An ADA website demand letter arrived. What should you do first?
Save the letter, record the dates and get legal help. Then turn the named website problems into a clear list for your site team.
You open an envelope or email that says your business website is inaccessible. It names your company and asks you to respond. Your first instinct may be to pay, argue or forward it to whoever built the site. Pause long enough to save what arrived.
This article is general information, not legal advice. It offers an owner-facing preparation checklist. A lawyer should assess the actual letter, any court papers and the rules that apply to your business. Do not use a blog post to calculate a legal deadline.
Read the actual document before labeling it
A letter may name website problems and request a settlement payment. Your document may be different. Read what it actually asks for. Do not assume another owner's experience tells you what your own letter means.
For a practical first read, mark the sender, the business named and the website address. Circle any stated response date. Note whether documents are attached. If you see a court name or case number, show that material to counsel promptly. Let counsel classify it.
The DOJ web accessibility guidance explains the DOJ's position on web accessibility for businesses open to the public. It does not decide whether a particular allegation is correct. That distinction matters when a letter mixes broad legal language with specific complaints about your pages.
Step 1: preserve what you received
Keep the original email with its attachments, or the letter and envelope. Make a working copy for your notes. Record when and how it arrived. Save related messages in one place that the owner and counsel can locate.
Do not paste the letter into a public support forum. Ask counsel how to share it with a web developer or vendor. The goal is an orderly handoff, with the original document available for someone who can assess it.
Step 2: note dates, then speak to counsel
Write down every date printed in the document and the date you received it. Tell counsel about both. Ask which actions and deadlines apply. Do not assume the sender's requested date and a court deadline are the same thing.
Before paying, signing or promising a fix, talk to a lawyer who handles ADA matters. Ask who should communicate with the sender. If another business owner shares a settlement template, resist copying it. Their document cannot answer the questions in yours.
Step 3: capture the pages being questioned
Make a dated record of the named pages and the steps described in the letter. Note the browser and device you used. Keep screenshots where practical. Ask counsel what else to preserve and how to handle changes while the matter is reviewed.
For example, a complaint may describe being unable to submit a booking form. Record the page address, the fields you completed and what happened at submission. Keep customer information out of test screenshots. A precise description gives your site team something concrete to investigate.
Step 4: ask for a human check of the task
Turn each named problem into a task someone can attempt. For a booking form, try reaching the fields and submit button with a keyboard. Ask a qualified accessibility tester to review barriers you cannot assess yourself. Keep observed results separate from legal conclusions.
The DOJ web accessibility guidance gives examples of barriers such as poor contrast, missing image descriptions and inaccessible forms. It also discusses the limits of automated checking. An automated scan can be part of the work, but it should not be your only evidence.
If a vendor proposes adding a widget, ask what specific barrier that change addresses. Request a demonstration on the affected page. Do not accept a promise that a tool prevents lawsuits. Technical repair and legal response need their own owners.
Step 5: make a dated repair list
Use a simple table: page, reported problem, observed result, person responsible and retest date. Add the proposed repair after the tester identifies the cause. Record what changed and what the retest showed. Send counsel the information they request through the channel they choose.
For the booking example, a useful entry describes whether the keyboard reached the submit button after the change. A note saying fixed tells the next person very little. Keep the original observation beside the new result so another tester can repeat the task.
Begin with the named barriers, then ask about other important customer routes. Your home page, contact route and checkout deserve attention even when the letter mentions one page. Keep that broader work organized. Do not let a rushed response become the whole accessibility plan.
What this work can establish
A repair record can show what your team observed and changed. It does not by itself settle a claim or establish legal compliance. Counsel can advise how the work relates to the matter. Your site team can explain which tasks have been retested.
The next useful conversation is practical. Who maintains the site? Who approves a repair? Who checks a later update? Write those names down while the issue has everyone's attention. Reuse the same record when a form, menu or checkout changes.
You do not need a dramatic reply drafted in the first hour. You need the document preserved, the right professional involved and the website problems described clearly. Start there, and let the actual evidence guide the next action.
Access Heroes may earn a commission if you buy a tool we recommend. You pay the tool's maker directly, and we always tell you before you sign up. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.
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Need help identifying the website barriers named in a letter? Book a free web accessibility check with TJ. He will look at your site with you and tell you what to fix first.
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