{"id":312,"date":"2026-04-09T00:51:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/?page_id=312"},"modified":"2026-04-09T13:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:36:53","slug":"exceptions-to-title-ii","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/exceptions-to-title-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Exceptions to Title II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Title II regulations contain certain narrow exceptions for items that do not need to meet accessibility standards. You can review the federal government\u2019s\u00a0Fact Sheet and Summary of the Exceptions<\/a>\u00a0on the federal ADA website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal government’s Fact Sheet summarizes and gives examples of the\u00a05 exceptions listed in the Rule<\/a>, but leaves out some helpful context. The \u201cWhat this means for you\u201d sections below contain additional clarifications of the exceptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Points to remember<\/h3>\n

These exceptions are narrow, with multiple criteria. In most instances, they will not exempt a large quantity of your digital materials. Please review carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all exceptions, if someone requests an accessible version of the material in question, you must provide an accessible version in a timely manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that in Exception 2, \u201cany old documents that people are still using \u2018to apply for, access, or participate in services, programs, or activities\u2019\u201d includes materials that are actively being used for classes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
Exception 1: Archived web content <\/strong><\/summary>
\n

What the rule says<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWeb content that meets\u202fall four<\/strong>\u202fof the following points would not need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The content was created before the date the state or local government must comply with this rule, or reproduces paper documents or the contents of other physical media (audiotapes, film negatives, and CD-ROMs for example) that were created before the government must comply with this rule, AND<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The content is kept only for reference, research, or recordkeeping, AND<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The content is kept in a special area for archived content, AND<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The content has not been changed since it was archived.\u201d <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    What this means for you <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    Even if content qualifies for this exception, if someone requests an accessible version of it, you still have to make it accessible for them. This is a requirement found in the rest of Title II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you want to use this exception, you must create and clearly label a section of your website as \u201cArchived\u201d. You can\u2019t just label the content itself as archived. It must be kept in a separate place that is easy to identify. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Content doesn\u2019t qualify as \u201carchived\u201d just because you put it in the Archived section of your website. All four of the points above must<\/strong> apply to the content for it to qualify for this exception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After your compliance date, any content you want to use this exception on can never<\/strong> be updated. As soon as you change it in any way<\/strong>, it no longer qualifies for this exception and would need to be made accessible at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Any content created after your compliance date can never<\/strong> qualify for this exception. This is because all content created after your compliance date must be accessible<\/strong> from the beginning. You can still put that new content in the Archived section of your website, but it will already be accessible by that point, so the exception would be useless. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

    Exception 2: Preexisting conventional electronic documents <\/strong><\/summary>
    \n

    What the rule says<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cDocuments that meet\u202fboth<\/strong>\u202fof the following points usually do not need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA, except in some situations: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. The documents are word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet files;\u202fAND<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. They were available on the state or local government\u2019s website or mobile app\u202fbefore\u202fthe date the state or local government must comply with this rule.\u201d <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      What this means for you <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

      Even if a document qualifies for this exception, if someone requests an accessible version of it, you still have to make it accessible for them. This is a requirement found in the rest of Title II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You don\u2019t<\/strong> have to make all your old documents accessible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You do<\/strong> have to make any old documents that people are still using \u201cto apply for, access, or participate in services, programs, or activities\u201d accessible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      After your compliance date, any content you want to use this exception on can never<\/strong> be updated. As soon as you change it in any way<\/strong>, it no longer qualifies for this exception and would need to be made accessible at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Any documents created after<\/strong> your compliance date can never<\/strong> qualify for this exception. This is because all content created after your compliance date must be made accessible from the beginning, so the exception is useless at that point. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

      Exception 3: Content posted by a third party <\/strong><\/summary>
      \n

      What the rule says<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cContent that is posted by third parties on a state or local government\u2019s website or mobile app would not need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What this means for you<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

      Even if content qualifies for this exception, if someone requests an accessible version of it, you still have to make it accessible for them. This is a requirement found in the rest of Title II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This exception does not<\/strong> apply to content posted by your vendors! In this case, \u201cthird parties\u201d means \u201cmembers of the public.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Any of the tools and platforms that allow members of the public to post content onto your website do<\/strong> need to be accessible. However, the content that the public posts using those tools does not<\/strong>. Basically, you can\u2019t force a member of the public to create accessible content, so that means you\u2019re not responsible for it. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you have a message board on your website, the message board itself must be accessible. Any posts you or any of your vendors make on your message board must also be accessible. But any posts that members of the public make on your message board do not<\/strong> need to be accessible. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

      Exception 4: Individualized documents that are password-protected<\/strong> <\/summary>
      \n

      What the rule says<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cDocuments that meet\u202fall three<\/strong>\u202fof the following points do not need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. The documents are word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet files,\u202fAND<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. The documents are about a specific person, property, or account,\u202fAND<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. The documents are password-protected or otherwise secured.\u201d <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        What this means for you<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

        Even if a document qualifies for this exception, if someone requests an accessible version of it, you still have to make it accessible for them. This is a requirement found in the rest of Title II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        This exception does not <\/strong>apply to documents just because they are behind a password. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        This exception can never<\/strong> apply to documents that are distributed for public use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        This exception only applies to the 4 specific types of documents listed. If you provide documents to people in other formats, such as HTML, those documents do<\/strong> need to be accessible.  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

        Exception 5: Preexisting social media posts <\/strong><\/summary>
        \n

        What the rule says<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cSocial media posts made by a state or local government before the date the state or local government must comply with this rule do not need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        What this means for you<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

        Even if a social media post qualifies for this exception, if someone requests an accessible version of it, you still have to make it accessible for them. This is a requirement found in the rest of Title II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Any of your social media posts created before<\/strong> your compliance date do not<\/strong> need to be made accessible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Any of your social media posts created after<\/strong> your compliance date do<\/strong> need to be accessible. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The Title II regulations contain certain narrow exceptions for items that do not need to meet accessibility standards. You can review the federal government\u2019s\u00a0Fact Sheet and Summary of the Exceptions\u00a0on the federal ADA website. The federal government’s Fact Sheet summarizes and gives examples of the\u00a05 exceptions listed in the Rule, but leaves out some helpful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5450,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-312","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5450"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/312\/revisions\/319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/digital-accessibility\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}