FAQ: Partnering with NCDIT for Digital Accessibility Compliance

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires state and local governments to provide people with disabilities equal access to their programs, services, and activities. This includes ensuring that public-facing digital content including websites, applications, and documents, meets the WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standard. 

Deadline: North Carolina agencies must comply by April 24, 2026.

WCAG 2.1 Level AA refers to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, an internationally recognized standard for making digital content accessible to people with disabilities. 

WCAG 2.1 Level AA includes 50 testable success criteria, meaning each requirement can be objectively evaluated to confirm compliance.

Title II requirements apply to all digital experiences provided to the public including: 

• Agency websites and web pages
• Online applications, forms, and services
• Mobile applications
• Documents including PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets, and presentations
• Multimedia content, such as videos, audio, and recorded webinars
• Digital content delivered through third-party platforms or vendors on behalf of agency

Each agency must ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards for all public-facing digital resources.

NCDIT is ready to provide guidance, tools, and support to help agencies: 

• Understand requirements
• Reduce risk
• Achieve compliance by the federal deadline and after

NCDIT is ready to provide guidance, tools, and support to help agencies such as: 

• Free automated accessibility monitoring
• Centralized guidance and State standards aligned with federal requirements
• Technical consultation and assistance
• Digital Accessibility Community of Practice
• State term contract for vendor services
• PDF conversion and remediation options
• Digital Commons web hosting

PDFs often present the highest volume of accessibility issues and can be costly and time-consuming to remediate. 

NCDIT PDF solutions:

• PDF-to-HTML conversion (using Gemini AI):
  • As low as $0.03 per page
  • Free for agencies on the NCDIT Digital Commons platform
  • More accessible, easier to edit, responsive to any device, AI-ready, translatable into any language
• PDF remediation:
  • Vendor options available via State Term Contract
  • Multiple vendor options for agencies to choose from based on need

Digital Commons is a centralized Drupal-based CMS with built-in accessibility standards, monitoring, and support—free for all state and local agencies.

If your agency website is listed on the Digital Commons Websites page, that confirms your site is hosted on Digital Commons.

NCDIT offers limited technical guidance and vendor access through State Term Contract. NCDIT’s free automated accessibility is available to agency websites and application on other platforms.

Start early. Remediation can be time-consuming, especially for documents and legacy systems.

• Inventory digital assets (websites, apps, documents)
• Identify high-risk content, especially PDFs
• Engage NCDIT early to:
  • Review monitoring results with NCDIT
  • Select the right support path
  • Plan remediation strategically
• Create a compliance roadmap to achieve compliance by April 24, 2026
• Designate a Digital Accessibility Coordinator

To help all agencies meet Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and prepare for the April 24, 2026, federal enforcement deadline, NCDIT is asking each agency to name a Digital Accessibility Coordinator. Accessibility compliance requires clear ownership. The Digital Accessibility Coordinator is the main point of contact who makes sure accessibility efforts happen and stay on track. 

The coordinator leads and coordinates accessibility efforts within the agency, works across internal teams and vendors, tracks issues and risks, and serves as the primary liaison with NCDIT. 

This is an ongoing, full-time responsibility.

Accessibility becomes an ongoing operational requirement. Agencies must integrate accessibility into workflows with continuous monitoring, remediation, and risk management. NCDIT will continue to provide tools, guidance, and support.

The role of the Digital Accessibility Coordinator will evolve from compliance push to ongoing operations:

• Monitor continuously – review scans; watch for regressions
• Coordinate fixes – track issues; ensure barriers addressed
• Embed accessibility – incorporate into workflows
• Oversee vendors – include in procurement and vendor mgt.
• Maintain documentation – keep roadmaps, statements, logs current