Accessibility requirements for Wisconsin government procurement
Wisconsin has no adopted state accessibility standard of its own. The federal requirements below are the whole of the obligation.
What binds a Wisconsin purchase
ADA Title II — WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Applies to the web content and mobile apps of every state and local government entity in Wisconsin, whoever built the software. Compliance dates:
- 26 April 2027 — entities serving 50,000 or more
- 26 April 2028 — entities serving under 50,000, and special district governments
Software bought today will still be in service on those dates, which is what makes this a procurement question rather than an IT one.
Section 508 — where federal funds are involved
Governs federal procurement and reaches a great deal of Wisconsin spending through federal funding, including most public universities. It incorporates WCAG 2.0 Level AA, and adds chapter requirements that WCAG does not cover — functional performance, software, and support documentation.
If your solicitation cites Section 508, a WCAG-edition conformance report does not answer it. The editions explained.
No Wisconsin standard of its own
Wisconsin has no codified statewide web accessibility standard. Accessibility appears in the state's IT procurement and development standards, but not as an adopted enterprise standard with a named conformance level.
Pending — SB 831 / AB 904
Companion bills that would direct the Department of Administration to make rules governing websites and web content for state agencies, the Legislature and the state courts, based on the most recent version of WCAG — 2.2, published October 2023. Check their current status before relying on them.
What this means when a vendor sends you a report
- Name the standard in the solicitation. The edition a vendor sends back is chosen to match what you asked for. Ask for nothing specific and you will get the edition that flatters the product.
- Ask during evaluation, not after award. Before the contract your leverage is the award itself; after it, your leverage is a change order.
- Keep the record. What you required, what the vendor disclosed, what you challenged and when. If conformance is ever questioned, that record is the useful artifact — not the software.
Section508.gov — State-level Accessibility Law and Policy does not list Wisconsin. The entry above was researched from Wisconsin’s own statute, regulation or policy page in August 2026 and links to it directly. General guidance for procurement planning, not legal advice — verify against the statute or policy that applies to your entity, and check the current status of any pending legislation named above.