Third-party content and vendor arrangements

There is a third-party-posting exception

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II web rule includes a specific exception in § 35.201(c) for content posted by a third party. It does not apply when the party posts because of contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the public entity. Read §§ 35.200 and 35.201(c).

Distinguish a vendor from an unaffiliated contributor

A contracted organization publishing information for a government is not the same as an unaffiliated resident posting on an open community message board. DOJ uses this distinction in its guidance and explains that the public entity cannot contract away its ADA responsibilities. Read DOJ’s explanation of third-party content.

Review the delivered service and its content

Inventory the interface, templates, documents, media, and content added by the public entity. A learning management system’s accessible interface does not make every uploaded course file accessible. Conversely, reviewing an uploaded document alone does not evaluate the surrounding application.

Hosting location is not the sole test. Identify what the entity provides and the relationship involved, then apply the regulation and any other relevant provisions.

Make responsibilities explicit

Suggested operational steps: name an owner, request current product accessibility evidence, test representative tasks, record barriers, agree a correction process, and plan how people can obtain access while issues are addressed. These suggestions are not a prescribed federal procurement checklist or a safe harbor.

What a vendor statement cannot establish

An Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), often prepared using a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), describes assessed support and limitations for a stated product/version. Review its scope, methods, date, and findings. It does not automatically establish the public entity’s conformance or cover content added later. See Section508.gov’s explanation of ACRs.

Keep the legal questions separate

A contract can define duties and remedies between the parties. That is separate from determining the public entity’s duties under the ADA. Employee-only systems, secured individualized documents, unaffiliated posts, and public services can require different analyses; do not decide scope from the label “third party” or “behind a login.”