Do old PDFs have to be ADA compliant under the Title II rule?

Not always. PDFs posted before your compliance date (April 26, 2027 for entities serving 50,000+; April 26, 2028 for smaller entities) are exempt under 28 CFR § 35.201(b) — but only if they are not currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in your services, programs, or activities. Any old PDF still in active use must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Does putting documents in an archive folder make them exempt?

Only if all four parts of the definition in 28 CFR § 35.104 are met: the content predates your compliance date (or reproduces paper or physical media that does), it is kept exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping, it has not been altered since archiving, and it sits in a dedicated area clearly identified as archived. Moving active forms into a folder labeled “archive” does not qualify.

What happens if we update an exempt document?

It loses the exemption. A preexisting conventional electronic document that is updated becomes new content, and archived content that is altered after archiving fails the archive definition. The revised file must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

If a document is exempt, can we refuse to provide an accessible version?

No. Title II's effective-communication requirement (28 CFR § 35.160) still applies. When someone requests an exempt document in an accessible format, you must provide one in a timeframe that gives them an equal opportunity to use the information.

Does scanning an old paper document and posting it now count as exempt?

Only under the archive exception. A reproduction of a paper document created before your compliance date can qualify as archived web content — but only if it is retained solely for reference, research, or recordkeeping, is unaltered, and lives in a clearly labeled archive area. Posting the scan anywhere else on or after your compliance date makes it new content that must conform.

What counts as a “conventional electronic document”?

Under 28 CFR § 35.104: web content or mobile app content in PDF, word processor, presentation, or spreadsheet file formats. HTML pages are not conventional electronic documents, so the preexisting-document and password-protected exceptions never apply to them.

When do the Title II web accessibility deadlines hit?

Following DOJ's April 2026 extension: April 26, 2027 for public entities with a population of 50,000 or more, and April 26, 2028 for entities under 50,000 and special district governments.

Resource Guide

Do we have to remediate old PDFs? What the ADA Title II rule actually exempts

Short answer: some of them, no — but the exceptions are much narrower than most agencies assume. The Title II web accessibility rule exempts two categories of existing documents: preexisting conventional electronic documents that are not currently used to access your services, and archived web content that passes a strict four-part test. An old PDF that people still use to apply for a permit, pay a bill, or request a service is not exempt, no matter how old it is. And even for exempt documents, you must still provide an accessible version when someone asks.

Here is what the rule text says, where agencies most often get it wrong, and a step-by-step way to sort your own document library.

Last reviewed August 26, 2026. This guide summarizes 28 CFR Part 35, Subpart H. It is a plain-English explainer, not legal advice.

The rule in one paragraph

In April 2024, the Department of Justice published a final rule under Title II of the ADA requiring state and local governments to make their web content and mobile apps — including PDFs and other documents posted online — conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA (28 CFR § 35.200). In April 2026, DOJ extended the compliance deadlines by one year: public entities serving 50,000 or more people must comply by April 26, 2027; entities under 50,000 and special district governments by April 26, 2028. The rule's exceptions live in 28 CFR § 35.201, and the definitions that control them in 28 CFR § 35.104.

Exception 1: Preexisting conventional electronic documents

This is the exception most people mean when they ask about “old PDFs.”

A conventional electronic document is defined in § 35.104 as web or mobile app content in PDF, word processor, presentation, or spreadsheet file formats. Under § 35.201(b), these documents are exempt if they meet both conditions:

The document was available on your website or mobile app before your compliance date (April 26, 2027 or April 26, 2028, depending on your population); and
The document is not currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in your services, programs, or activities.

The second condition is where the exemption collapses for most of the documents agencies care about. DOJ's own fact sheet uses the example of a flyer for a 2018 town parade — exempt — versus a PDF application for a business license: not exempt, because people currently use it, regardless of when it was posted.

In plain English: a PDF's age is not what exempts it. Its current use is what disqualifies it. Permit applications, benefit forms, fee schedules, bus timetables, meeting agendas for upcoming meetings, current policies and procedures — if a member of the public would open it today to do something with your government, it has to be accessible, even if it was posted in 2009.

Two more ways documents fall out of this exception:

Anything posted on or after your compliance date is new content and must conform — including a fresh scan of an old paper document.
Updating a preexisting document makes it new content. Revise the 2019 fee schedule PDF and repost it, and the revised file must conform.

Exception 2: Archived web content

The archive exception is stricter than most agencies realize. Under § 35.104, content qualifies as archived web content only if it meets all four of these criteria:

It was created before your compliance date, or reproduces paper documents or the contents of physical media (tapes, film, discs) created before your compliance date;
It is retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping;
It has not been altered or updated since it was archived; and
It is organized and stored in a dedicated area clearly identified as being archived.

Fail any one prong and the exception does not apply. DOJ's example of content that qualifies: a 1998 water quality report kept in a clearly labeled archive section for researchers.

