This subpart applies to all programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department.

No qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a recipient provided through kiosks.

(a) General. A recipient shall ensure that the following are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities:

(1) Web content that a recipient provides or makes available, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements; and

(2) Mobile apps that a recipient provides or makes available, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements.

(b) Requirements. (1) Beginning May 11, 2026, a recipient with fifteen or more employees shall ensure that the web content and mobile apps that the recipient provides or makes available, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, comply with Level A and Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements specified in WCAG 2.1, unless the recipient can demonstrate that compliance with this section would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program or activity or in undue financial and administrative burdens.

(2) Beginning May 10, 2027, a recipient with fewer than fifteen employees shall ensure that the web content and mobile apps that the recipient provides or makes available, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, comply with Level A and Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements specified in WCAG 2.1, unless the recipient can demonstrate that compliance with this section would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program or activity or in undue financial and administrative burdens.

(3) WCAG 2.1 is incorporated by reference into this section with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. All material approved for incorporation by reference (IBR) is available for inspection at HHS and at the National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”). Contact HHS, OCR at: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Room 509F, HHH Building, Washington, DC 20201; phone: (202) 545-4884; email: [email protected]. For information on the availability of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations or email [email protected]. The material may be obtained from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (“WAI”), 401 Edgewater Place, Suite 600, Wakefield, MA 01880; phone: (339) 273-2711; email: [email protected]; website: www.w3.org/TR/2018/REC-WCAG21-20180605/ and https://perma.cc/UB8A-GG2F.

The requirements of § 84.84 do not apply to the following:

(a) Archived web content. Archived web content as defined in § 84.10.

(b) Preexisting conventional electronic documents. Conventional electronic documents that are available as part of a recipient's web content or mobile apps before the date the recipient is required to comply with § 84.84, unless such documents are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in the recipient's programs or activities.

(c) Content posted by a third party. Content posted by a third party, unless the third party is posting due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the recipient.

(d) Individualized, password-protected documents or otherwise secured conventional electronic documents. Conventional electronic documents that are:

(1) About a specific individual, their property, or their account; and

(2) Password-protected or otherwise secured.

(e) Preexisting social media posts. A recipient's social media posts that were posted before the date the recipient is required to comply with § 84.84.

(a) A recipient may use conforming alternate versions of web content, as defined by WCAG 2.1, to comply with § 84.84 only where it is not possible to make web content directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations.

(b) WCAG 2.1 is incorporated by reference into this section with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. All material approved for incorporation by reference is available for inspection at HHS and at NARA. Contact HHS, OCR at: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Room 509F, HHH Building, Washington, DC 20201; phone: (202) 545-4884; email: [email protected]. For information on the availability of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations or email [email protected]. The material may be obtained from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (“WAI”), 401 Edgewater Place, Suite 600, Wakefield, MA 01880; phone: (339) 273-2711; email: [email protected]; website: www.w3.org/TR/2018/REC-WCAG21-20180605/ and https://perma.cc/UB8A-GG2F.

Nothing in this subpart prevents the use of designs, methods, or techniques as alternatives to those prescribed, provided that the alternative designs, methods, or techniques result in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability of the web content or mobile app.

Where a recipient can demonstrate that compliance with the requirements of § 84.84 would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program or activity or in undue financial and administrative burdens, compliance with § 84.84 is required to the extent that it does not result in a fundamental alteration or undue financial and administrative burdens. In those circumstances where personnel of the recipient believe that the proposed action would fundamentally alter the program or activity or would result in undue financial and administrative burdens, a recipient has the burden of proving that compliance with § 84.84 would result in such alteration or burdens. The decision that compliance would result in such alteration or burdens must be made by the head of a recipient or their designee after considering all resources available for use in the funding and operation of the program or activity, and must be accompanied by a written statement of the reasons for reaching that conclusion. If an action would result in such an alteration or such burdens, a recipient shall take any other action that would not result in such an alteration or such burdens but would nevertheless ensure that individuals with disabilities receive the benefits or services provided by the recipient to the maximum extent possible.

A recipient that is not in full compliance with the requirements of § 84.84(b) will be deemed to have met the requirements of § 84.84 in the limited circumstance in which the recipient can demonstrate that the noncompliance has such a minimal impact on access that it would not affect the ability of individuals with disabilities to use the recipient's web content or mobile app to do any of the following in a manner that provides substantially equivalent timeliness, privacy, independence, and ease of use:

(a) Access the same information as individuals without disabilities;

(b) Engage in the same interactions as individuals without disabilities;

(c) Conduct the same transactions as individuals without disabilities; and

(d) Otherwise participate in or benefit from the same programs and activities as individuals without disabilities.