Is Fort Collins's Website Ready for the ADA Title II Deadline?

Compliance deadlineApril 26, 2027about 7 months away
Population (2024 est.)170,924≥ 50,000 — first-wave tier
ClassificationMunicipal government (general purpose)Colorado
Required standardWCAG 2.1 Level AADOJ-adopted standard

Did you know the deadline already changed?

The deadline you may have written down last year is no longer the right one. A DOJ Interim Final Rule issued April 20, 2026 extended the original ADA Title II dates by one year, so Fort Collins now has until April 26, 2027. That extra year is exactly the window to find and fix problems before enforcement begins — the DOJ has given no signal that the date will move again.

Fort Collins's latest accessibility scan

Overall compliance risk: Moderate — 17 PDFs fail basic accessibility checks

100/ 100
Page score
11/ 100
Document score

www.fortcollins.gov · 120 pages scanned · July 16, 2026

📖 Reading level: grade 10.4 average — above the grade-8 plain-language target for government content.

📄 PDFs found: 19, failing basic accessibility checks: 17 — documents are covered by the same DOJ rule as pages

Top issues, in plain English

  • critical ARIA accessibility attributes are used incorrectly and may mislead screen readers (WCAG 4.1.2 · 1 page)
  • critical Accessibility attributes point at elements that don't exist (WCAG 4.1.2 · 1 page)
  • critical Composite controls are missing required child elements for assistive tech (WCAG 1.3.1 · 1 page)
  • serious Text is too low-contrast against its background to read comfortably (WCAG 1.4.3 · 2 pages)
  • serious Links have no readable text — screen reader users can't tell where they lead (WCAG 2.4.4 · 1 page)
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What WCAG 2.1 Level AA means for city government websites

Because Fort Collins serves 170,924 residents — above the DOJ's 50,000-person threshold — it falls in the first enforcement wave, with the earlier of the two federal deadlines.

The rule points to WCAG 2.1 Level AA — a widely used technical checklist. Stripped of jargon, it asks simple questions: can a blind resident using a screen reader pay a bill on your site? Can someone who can't use a mouse complete a form with just a keyboard? Is the text readable against its background?

For first-wave entities, the practical risk isn't only DOJ action — it's private lawsuits and demand letters that cite the federal standard the moment the deadline passes.

Fort Collins is a major population center, and its website is the front door for utility bill payment, permit applications, and public meeting agendas. Under ADA Title II, that front door has to work for every resident.

Don't find out about problems from a demand letter

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