Posted on May 8, 2026
We have received notice that on Monday, May 11, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to publish an Interim Final Rule (IFR) regarding the Section 504 rules under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Section 504 rules of the Rehab Act apply to entities which receive federal financial assistance from HHS, including hospitals, clinics, child welfare organizations, and social service providers. Similar to the IFR recently published by the Department of Justice, the IFR from HHS extends the compliance deadlines for the implementation of technical requirements for accessible web content and mobile applications.
Originally, recipients of HHS funds with 15 or more employees had until May 11, 2026, to make their web content and mobile applications accessible to people with disabilities by complying with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 Level AA. Recipients with fewer than 15 employees had until May 10, 2027, to comply. According to the unpublished IFR, the compliance date for recipients with 15 or more employees will be extended to May 11, 2027. The compliance date for recipients with fewer than 15 employees will be extended to May 10, 2028. This IFR goes into effect on the date of publication, which is likely May 11, 2026. Once published, the public may provide comments regarding the IFR until July 6, 2026.
Although this IFR only extends the dates of compliance, the HHS states that in the future, they will be considering substantive changes to the regulations which implement Section 504 of the Rehab Act. However, we do not yet know what these substantive changes may be. We will share as more information is available.
ACB strongly opposes the delay. Extending these deadlines denies timely access to essential healthcare services and information, forcing people with disabilities to wait even longer for rights that should already be guaranteed. The importance of accessibility in healthcare, including websites, apps, and online forms, cannot be overstated for the blind and low vision community. Under this IFR, the progress made two years ago with the 2024 final rule (which followed approximately 14 years of dedicated consideration and public comment) has been postponed. People with disabilities deserve equal access to every aspect of public life, including the web content and mobile applications of entities which receive funding from HHS.
ACB will be submitting formal comments in opposition to this IFR once it has been published. We encourage members and other advocates to also submit comments during the public comment period and call on the Department of Health and Human Services to reverse this decision.
Although the rule is not yet published, and therefore technically could be withdrawn before publication, an unpublished version is available for download on the Federal Register. The page on the Federal Register is linked here: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2026-09266/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-content-and-mobile-applications-of
The pdf document of the unpublished rule is linked here: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-09266.pdf