ADA closed captioning requirements
"ADA closed captioning requirements" is not one rule. Title II covers state and local government services and, since 2024, has a codified web accessibility standard with real compliance dates. Title III covers private businesses open to the public and has a general effective-communication duty but no codified web standard at all. Confusing the two is the most common mistake people make researching this topic.
Both titles list captioning among the "auxiliary aids and services" a covered entity may need to provide. What differs is how specific each title gets about when captioning is required and against what technical standard.
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Title II: a codified web standard, with real dates
Under 28 CFR 35.160(a), public entities must ensure communication with people with disabilities is "as effective as communication with others," and 35.160(b)(1) requires furnishing appropriate auxiliary aids and services to make that happen. Closed and open captioning, including real-time captioning, is named directly as an auxiliary aid in 28 CFR 35.104.
A DOJ final rule published April 24, 2024 (89 FR 31320) added a new Subpart H to 28 CFR part 35. 28 CFR 35.200(b) makes WCAG 2.1 Level AA the technical standard for state and local government web content and mobile apps, including content the entity provides through a contract or licensing arrangement with a third party.
The compliance dates in that 2024 rule were later extended by a DOJ interim final rule (federalregister.gov, April 20, 2026). As extended, entities serving a population of 50,000 or more must comply by April 26, 2027; entities serving fewer than 50,000, and special district governments, have until April 26, 2028.
What WCAG 2.1 AA actually requires for captions
WCAG 2.1 gives the codified Title II standard two caption success criteria. SC 1.2.2, "Captions (Prerecorded)", is Level A and requires captions for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media. SC 1.2.4, "Captions (Live)," is Level AA and requires captions for live audio in synchronized media. That is the higher bar, and the one that catches live-streamed government meetings and broadcasts.
Two adjacent criteria get missed constantly because they sit right next to the caption ones: SC 1.2.3 and 1.2.5 cover audio description, the parallel duty for people who are blind or have low vision. A Title II site that ships captions but never checks 1.2.3/1.2.5 has covered half the standard.
Title III: a general duty, not a codified standard
Title III covers private businesses that are places of public accommodation. Its captioning duty comes from the same "effective communication" language and the same auxiliary-aids list: 28 CFR 36.303(b) names open and closed captioning explicitly.
What Title III does not have is a codified web accessibility rule. The Department’s own guidance is direct about it: the ADA applies to goods and services offered on the web, but the Department has no regulation setting out detailed technical standards, so a business has flexibility in how it complies. WCAG and Section 508 are reference points a court or a compliance team can point to, not a mandated checklist the way 28 CFR 35.200(b) is for Title II.
One narrow Title III rule is codified, though: 28 CFR 36.303(g) requires movie theaters to provide closed movie captioning and audio description, via a captioning device, whenever they exhibit a digital movie that was distributed with those features.
Where CueForge fits
None of these rules tell you whether a specific caption file is technically correct; they tell you captions are owed, and increasingly, to what content standard. Once you have a file, CueForge’s QC checks timing, structure and reading speed for free, and converts it to the web formats a WCAG-compliant player expects, including VTT.
For the EU equivalent, see EAA subtitle requirements. For US broadcast rather than web, see FCC caption requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Does the ADA require captions on every website?
Only Title II (state and local government sites and apps) has a codified requirement, WCAG 2.1 Level AA, under 28 CFR 35.200(b). Title III (private businesses) has a general duty to communicate effectively with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and lists captioning as an auxiliary aid, but the Department of Justice has not codified a specific web technical standard for Title III.
What are the compliance dates for the Title II web rule?
As extended by a DOJ interim final rule in April 2026, entities serving a population of 50,000 or more must comply by April 26, 2027. Entities serving fewer than 50,000, and special district governments, have until April 26, 2028.
Which WCAG success criteria cover captions specifically?
SC 1.2.2 "Captions (Prerecorded)," Level A, for recorded audio in synchronized media, and SC 1.2.4 "Captions (Live)," Level AA, for live audio. SC 1.2.3 and 1.2.5 cover the adjacent duty, audio description, which the same Title II standard also requires.
Do movie theaters have to caption movies under the ADA?
Yes, for digital movies distributed with captioning and audio-description features. 28 CFR 36.303(g) requires theaters to provide closed movie captioning through a captioning device whenever they exhibit such a movie.
Is a private company’s website automatically covered by a specific ADA standard?
Not automatically. The ADA’s general effective-communication duty applies, but the Department of Justice has stated it has no regulation setting out detailed web technical standards for Title III, so businesses have flexibility in how they comply. That is a different position from Title II, where WCAG 2.1 AA is now the codified standard.
General information, not legal advice — confirm obligations with counsel.
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