Washington Digital Accessibility Law

WCAG 2.1 AA + Section 508 State-specific law

Washington has a binding statewide digital accessibility policy: WaTech's USER-01 Digital Accessibility Policy and USER-01-01-S Standard (adopted Dec. 2024 under RCW 43.105.054/.052) require state agency covered technology to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, rising to WCAG 2.2 Level AA effective July 1, 2026, with a July 1, 2029 deadline for all essential employee/user tools. Higher education is covered only for business and administrative applications, and the policy itself is administrative (annual certification to WaTech) with no monetary penalties or private right of action. Enforcement risk instead flows from the Washington Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60), which provides a private civil action for actual damages plus attorneys' fees but no fixed statutory-damages amount, alongside the federal ADA Title II baseline.

What the law requires

  • Responsible agency Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech), Office of the State Chief Information Officer (watech.wa.gov/policies/digital-accessibility-policy)
  • Adopted standard WCAG 2.1 Level AA minimum under USER-01-01-S; the standard escalates to WCAG 2.2 Level AA effective July 1, 2026. Policy/standard reference WCAG2ICT for non-web ICT and require VPAT or compliance-review documentation in procurement; aligned in posture with Section 508 / ADA but the binding adopted metric is WCAG (2.1 AA, then 2.2 AA), not Section 508 itself.
  • Who it covers Covered technology of Washington state agencies (per RCW 43.105.020(22) definition), including websites, applications, documents/media, social media, and certain non-public-facing official content; applies to technology acquired, procured, developed, substantially modified/enhanced, or available at no cost, and imposes vendor/contractor requirements (VPAT, remediation plans) in procurement. Institutions of higher education are covered only for business and administrative applications (academic, research, medical/clinical applications excluded per RCW 43.105.052). The WaTech policy does not by its own terms bind local governments; local governments are covered instead by the federal ADA Title II baseline and the state's general public-accommodation law (RCW 49.60).
  • Private right of action Yes (general, not digital-specific). The WaTech policy itself is administrative and complaint-resolution based, with no private right of action. However, the Washington Law Against Discrimination, RCW 49.60.030(2), gives any person injured by a discriminatory act a civil cause of action to enjoin further violations or recover damages, and RCW 49.60.215 reaches places of public accommodation; disability digital-access claims are litigated under this framework. The Washington State Human Rights Commission also enforces administratively.
  • Statutory damages / penalties No fixed per-violation statutory penalty for digital accessibility. Under RCW 49.60.030(2) a prevailing plaintiff may recover actual damages sustained plus cost of suit including reasonable attorneys' fees and other appropriate remedies (including those under the federal Civil Rights Act / Fair Housing Amendments Act); there is no specified minimum statutory damages floor. The WaTech accessibility policy specifies no monetary penalties; agency compliance is monitored via annual certification/reporting to WaTech.
  • Exemptions USER-01 exempts: qualifying archived web content (created before the compliance date, kept only for reference/recordkeeping, in a designated archive area, unchanged since archiving); preexisting conventional electronic documents (word processing, presentation, PDF, spreadsheet) posted before the compliance date and not used to access services; third-party content posted outside a contractual/licensing arrangement; individualized password-protected/secured documents about a specific person, property, or account; preexisting social media posts; and cases where strict adherence would cause a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity or impose undue financial and administrative burdens. Where covered technology cannot be made compliant, the owner must provide equivalent access; regardless of any exception, agencies must still provide effective communication, reasonable modifications, and equal opportunity.
  • Governing authority WaTech statewide policy USER-01 Digital Accessibility Policy and standard USER-01-01-S Digital Accessibility Standard (State CIO adopted Dec. 10, 2024), issued under WaTech's IT governance authority in RCW 43.105.054 and RCW 43.105.052; coverage of higher education limited by RCW 43.105.052 to business and administrative applications. Separately, the Washington Law Against Discrimination, RCW chapter 49.60 (esp. RCW 49.60.030 and RCW 49.60.215 on public accommodations), provides the general anti-discrimination / private-right-of-action framework that disability/digital-access claims are brought under. Federal ADA Title II (28 CFR Part 35) baseline also applies.
  • Compliance deadline State-specific WaTech deadlines: WCAG 2.2 Level AA minimum effective July 1, 2026 (replacing WCAG 2.1 AA); and effective July 1, 2029 all content and tools employees or users need to perform essential job duties, access information, or participate in programs must be accessible (or equivalent access provided). These run alongside the federal ADA Title II Apr 26, 2027 / Apr 26, 2028 compliance dates.

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Official sources:
section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies/state/
watech.wa.gov/policies/digital-accessibility-policy
watech.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/USER%20-01%20Digital%20Accessibility%20Policy.pdf
watech.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/USER-01-01-S%20Digital%20Accessibility%20Standard.pdf
app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.105.054
app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.105.052
app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=49.60.030
app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=49.60.215

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.