Pennsylvania has no digital/ICT accessibility statute. Its requirements come from the Commonwealth's Digital Accessibility Policy (an internal executive-branch IT policy effective November 12, 2025, issued by the Office of Administration, Office for Information Technology, Office of Accessibility under Executive Order 2016-06), which adopts WCAG 2.1 Levels A and AA aligned with the Revised Section 508 Standards and requires vendors to submit a current-version VPAT/Accessibility Conformance Report in procurement. This policy binds executive agencies under the Governor and their contractors, but not independent agencies, local governments, or public higher education, for which federal ADA Title II (28 CFR Part 35, WCAG 2.1 AA, compliance by April 26 2027/2028) is the baseline. There is no digital-accessibility private right of action and no statutory damages; enforcement is governance- and remediation-driven through the Office of Accessibility, with general disability-discrimination claims available administratively through the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and federally under the ADA.

What the law requires

• Responsible agency Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Administration (OA), Office for Information Technology (OIT), Office of Accessibility (pa.gov/agencies/oa.html) (opens in new tab)
• Adopted standard WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA at minimum (current version of WCAG, levels A/AA encouraged, AAA encouraged), aligned with the Revised Section 508 Standards. Procurement contracts must mandate third-party vendors deliver products conforming to WCAG 2.1 Levels A and AA, with an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) using the most current VPAT.
• Who it covers Pennsylvania Digital Accessibility Policy covers all offices, departments, boards, commissions, and councils under the Governor's jurisdiction and any entity connecting to the Commonwealth Network; third-party vendors, licensors, contractors, and suppliers must meet the requirements via contract. The policy does NOT bind independent agencies (encouraged only), local/municipal governments, or public higher education institutions. For those entities, federal ADA Title II (28 CFR Part 35) applies independently.
• Private right of action No - for digital/ICT accessibility specifically. The Digital Accessibility Policy is an internal executive-branch IT policy with no private right of action; compliance is overseen by the Office of Accessibility via testing, reporting, and remediation workplans. A general disability-discrimination private right of action exists under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (administrative complaint to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission within 180 days, with the option to proceed to state court), but it is not digital-accessibility-specific. Federal ADA Title II also provides a private right of action through the federal courts and DOJ.
• Statutory damages / penalties None - enforcement/complaint-driven. The Digital Accessibility Policy carries no statutory damages or per-violation fines (internal IT policy, governance/remediation-based). The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act allows compensatory damages with no statutory caps but provides no fixed per-violation statutory-damage amount for accessibility, and is administered by the PHRC; it is not digital-accessibility-specific. No Pennsylvania statute sets per-violation digital-accessibility penalties.
• Exemptions Digital Accessibility Policy Section 5.3 exempts: archived web content; preexisting conventional electronic documents; content posted by a third party (unless on behalf of or on a Commonwealth platform); individualized password-protected/secured conventional electronic documents about a specific individual, their property, or account; and Commonwealth social media posts published before April 24, 2026. Agencies may seek a formal policy exception via the IT Policy Governance Process. Where a known WCAG criterion is not met, suppliers must provide a remediation roadmap or equally effective alternate access. The federal ADA Title II undue-burden and fundamental-alteration defenses apply to the underlying obligations.
• Governing authority Pennsylvania Digital Accessibility Policy (Information Technology Policy, effective Nov 12, 2025; authority: Executive Order 2016-06, Enterprise Information Technology Governance), and the related Digital Accessibility Standard. This is an internal executive-branch IT policy, not a statute. Pennsylvania has no digital-accessibility-specific statute. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (43 P.S. ss 951-963; Act of Oct. 27, 1955, P.L. 744, No. 222) prohibits disability discrimination in public accommodations generally but does not address digital/ICT accessibility by name. Federal ADA Title II (28 CFR Part 35) is the binding baseline for state/local government and public higher education.
• Compliance deadline State policy effective Nov 12, 2025 (no single statewide remediation deadline; ongoing testing/remediation model). Commonwealth social media posts must be accessible from Apr 24, 2026. Federal ADA Title II deadlines also apply: Apr 26 2027 (entities serving 50,000+ population) and Apr 26 2028 (smaller entities and special district governments).

Official sources:
pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/oa/documents/policies/it-policies/digital%20accessibility%20policy.pdf (opens in new tab)
pa.gov/accessibility-policy (opens in new tab)
pa.gov/en/agencies/oa/policies/it-policy-glossary.html (opens in new tab)
legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/1955/0/0222..HTM (opens in new tab)
pa.gov/agencies/phrc/legal-resources/policy-and-law (opens in new tab)
attorneygeneral.gov/protect-yourself/civil-rights/access-and-accommodations-for-people-with-disabilities/ (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.