Georgia has a binding statewide digital accessibility policy - the Georgia Technology Authority's Digital Accessibility Standard SM-19-002 - requiring state entities' websites, applications, and online documents to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, with a 36-month audit cycle and nine-month remediation window; the University System of Georgia applies the same WCAG 2.1 AA standard to public higher education and uses Section 508/VPAT-based procurement practice. Enforcement is administrative and audit-driven through GTA, not a private right of action, and there are no statutory damages for accessibility violations against government. Notably, Georgia's 2026 HB 1470 (effective July 1, 2026, amending O.C.G.A. Title 51, Ch. 7) cuts the opposite way - it lets prevailing defendants recover $10,000 statutory damages, attorney fees, and treble damages against abusive website-accessibility plaintiffs. Local governments fall outside the state standard and are governed by the federal ADA Title II baseline (WCAG 2.1 AA; compliance Apr 26 2027 / Apr 26 2028).

What the law requires

• Responsible agency Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) for executive-branch state agencies; University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents for public higher education (gta-psg.georgia.gov/psg/digital-accessibility-standard-sm-19-002) (opens in new tab)
• Adopted standard WCAG 2.1 Level AA (adopted by GTA SM-19-002 and by USG). USG materials reference Section 508 and VPATs as part of higher-education procurement practice; GTA's SM-19-002 does not explicitly cite Section 508 alignment in its text.
• Who it covers State of Georgia digital properties (websites, web applications, mobile applications, online documents) managed by state entities under GTA SM-19-002. Public higher education (USG institutions) covered under USG Board of Regents accessibility policy requiring WCAG 2.1 AA. Vendors/contractors are addressed indirectly through state and USG procurement practice (VPAT requests, accessible-procurement guidance). Local governments are NOT covered by the GTA statewide standard (which applies to state entities); they fall under the federal ADA Title II baseline.
• Private right of action No state-law private right of action for digital accessibility against government entities. Enforcement of the GTA statewide standard is administrative: GTA reserves the right to audit agencies to verify accessibility testing and remediation. Federal ADA Title II provides the avenue for complaints against public entities. Separately, Georgia HB 1470 (effective July 1, 2026; O.C.G.A. Title 51, Ch. 7) actually RESTRICTS plaintiff-side website-accessibility litigation by creating a defendant cause of action for abusive litigation; it does not create a private right of action for people with disabilities.
• Statutory damages / penalties None for accessibility violations - enforcement of the state standard is administrative/audit-driven via GTA. The only statutory-damages figure in Georgia law on this topic runs the OTHER direction: HB 1470 lets a prevailing defendant in an unsuccessful website-accessibility suit recover actual damages or statutory damages of $10,000 (whichever is greater), reasonable attorney fees, and treble damages where the plaintiff was given written notice and refused to dismiss (O.C.G.A. Title 51, Ch. 7, eff. July 1, 2026).
• Exemptions GTA SM-19-002 and the USG policy as published do not enumerate undue-burden or fundamental-alteration exemptions for digital accessibility. The federal ADA Title II baseline (28 CFR Part 35) provides the standard undue-burden and fundamental-alteration defenses that apply to covered public entities.
• Governing authority Statewide policy: GTA Enterprise Policy, Standard, and Guideline (PSG) 'Digital Accessibility Standard' SM-19-002 (effective 8/28/2019), issued under GTA's enterprise IT policy authority (PM-04-001). Higher education: University System of Georgia Board of Regents accessibility policy applied to USG and institutional web content. Note: This is binding statewide IT policy, not a statute. The only recent accessibility statute is HB 1470 (2026, amending O.C.G.A. Title 51, Chapter 7), which addresses abusive website-accessibility litigation and does not impose accessibility duties on government procurement.
• Compliance deadline State policy (GTA SM-19-002): agencies must conduct an internal or external WCAG 2.1 AA audit of all digital properties at least once every 36 months and remediate identified errors within nine months of the audit (effective 8/28/2019; no single statewide hard deadline). Federal ADA Title II compliance dates also apply: Apr 26 2027 (population >= 50,000) and Apr 26 2028 (population < 50,000 and special-district public entities).

Official sources:
gta-psg.georgia.gov/psg/digital-accessibility-standard-sm-19-002 (opens in new tab)
digital.georgia.gov/12-digital-accessibility-standards (opens in new tab)
gta.georgia.gov/working-gta/state-agencies (opens in new tab)
usg.edu/siteinfo/accessibility (opens in new tab)
usg.edu/siteinfo/accessibility_tutorial/the_law (opens in new tab)
amacusg.gatech.edu/wag/Procurement (opens in new tab)
legis.ga.gov/legislation/73452 (opens in new tab)
ada.georgia.gov/about-us/law (opens in new tab)

Not legal advice. Informational summary compiled from the official sources cited above, last verified 2026-06-08. Requirements change; confirm against the primary source before relying on it. Federal ADA Title II applies regardless of state law (WCAG 2.1 Level AA; compliance April 26, 2027 for entities of 50,000+ population, April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special districts). See all states.