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Website accessibility law in District of Columbia

Last checked

In D.C. a disabled customer can sue directly within 2 years for compensatory damages and attorney's fees, and civil penalties of $10,000–$50,000 can be added. There is no fixed per-violation award. On top of that, the federal ADA applies in District of Columbia as everywhere: a business that loses or settles a website accessibility suit pays the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees.

The law

Minimum per violation
None set
Can a person sue for money?
Yes
Attorney's fees under state law
Yes
Other money remedies
  • damages, § 2-1403.16(a)
  • compensatory damages, § 2-1403.13(a)(1)(D), available to courts via § 2-1403.16(f)
Civil penalty
Up to $10,000 (no prior), up to $25,000 (1 prior in 5 yrs), up to $50,000 (2+ prior in 7 yrs), to the General Fund, D.C. Code § 2-1403.13(a)(1)(E-i); courts may grant § 2-1403.13(a) relief under § 2-1403.16(f)
Websites
We found no court decision applying District of Columbia law to a website.

Verified against the official statute text, Oct 7, 2026. A summary, not legal advice.

The federal baseline

ADA Title III gives a private plaintiff no money damages, but a business that loses or settles pays the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees (42 U.S.C. § 12205). That fee-shifting is what makes a website claim expensive, in District of Columbia and everywhere else.

Lawsuits in District of Columbia

The lawsuit tracker has no indexed court records from District of Columbia yet.

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Questions

Can a business in District of Columbia be sued over an inaccessible website?

Yes. The federal ADA applies in every state, and a plaintiff can sue in federal court for an order to fix the site plus attorney's fees. Under District of Columbia law a person can sue the business directly. We found no court decision applying District of Columbia law to a website.

What is the minimum a District of Columbia court awards for a website accessibility violation?

District of Columbia law sets no fixed minimum per violation. In D.C. a disabled customer can sue directly within 2 years for compensatory damages and attorney's fees, and civil penalties of $10,000–$50,000 can be added. There is no fixed per-violation award.

Do I pay the plaintiff's lawyer if I lose or settle in District of Columbia?

Under the federal ADA, yes: a business that loses or settles usually pays the plaintiff's attorney's fees (42 U.S.C. § 12205). District of Columbia law also provides for attorney's fees.

Which accessibility standard should a District of Columbia business website meet?

The ADA doesn't name a technical standard for businesses. The Justice Department's 2022 guidance points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and its 2024 rule for state and local governments adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA.