Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about ADA compliance scanning and our services
Free Scan
What does the free scan check?
Our free scan analyzes your homepage for the most common WCAG 2.1 Level AA violations, including missing alt text, color contrast issues, keyboard navigation problems, and form accessibility issues. It uses axe-core, the industry-standard open-source accessibility testing engine.
How accurate is the scan?
Our scanner runs the axe-core engine in a real browser, plus deterministic keyboard and accessibility-tree checks, with AI-assisted review available. It only counts a criterion as tested when a rule for it actually ran: 28 of the 50 WCAG 2.1 AA criteria today, 33 when AI-assisted evaluation is enabled. The remaining criteria are reported as Not Evaluated and require manual review, and every report discloses the actual criteria tested for that scan.
Do I need to register or provide payment info?
No registration or payment information required for the free 15-page scan. Simply enter your URL and results typically arrive in 2-5 minutes. Your website URL is stored temporarily for scan processing but not shared with third parties.
What happens after the scan?
You'll receive a detailed report showing the accessibility issues found, their severity levels, and step-by-step guidance on how to fix them. You can also download a PDF summary to share with your team or bring to your council for funding.
How long do results take?
Most free scans complete in 2-5 minutes. Larger scans on paid plans may take longer depending on page count. You'll see a real-time progress indicator during the scan.
ADA Compliance
What are the new DOJ accessibility deadlines?
The Department of Justice has established deadlines for state and local governments to comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. Larger entities (serving 50,000+ people) must comply by April 26, 2027, while smaller entities (serving fewer than 50,000) have until April 26, 2028.
What is WCAG 2.1 Level AA?
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines standard that state and local governments must meet under Title II of the ADA. It includes requirements for perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust web content.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
Title II has no civil-penalty schedule for state and local governments. DOJ enforces it through investigations, settlement agreements, and court-ordered remediation, and private lawsuits add legal costs. (The $118,225 / $236,451 civil penalties in 28 CFR 36.504 apply to businesses under Title III.)
Does Title II of the ADA apply to my organization?
Title II applies to all services, programs, and activities of state and local governments, including their digital presence. This includes websites, mobile apps, and digital documents.
Paid Plans
Can I scan multiple pages?
The free scan covers up to 15 key pages. To scan and track your whole site, the Starter plan ($199/month) covers up to 500 pages and the Professional plan ($699/month) covers up to 2,000 pages. If those plans do not fit your pages, domains, or budget, contact us for a custom quote or special pricing.
What's included in the full site scan?
Paid plans scan every page within your plan's page allowance, with plain-language remediation guidance and copy-paste fixes for each issue, severity rankings, a downloadable report, a developer and vendor handoff export, and automated rescans so you can track progress over time.
How does remediation work?
AuditAble shows you exactly what to fix and gives you the remediation code and plain-language steps for each issue, grouped by who on your team should handle it. Your team or your web vendor applies the fixes and deploys them. We never touch or host your website ourselves, so you stay in control, and you can rescan any time to confirm an issue is resolved.
How often should I scan my website?
We recommend monthly scans for most organizations, with weekly scans for high-traffic or frequently updated sites. Our paid plans include automated scheduling and alerts for new issues.
Technical
Which scanning engine do you use?
We use axe-core, the industry-standard open-source accessibility testing engine also used by Google Lighthouse and Microsoft. It is the most widely adopted automated accessibility testing tool available.
Can I export my results?
Yes. Paid plans can export findings as a CSV spreadsheet and download a developer and vendor handoff PDF that lists every issue, where it appears, and how to fix it, so you can hand it straight to your web team or drop it into your own ticketing system.
How thorough is the automated scan?
Automated scanning runs in a modern Chromium browser using axe-core plus keyboard and accessibility-tree interaction checks, with AI-assisted review available. It evaluates 28 of the 50 WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria today (33 when AI-assisted evaluation is enabled), and the report shows the actual count with everything else reported as Not Evaluated. Issues that still need human judgment, along with deeper cross-device and assistive-technology testing, are covered by guided manual testing and partner workflows as those roll out. A clean automated scan is a strong start, not a legal compliance certification.
Do you store my website data?
We only store necessary scan metadata (URL, timestamp, results) to provide your reports. We never store your actual website content or sensitive data. All data is encrypted and can be deleted upon request.
Scanning Limitations
What accessibility issues cannot be detected by automated scanning?
The scan only counts a criterion as tested when an automated rule for it actually ran: 28 of the 50 WCAG 2.1 AA criteria today, 33 when AI-assisted evaluation is enabled, and every report states the exact number for that scan. The remaining criteria are reported as Not Evaluated and require human judgment, including: images of text, form error identification and suggestions, legal/financial/data error prevention, and deeper assistive-technology confirmation for complex widgets.
What types of content are excluded from automated scanning?
Our scanning tool cannot analyze: (a) password-protected or authentication-required pages; (b) content within iframes from third-party domains; (c) downloadable documents (PDFs, Word docs, Excel files, PowerPoint presentations); (d) audio and video content accessibility; (e) Canvas and Flash elements; (f) mobile applications; (g) email templates; and (h) dynamically generated content that requires user interaction to appear.
Are there technical limitations to what can be scanned?
Yes, our scanner has several technical limitations: (a) JavaScript-disabled environments may not be fully analyzed; (b) single-page applications (SPAs) may require manual navigation testing; (c) complex interactive widgets may need specialized testing; (d) CSS-generated content may not be fully evaluated; (e) shadow DOM elements may not be accessible; (f) content behind CAPTCHAs cannot be tested; and (g) geo-restricted or region-specific content may not be available for scanning.
What third-party integrations are not covered?
Our scanning cannot analyze accessibility of: (a) embedded third-party widgets (payment processors, chat systems, calendars); (b) social media embeds that load external content; (c) advertising content from external networks; (d) content management system (CMS) admin areas; (e) third-party authentication systems; and (f) external plugins or extensions that modify page content after loading.
Do you scan for mobile accessibility?
Automated scans provide basic mobile viewport checks. Comprehensive mobile accessibility testing (touch targets, gesture navigation, screen reader compatibility on mobile devices, and mobile-specific interaction patterns) requires manual testing, which we are adding on higher tiers through our manual-testing partner as that rolls out.
What issues require manual accessibility review?
The following issues require expert human review and cannot be automatically detected: (a) quality and accuracy of alt text descriptions; (b) logical content structure and reading order; (c) appropriate use of ARIA labels and roles; (d) keyboard navigation efficiency and user experience; (e) color contrast in complex images and graphics; (f) meaningful page titles and headings; (g) form error handling and user guidance; and (h) cognitive accessibility and plain language usage.