ADA Title II exceptions explained: archived content and preexisting documents

The ADA Title II web rule lists five exceptions to its WCAG 2.1 AA requirement: archived web content, preexisting documents, content posted by third parties, individualized documents that are password-protected or otherwise secured, and preexisting social media posts. Each one is narrower than it sounds. Content qualifies only if it meets every condition, and even then you must still give someone with a disability an accessible version when they need it. This guide explains each exception, the common traps, and how to record your decisions.

The five exceptions at a glance

1. 1. Archived web content

   Content created before your compliance date, kept only for reference, research or recordkeeping, stored in an area clearly marked as an archive, and not changed since it was archived.

   Example:

   Board minutes from 2015 kept in an 'Archive' section and never edited.

   Watch out:

   Anything you update or move back into regular use loses the exception.

2. 2. Preexisting documents

   PDFs, word-processing files, presentations and spreadsheets posted before your compliance date, unless they are currently used to apply for, access or take part in your services, programs or activities.

   Example:

   A 2019 parks master plan PDF that no one needs to use to get a service.

   Watch out:

   Forms, applications and documents people currently need do not qualify, no matter when they were posted.

3. 3. Content posted by third parties

   Content posted by members of the public or other third parties who aren't acting for you, such as comments on a public forum.

   Example:

   A resident's comment on a city discussion page.

   Watch out:

   Content a vendor or contractor posts for you is still your responsibility.

4. 4. Individualized, secured documents

   Password-protected or otherwise secured documents about a specific person, property or account, such as a utility bill or a medical record.

   Example:

   One resident's water bill in an online account.

   Watch out:

   You still have to provide an accessible version promptly when someone with a disability needs it.

5. 5. Preexisting social media posts

   Social media posts you published before your compliance date.

   Example:

   A 2023 post announcing a road closure.

   Watch out:

   Posts made after the compliance date must be accessible.

The exceptions are in the federal regulations at 28 CFR 35.201. Several of them depend on your compliance date, which is the date your organization must meet the rule:

Because the April 2026 extension moved these dates, it also moved the cutoff for "preexisting" and "archived" content, since both are defined by your compliance date.

Archived web content

This exception can cover web pages and documents, but only when all four of these are true:

1. It's old. It was created before your compliance date, or it reproduces paper documents or other physical media created before that date.
2. It's kept only for reference, research or recordkeeping. Not for anything people need to do today.
3. It hasn't changed. It's not altered or updated after the date you archived it.
4. It's stored in a clearly marked archive. It's organized in a dedicated area, or areas, clearly identified as archived.

Good examples: board minutes from 2015 kept in a page titled "Archived meeting records" and never edited; a 2012 newsletter in a clearly labeled archive section. ADA.gov gives a similar example: a 1998 water quality report stored in an "archive" section would probably qualify. It also gives the opposite case: council minutes created after the compliance date wouldn't qualify, even if they're posted in an archive section.

Common traps:

• Content created after your compliance date can't become archived content later, even if you move it to an archive.
• A folder named "Archive" that people still rely on doesn't work. If the archive is the only place to find a current policy, that policy isn't archived.
• Editing an archived file, even to fix a typo, means it no longer meets the "not altered or updated" condition.
• Linking to archived files from pages people use for current services suggests they're still in use. Keep archive links in the archive.

Preexisting documents

The rule calls these "preexisting conventional electronic documents". Conventional electronic documents are files in four formats: PDFs, word-processing files, presentations and spreadsheets. They qualify if they were available on your website or mobile app before your compliance date, unless they are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in your services, programs or activities.

Unlike archived content, preexisting documents don't have to be moved into an archive. But the "currently used" test carries a lot of weight. ADA.gov's examples of documents that would likely qualify include a parade flyer posted in 2018 and a sample ballot posted in 2014. Its example of one that wouldn't is a business license application posted in 2020 that people still use to apply.

Common traps:

• "Posted before the date" isn't enough. A form posted in 2020 that people still use to apply for something doesn't qualify.
• Re-posting or updating changes the picture. ADA.gov explains that updating an old document after the compliance date removes the exception, so treat a revised document as new content.
• The exception is for documents only. It doesn't cover web pages.

Content posted by third parties

This covers content posted by members of the public or other third parties who aren't acting for you, such as a resident's comment on a discussion board.

Common traps:

• Vendors and contractors are not third parties here. The exception doesn't apply when a third party posts because of a contract, license or other arrangement with you. A vendor's calendar, a booking site you contract for, or content a consultant posts for you is your responsibility.
• Content you post is yours, whoever wrote it. A consultant's report, an applicant's site plan or comment letters that you add to a meeting packet are posted by you, not by a third party.

