Received an ADA website demand letter?
This guide covers the technical side only. Whether to respond, settle or defend is a decision for your US attorney.
Know what you received
A demand letter comes before a lawsuit and usually asks for payment and fixes. A complaint means a case has been filed. In federal court a defendant generally has 21 days after service to respond, so time is short. Either way, the first step is a US attorney.
Technical steps to start now
- Before changing anything, record the current state: screenshots, test reports and dates. Follow your attorney's instructions on preserving evidence.
- Reproduce each issue listed in the letter or complaint and mark which ones exist.
- Run a full test to find issues the letter missed. Plaintiffs can add them later.
- Write a remediation plan with dates. Settlements often include deadlines and your attorney will need it.
- Fix the code in batches, retesting and logging each batch.
- Publish an accessibility statement with a feedback channel.
- Keep testing after the fixes so new pages do not bring issues back.
What to avoid
- Installing an overlay as the fix. Plaintiff firms know them well; see overlays
- Contacting or paying the plaintiff's firm without your attorney
- Deleting the affected pages, which can affect evidence as well as sales
What we provide
We handle the technical side only: testing, fixing and retesting, with before and after reports, a remediation log and an accessibility statement. Every report carries an ID and a content fingerprint that shows when testing and fixes happened. These go to your attorney.
If you have already received a letter, request a manual review or email contact@a11ypass.com and we will prioritise it.
Questions
If we fix the site, do we avoid paying?
Not necessarily. Whether and how to settle is for your attorney. Remediation is a standard part of settlements, and starting early gives your attorney more room.
We cannot see the issues in the complaint. Why?
Plaintiffs test with screen readers, and many issues are invisible on screen, such as unnamed buttons. Check with a screen reader or a test report.
Can you talk to the plaintiff for us?
No. We do not provide legal services; we support your attorney on the technical side.
Sources
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 12 (Cornell LII)
- Seyfarth Shaw: Federal Court Website Accessibility Lawsuit Filings Bounce Back in 2025
This article summarises technical requirements and public data. It is not legal advice; for legal obligations and lawsuits, consult a qualified attorney.