In plain English: old pages and PDFs left where they've always been are not “archived” in the rule's sense. To use this exception you need an actual, labeled archive section of your site — think “/archive” with a banner saying the content is retained for reference and may not be accessible — containing material nobody needs in order to interact with your government today. The moment you edit an archived document, or the moment it turns out people use it to access a current service, it leaves the exception.

The archive exception is genuinely useful for the right material: decades of old meeting minutes, superseded budgets, historical reports, back issues of newsletters. It is not a place to stash the forms you don't want to remediate.

The other three exceptions, briefly

The rule contains three more exceptions in § 35.201 that touch documents less directly:

Content posted by third parties — a resident's post on your public message board is exempt; the message board platform itself is not, and neither is content a contractor or vendor posts for you under an arrangement with your entity.
Individualized, password-protected documents — a conventional electronic document about a specific person, their property, or their account (a resident's water bill PDF behind a login) is exempt. A general notice posted to everyone's account is not.
Preexisting social media posts — posts made before your compliance date are exempt; everything you post after it must conform.

The exception is not a hall pass: the effective-communication duty survives

This is the part that surprises agencies most. The § 35.201 exceptions only relieve you of proactively remediating those files to WCAG 2.1 AA. They do not repeal Title II's longstanding obligations. Under 28 CFR § 35.160, you must still ensure effective communication with people with disabilities — which means that when someone requests an archived report or a preexisting document in an accessible format, you must provide one, typically within a timeframe that gives them equal opportunity to use the information.

Practically, that means every exempt document is a deferred obligation, not a cancelled one. Agencies that rely heavily on the exceptions need a working request-and-remediate process with realistic turnaround times — and should expect the most-requested documents to end up remediated anyway.

A five-question sort for your document library

For each document posted on your site, ask:

Was it posted before your compliance date?
No → it must conform. Yes → continue.
Do people currently use it to apply for, access, or participate in anything you offer?
Yes → it must conform, whatever its age. No → continue.
Is it a PDF, Word, PowerPoint, or spreadsheet file?
Yes → it qualifies as a preexisting conventional electronic document and is exempt (subject to the effective-communication duty). No → continue.
Can it meet all four archive prongs — pre-compliance-date, reference/research/recordkeeping only, unaltered, and stored in a clearly labeled archive area?
Yes → move it to your archive section and it is exempt (subject to the effective-communication duty). No → it must conform.
Will you ever need to update it?
If yes, plan on remediating it — the first edit strips the exemption.

Most agencies that run this sort find their library splits three ways: a large tranche of true archive material, a smaller set of preexisting documents that can sit under the exception for now, and a core of active, currently-used documents that must be remediated before the deadline. Knowing the size of that third tranche is what turns the deadline from a guess into a plan. A free document scan will give you the count.

Frequently asked questions

Do old PDFs have to be ADA compliant under the Title II rule?: Not always. PDFs posted before your compliance date (April 26, 2027 for entities serving 50,000+; April 26, 2028 for smaller entities) are exempt under 28 CFR § 35.201(b) — but only if they are not currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in your services, programs, or activities. Any old PDF still in active use must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Does putting documents in an archive folder make them exempt?: Only if all four parts of the definition in 28 CFR § 35.104 are met: the content predates your compliance date (or reproduces paper or physical media that does), it is kept exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping, it has not been altered since archiving, and it sits in a dedicated area clearly identified as archived. Moving active forms into a folder labeled “archive” does not qualify.
What happens if we update an exempt document?: It loses the exemption. A preexisting conventional electronic document that is updated becomes new content, and archived content that is altered after archiving fails the archive definition. The revised file must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
If a document is exempt, can we refuse to provide an accessible version?: No. Title II's effective-communication requirement (28 CFR § 35.160) still applies. When someone requests an exempt document in an accessible format, you must provide one in a timeframe that gives them an equal opportunity to use the information.
Does scanning an old paper document and posting it now count as exempt?: Only under the archive exception. A reproduction of a paper document created before your compliance date can qualify as archived web content — but only if it is retained solely for reference, research, or recordkeeping, is unaltered, and lives in a clearly labeled archive area. Posting the scan anywhere else on or after your compliance date makes it new content that must conform.
What counts as a “conventional electronic document”?: Under 28 CFR § 35.104: web content or mobile app content in PDF, word processor, presentation, or spreadsheet file formats. HTML pages are not conventional electronic documents, so the preexisting-document and password-protected exceptions never apply to them.
When do the Title II web accessibility deadlines hit?: Following DOJ's April 2026 extension: April 26, 2027 for public entities with a population of 50,000 or more, and April 26, 2028 for entities under 50,000 and special district governments.

Sorting exempt from must-fix across a library of thousands of documents is exactly what we do. CASO Comply's free scan inventories the PDFs on your site and scores their current accessibility, and our PDF remediation service returns every active document tagged to WCAG 2.1 AA with audit-ready documentation. New York State agencies and municipalities can purchase remediation directly through NYSID's Preferred Source DARS offering with no competitive solicitation.

Scan your documents free Talk to us