Individualized, secured documents

This covers documents that are both:

1. About a specific person, their property or their account, such as a water bill, a property tax statement or a medical record, and
2. Password-protected or otherwise secured, such as a bill inside a resident's online account.

The catch: you still have to provide an accessible version promptly to a person with a disability who needs it. In practice, the templates that generate these documents (bills, notices, statements) are worth fixing at the source, because every person who asks needs their own document made accessible.

Preexisting social media posts

Social media posts you published before your compliance date are covered. Posts after that date must be accessible, which mostly means alt text on images, captions on videos and plain-text versions of anything shown only in a graphic.

Why forms and active documents never qualify

Two of the exceptions are about time (archived and preexisting content), and both contain a usage test. Archived content must be kept only for reference, research or recordkeeping. Preexisting documents lose the exception if they're currently used to apply for, gain access to or participate in a service, program or activity.

A form is, by definition, used to apply for or access something. So are permit instructions, current schedules, eligibility rules and the agenda for next week's meeting. That's why most accessibility plans put forms and active documents first, whatever their age. Our accessible PDF forms guide covers how to fix them.

How to document an exemption decision

The exceptions don't come with paperwork requirements of their own, but a written record is how you show your reasoning if someone questions it later. It also stops the same document being re-reviewed every year.

A simple log with these columns works:

"On request" obligations still apply

The exceptions limit what you must fix in advance. They don't remove your existing duties under Title II to communicate effectively with people with disabilities, make reasonable modifications and give them an equal opportunity to take part. If someone asks for an accessible version of an excepted document, you need to provide it, or the information in it, promptly. ADA.gov's examples include providing a large-print version of a password-protected water bill, and captioning an archived video when someone asks. Its small entity compliance guide also recommends setting up a clear process for people to request accessible content and report problems.

Make that easy to do:

• Publish a contact. Put a short notice on archive pages and near excepted documents. For example: "Documents in this archive were created before [your compliance date] and are kept for reference only. Some may not be fully accessible. To request an accessible version, contact [name] at [email] or [phone]."
• Decide who fixes requested files and how fast. A fixed target, such as a few business days, helps staff respond consistently.
• Log requests. A document that keeps being requested is probably still in use and may not qualify for the exception at all.

Related provisions that aren't exceptions

• Conforming alternate versions (28 CFR 35.202). The rule allows a separate accessible version instead of making the original accessible only where technical or legal limitations make it impossible to make the content itself accessible. It's not a general alternative to fixing documents.
• Undue burden or fundamental alteration (28 CFR 35.204). You aren't required to take steps that would fundamentally alter a program or impose undue financial and administrative burdens. This is a formal decision with a written statement of reasons from the head of the entity or their designee, and you must still provide access to the maximum extent possible. Plan to involve counsel.
• Minimal impact (28 CFR 35.205). If content falls short of WCAG 2.1 AA, you can still be treated as compliant only if you can show the shortfall has so little impact that people with disabilities can use the content with substantially equivalent timeliness, privacy, independence and ease of use. It's narrow, and the burden of showing it is on you.

The rule may still change

The April 2026 extension was an interim final rule, and DOJ has said it's considering a future proposal to make parts of the 2024 rule less burdensome. As of October 2026, no proposed changes have been published. Keep planning to the current rule, and check the Federal Register and ADA.gov for updates.

Fix it automatically

Includoc's Organization plans build an inventory of every document on your website and help you work through it. For each document, you can mark "Archived content" or "Preexisting document not currently used", with a required justification and the date it was posted. The system suggests likely candidates (posted before your compliance date, not modified since, no form fields), but a person decides, and every decision is kept in an audit trail. Documents that don't qualify go into the fix queue, forms first. Organization Standard is $3,600/yr; see pricing for details.

For documents that need fixing, start with a free check:

Sources

• eCFR: 28 CFR 35.201, Exceptions (opens another website)
• eCFR: 28 CFR 35.104, Definitions (opens another website), including "archived web content" and "conventional electronic documents"
• eCFR: 28 CFR part 35, subpart H (opens another website) (web and mobile app accessibility)
• eCFR: 28 CFR 35.202 (opens another website), 35.204 (opens another website) and 35.205 (opens another website)
• Federal Register, April 24, 2024: Final rule on the accessibility of web information and services of state and local government entities (opens another website)
• Federal Register, April 20, 2026: Extension of compliance dates (interim final rule) (opens another website)
• Federal Register, August 14, 2026: Department of Justice regulatory agenda (opens another website)
• ADA.gov: Fact sheet on the ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility rule (opens another website)
• ADA.gov: Small entity compliance guide (opens another website)
• W3C: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (opens another website)