PageKiwi Accessibility guide
Accessibility statement template
An accessibility statement tells visitors what standard you aim for, what isn't right yet, and how to reach a person who'll help.
The button above opens our free generator: fill in a few boxes and copy the result. It runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to us. This page explains what a statement is for, what to put in it for a town, county, library or school district, and the words to leave out.
Check the official rules. Rules and dates change, so check them with the official sources before you rely on them: ADA.gov (the US Department of Justice), the W3C's WCAG pages and Section508.gov. PageKiwi helps you find problems and get closer to meeting the rules. It can't promise a website meets them, it isn't legal advice, and we can't take responsibility for decisions made from it.
Do you need one?
The ADA Title II web rule doesn't ask for a page with this name. But ADA.gov's guide for small governments suggests two things a statement does well:
- "Letting members of the public know, in prominent places on your website, how they can ask your government to make content accessible", for instance an old PDF that the rule doesn't cover.
- "Providing an email address, accessible link, accessible web page, or other accessible way for people to let your government know if there are any accessibility issues".
And if your town, county or library employs 50 or more people, the ADA's Title II regulations already require you to name an employee to coordinate ADA compliance (often called the ADA coordinator) and to make their name, office address and phone number available. The statement is a good place for that too.
What to put in it
- That you want everyone to be able to use the site, including people with disabilities.
- The standard you aim for: WCAG 2.1 level AA, the one the ADA Title II rule names (WCAG explained).
- What you know doesn't work yet, in everyday words: "Minutes before 2024 are scanned PDFs."
- How to ask for something in another format: an accessible copy, large print, or someone reading it over the phone.
- How to report a problem: an email address and a phone number someone checks every working day, and how soon you'll reply.
- Your ADA coordinator, if you have one: name or title, office address and phone.
- Vendor products: say which parts come from other companies (bill pay, the catalog, agendas) and that you'll still help if one doesn't work.
- The date you last reviewed it. Look again at least once a year.
This follows the W3C's advice in Developing an Accessibility Statement (the W3C writes WCAG), with the extras a town, county or library needs.
Words to leave out
- "Fully compliant", "100% accessible", "ADA certified"
- No checker or company can promise that, and there's no official certificate. Say "We aim to meet WCAG 2.1 AA."
- Badges and seals
- They read as a promise nobody can make.
- "Use our accessibility toolbar"
- A widget doesn't make a site accessible (why not). Point people to a person instead.
- Legal small print
- A statement is for residents, not lawyers. Plain words and a phone number help more.
- Technical codes
- "Success criterion 1.1.1" means nothing to most people. Say "Some photos have no description."
A plain template
Copy it, then replace everything in [brackets]. Delete any line that isn't true for you. The generator fills it in for you and offers versions for towns, libraries and schools.
Accessibility [Town of Wrenfield] wants everyone to be able to use this website, including people with disabilities. We keep working to make it easier to use. The standard we aim for We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA, the standard in the U.S. Department of Justice's ADA Title II rule for state and local governments. What we know doesn't work yet - [Meeting minutes from before 2024 are scanned PDFs that screen readers can't read.] - [Our online bill pay is run by another company. If you can't use it, call us and we'll take your payment by phone.] Ask for something in another format If you need a document or page in a different format, such as an accessible PDF, large print or read aloud over the phone, contact us and we'll provide it. For a public meeting, please ask [3 business days] before so we can have it ready. Tell us about a problem Email: [clerk@yourtown.gov] Phone: [(802) 555-0100] Mail: [Town Clerk, 12 Main Street, Wrenfield, VT 05999] Please tell us which page it was and what went wrong. We aim to reply within [5 business days]. ADA coordinator [Name or title], [office address], [phone]. We last reviewed this statement on [October 8, 2026].
Put it on your website
- Make a page called "Accessibility" and paste the statement in as ordinary text, not a PDF.
- Link to it from the footer of every page, with the same words each time.
- Send a test email and call the number, to check someone answers.
- Fix what you can before you publish. Accessibility Check, Picture Check and Color check find common problems to fix or list.
- Change the date whenever you review it or fix something on the list.
Want to know if the footer link breaks? Site Watch checks the links on your home page every night and emails you only when something changes.
Send this to your web person
Not sure what to say? Copy this into an email, add your website's address, and send it.
Hi, Please add a page called "Accessibility" to our website, [your website address], with the text I've attached, as ordinary text rather than a PDF. Then please link to it from the footer of every page, with the link text "Accessibility". Once it's up, could you check the email address and phone number on it work, and tell me the page's address? Thanks
Facts checked on Oct 8, 2026.