menu, slider and form field works with Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space and arrow keys (2.1.1).
[ ] You never get stuck in a pop-up, chat widget or video player (2.1.2).
[ ] The focus is always visible (2.4.7) and is not hidden behind sticky headers or cookie banners (2.4.11).
[ ] The focus order follows the visual order (2.4.3).
[ ] A "skip to content" link or landmarks let users skip the navigation (2.4.1).

Forms and checkout

[ ] Every field has a visible label that is connected to it in code (1.3.1, 3.3.2, 4.1.2) (auto: connection).
[ ] Address, e-mail and payment fields use autocomplete attributes (1.3.5) (auto: valid values).
[ ] Errors are described in text, next to the field, with a hint how to fix them (3.3.1, 3.3.3).
[ ] Orders and payments can be reviewed and corrected before they are final (3.3.4).
[ ] Login does not require solving a puzzle or remembering a code without an alternative such as paste or a password manager (3.3.8).
[ ] Information already entered is not asked for again in the same process (3.3.7).

[ ] Each page has a unique, descriptive title (2.4.2) (auto: presence).
[ ] Headings form a logical outline, and lists and tables use real markup (1.3.1, 2.4.6).
[ ] The page language is set (3.1.1) (auto).
[ ] Navigation and help links appear in the same place on every page (3.2.3, 3.2.6).
[ ] There is more than one way to find a page, such as a menu, search or sitemap (2.4.5).
[ ] Link text makes sense in context — no bare "click here" (2.4.4).

Layout, zoom and mobile

[ ] At 200 % zoom no text is cut off (1.4.4); at 400 % or 320 pixels wide, nothing needs horizontal scrolling (1.4.10).
[ ] The site works in portrait and landscape (1.3.4).
[ ] Buttons and links are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels or spaced apart (2.5.8) (auto).
[ ] Anything done by dragging, such as a price slider, also works with simple taps or clicks (2.5.7).
[ ] Content that appears on hover or focus can be dismissed and stays while the pointer is over it (1.4.13).

Video, audio and motion

[ ] Prerecorded videos have accurate captions (1.2.2) and audio description or a transcript (1.2.3, 1.2.5).
[ ] Nothing plays sound automatically for more than three seconds without a way to stop it (1.4.2).
[ ] Carousels and animations can be paused (2.2.2), and nothing flashes more than three times a second (2.3.1).
[ ] Session time-outs warn users and can be extended (2.2.1).

[ ] With VoiceOver, NVDA or TalkBack, the main tasks — find a product, add to cart, check out, contact you — can be completed.
[ ] Status messages such as "Added to cart" or "3 results" are announced (4.1.3).
[ ] Custom controls announce their name, role and state, e.g. "expanded" (4.1.2) (auto: partly).

Documents and third-party content

[ ] PDFs, menus, price lists and forms you link to are accessible or available in an accessible format — see how to check PDF accessibility.
[ ] Embedded widgets — chat, reviews, booking, maps — pass the same keyboard and screen reader checks.
[ ] You do not rely on an overlay widget to fix the site; see why overlays are not a solution.

Publish and maintain

[ ] An accessibility page explains what you have done and how people can report a barrier.
[ ] You re-check after theme, plugin and app updates, not just once.

From checklist to ADA compliance audit

This list is a self-check. An ADA compliance audit checklist used by an expert goes through every WCAG A and AA criterion on a defined sample of pages, with a written report — see accessibility audit. Federal buyers may also ask for a Section 508 review or an ACR based on the VPAT. The full criterion-by-criterion list is in the WCAG 2.2 checklist; the legal background is in ADA website compliance.

Checks that are marked (auto) can be repeated every week without effort: with a plan, Pandus scans every page of your site and tells you when new issues appear. It is an automated check, not a full audit.

Sources

ADA.gov, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA: https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/
ADA.gov, Fact sheet on the Title II web and mobile app rule: https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/
W3C, WCAG 2.2: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official ADA website checklist?

No. The ADA has no technical website checklist for private businesses. The Department of Justice points to WCAG and the Section 508 Standards; this checklist follows WCAG 2.2 level AA.

Does completing this checklist mean my website meets the ADA?

No checklist can promise that. It helps you find and fix the most common barriers and document your work. For your legal position, talk to a lawyer.

Which WCAG level should an ADA checklist use?

Level AA. The DOJ Title II rule for state and local governments adopts WCAG 2.1 AA, and WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA is the usual reference for business websites. WCAG 2.2 AA includes nearly all of 2.1 AA; see WCAG 2.1 vs 2.2.

Can I download the checklist as a PDF?

Yes. The PDF version of this checklist is linked on this page, so you can print it or share it with your developer or agency.

How is an ADA compliance audit different from this checklist?

An audit is a structured evaluation by an expert against every WCAG criterion, with a report. This checklist is a practical self-check; it covers the barriers that matter most but not every criterion in depth.