Key Takeaways:
- Government digital accessibility challenges often stem from outdated websites, inaccessible documents, and inconsistent accessibility practices.
- Accessibility issues can arise across content, design, development, procurement, and governance processes.
- Prioritizing high-impact content and establishing accessibility ownership can help agencies make steady progress toward ADA Title II compliance.
The most common government digital accessibility challenges under ADA Title II include outdated websites, inaccessible PDFs and documents, limited accessibility knowledge across teams, inaccessible third-party tools, large volumes of legacy content, weak governance, ongoing content updates, and resource constraints.
Government agencies should prioritize these areas first because they directly affect public access to services, information, and programs.
Key Digital Accessibility Challenges for Government Under ADA Title II
The updated ADA Title II requirements place greater focus on making digital services accessible.
While many government bodies understand the importance of accessibility, several common challenges continue to create barriers for people with disabilities and anyone relying on screen reader software or other assistive technologies.
Below are the areas that deserve immediate attention:
1. Legacy Websites & Outdated Content Management Systems
The challenge:
Many government websites were built years ago and were not designed with accessibility in mind. As a result, they often contain navigation issues, missing labels, poor heading structures, and limited keyboard accessibility.
How to solve it:
- Conduct a technical accessibility audit of your CMS and website.
- Modernize templates and components in phases rather than attempting a complete rebuild.
- Adopt accessible design systems and semantic HTML for all future development work.
2. High-Traffic Public Portals & Online Services
The challenge:
Many government agencies are relying on online portals for services such as tax payments, permit applications, utility payments, license renewals, and court-related services. If these platforms contain inaccessible forms, login barriers, or poor keyboard navigation, people with disabilities may be unable to access essential public services.
How to solve it:
- Prioritize accessibility testing for the most frequently used public portals.
- Review payment systems, application forms, and account management workflows.
- Test complete user journeys using keyboards, screen reader software, and other assistive technologies.
3. Inaccessible PDFs & Digital Documents
The challenge:
One of the biggest government digital accessibility challenges involves documents. Scanned PDFs with missing tags, poor reading order, and unlabeled elements can make content difficult or impossible to access using assistive technologies.
How to solve it:
- Avoid publishing scanned documents whenever possible.
- Create accessible documents from the start using Word or Google Docs before exporting tagged PDFs.
- Prioritize PDF and document accessibility efforts for frequently accessed and mission-critical content.
4. Limited Accessibility Awareness Across Departments
The challenge:
Accessibility is often viewed as a developer’s responsibility. However, accessibility issues can be introduced by content authors, designers, document creators, and communications teams.
How to solve it:
- Provide role-specific accessibility training.
- Train developers on WCAG implementation techniques.
- Train content teams on headings, alt text, descriptive links, and document accessibility.
- Make accessibility part of onboarding and everyday workflows.
Organizations that regularly create accessible government documents often achieve better long-term accessibility outcomes because accessibility becomes part of the content creation process rather than an afterthought.
5. Third-Party Platforms & Integrations
The challenge:
Government agencies frequently rely on external systems for payments, forms, scheduling, registrations, and other services. Even though third parties may provide these tools, the responsibility for accessibility still lies with the agency.
How to solve it:
- Require compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA during procurement.
- Request a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) before purchasing software or services.
- Test third-party platforms before deployment to identify accessibility barriers early.
6. Public-Facing Mobile Applications
The challenge:
Many government agencies now provide mobile apps for reporting issues, receiving alerts, making payments, or accessing public services. Mobile accessibility barriers such as small touch targets, poor contrast, or unsupported screen reader interactions can prevent users from completing essential tasks.
How to solve it:
- Test mobile applications with VoiceOver and TalkBack.
- Ensure content supports dynamic text resizing and responsive layouts.
- Verify that all functionality is available through native accessibility features.
7. Video Content & Public Meetings
The challenge:
Government agencies frequently publish public hearings, council meetings, training materials, and community updates through video. Without adding captions, transcripts, and audio description to these uploaded videos, agencies risk excluding people with hearing impairments, people with visual impairments, and other users who rely on accessible media.
How to solve it:
- Provide accurate closed captions for live and prerecorded videos.
- Include transcripts whenever possible.
- Add audio description when important visual information is not conveyed through speech.
- Review multimedia content regularly as part of accessibility audits.
Make Every Public Video Accessible
Deliver accurate captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions that help meet ADA Title II accessibility requirements.
8. Managing Large Volumes of Existing Content
- Prioritize high-traffic and high-impact content first.
- Archive, consolidate, or remove outdated materials.
- Create a phased remediation roadmap based on risk and public usage.
9. New Content Accessibility Issues
The challenge:
Even after accessibility problems are fixed, newly published content can reintroduce barriers if accessibility checks are not built into daily processes.
How to solve it:
- Incorporate accessibility reviews into publishing workflows.
- Use CMS validation tools and content creation guidelines.
- Conduct regular audits of newly published content.
Accessibility should be treated as an ongoing program rather than a one-time remediation project.
10. Budget & Resource Limitations
The challenge:
Many agencies face competing priorities and limited budgets, making it difficult to dedicate resources to accessibility initiatives.
How to solve it:
- Focus first on the highest-risk accessibility issues.
- Spread improvements across multiple phases rather than pursuing a complete overhaul immediately.
- Invest in internal accessibility training to reduce long-term remediation costs.
A phased approach often delivers measurable accessibility improvements while keeping projects manageable and cost-effective.
Strengthen Accessibility Across Your Digital Content with Continual Engine
Meeting accessibility obligations requires more than fixing a few webpages.
Government agencies must address websites, documents, multimedia content, forms, and digital services while maintaining accessibility over time.
Continual Engine can help organizations scale accessibility efforts through AI-powered remediation, document accessibility solutions, video accessibility services, accessibility testing support, and expert guidance for captions and audio description.
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