North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) and the Office of Management and Budget are authorized to set binding statewide IT policies and standards under North Dakota Century Code 54-59-09. That statute is general IT-standards authority and does not itself name accessibility, but the State of North Dakota's official accessibility page expressly cites NDCC 54-59-09 as the mandate for its commitment to WCAG 2.1 Level AA (plus WAI-ARIA), implemented through NDIT's Web Development Standard POL0020014. The standard applies to executive branch state agencies including the University System Office but excludes institutions under the State Board of Higher Education (higher-ed campuses and ag/research centers), which are exempted by NDCC 54-59-09. Section 508 is not adopted by name. There is no digital-accessibility-specific private right of action or statutory-damages provision in North Dakota statute; enforcement of the state commitment is complaint-driven through NDIT. General disability-discrimination claims may proceed under the North Dakota Human Rights Act (NDCC 14-02.4), which permits a district-court action but limits relief to injunctive/equitable relief, two-year backpay, and attorney's fees and bars compensatory or punitive damages. NDIT targets April 26, 2027 for WCAG compliance, aligned to the federal ADA Title II final rule; North Dakota sets no distinct state-statutory deadline.

What the law requires

• Responsible agency North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) (ndit.nd.gov/support/digital-accessibility-hub) (opens in new tab)
• Adopted standard WCAG 2.1 Level AA, plus WAI-ARIA, as stated on the official State of North Dakota accessibility page (nd.gov/accessibility) and NDIT's Digital Accessibility Hub, and implemented via NDIT Web Development Standard POL0020014. Section 508 is NOT named or expressly adopted in the state's published accessibility commitment (confirmed absent on nd.gov/accessibility and the NDIT hub).
• Who it covers Executive branch state agencies, including the North Dakota University System Office, but EXCLUDING institutions under the control of the State Board of Higher Education (i.e., individual higher-education campuses and agricultural/research centers). This exclusion is set in NDCC 54-59-09 (which excepts 'the institutions under the control of the board of higher education' from mandatory compliance) and is reflected in the stated applicability of NDIT Web Development Standard POL0020014. The statewide WCAG 2.1 AA commitment covers state digital content (websites, documents, forms, multimedia). NDIT separately publishes ADA guidance for political subdivisions (local governments), which are covered by federal ADA Title II directly rather than by the NDIT standard.
• Private right of action No digital/ICT-accessibility-specific private right of action exists. The verbatim text of NDCC Chapter 54-59 contains no cause of action, civil-action provision, or private remedy for accessibility, and enforcement of the state commitment is complaint-driven through NDIT (report by phone 701-328-5328 or email per nd.gov/accessibility). GENERAL disability-discrimination claims may proceed under the North Dakota Human Rights Act (NDCC 14-02.4-19), which allows an aggrieved person to file with the ND Department of Labor and Human Rights OR bring an action in district court - but this is general human-rights law and does not mention digital, website, or electronic accessibility. Federal ADA Title II remedies also apply independently.
• Statutory damages / penalties None. NDCC Chapter 54-59 prescribes no per-violation statutory damages or penalty schedule for accessibility (confirmed from verbatim statute text). Under the general North Dakota Human Rights Act, NDCC 14-02.4-20 (Relief), remedies are limited to injunctive/equitable relief, backpay (capped at two years), and reasonable attorney's fees; the statute expressly bars the department or an administrative hearing officer from ordering compensatory or punitive damages. No digital-accessibility-specific statutory-damage amount exists.
• Exemptions NDCC 54-59-09 allows the state Chief Information Officer to exempt an agency from statewide IT policies and standards 'to address situations unique to that agency.' Institutions under the control of the State Board of Higher Education are statutorily excluded from mandatory compliance with NDIT standards (NDCC 54-59-09). NDIT references a web accessibility exceptions process for unique considerations. Federal ADA Title II undue-burden and fundamental-alteration defenses (28 CFR Part 35) apply as operative exceptions. No additional state-statutory digital-accessibility exemption schedule was found.
• Governing authority North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) 54-59-09 (Information technology standards), which authorizes NDIT and the Office of Management and Budget to develop binding statewide information technology policies and standards. The statute text is general IT-standards authority and does not itself mention accessibility, WCAG, or Section 508; however, the State of North Dakota's official accessibility page (nd.gov/accessibility) expressly cites and links to NDCC 54-59-09 as the mandate for its digital accessibility commitment, and NDIT implements it through its Web Development Standard (POL0020014). Note: NDCC 54-59-13 (Compliance reviews) was REPEALED in 2003 (S.L. 2003, ch. 665) and is not live authority. General disability discrimination is separately governed by the North Dakota Human Rights Act (NDCC Chapter 14-02.4), which is not digital-accessibility-specific. Federal ADA Title II (28 CFR Part 35) applies as a baseline.
• Compliance deadline NDIT's Digital Accessibility Hub states a target of April 26, 2027 for state digital services to meet WCAG, framed as a response to the U.S. DOJ ADA Title II final rule. North Dakota does not set a distinct state-statutory accessibility deadline; the binding dates are the federal ADA Title II compliance dates (April 26, 2027 for public entities serving populations of 50,000 or more; April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special district governments).

Official sources:
ndlegis.gov/cencode/t54c59.pdf (opens in new tab)
ndlegis.gov/cencode/t54c59.html (opens in new tab)
ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-4.pdf (opens in new tab)
nd.gov/accessibility (opens in new tab)
ndit.nd.gov/support/digital-accessibility-hub (opens in new tab)
ndit.nd.gov/standards/POL0020014 (opens in new tab)
section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies/state/ (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.