The Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA) is the state law requiring Illinois state agencies, public universities, and entities using state funds to make their websites, software, and digital content accessible to people with disabilities. The law applies to information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by covered entities. Illinois publishes its own IITAA Web Accessibility Standards, which align closely with WCAG and Section 508 requirements. Private companies in Illinois are not directly governed by IITAA, but they may be pulled in through state contracts, procurement requirements, or partnerships with covered entities.
The law has been in place since 2007, with standards updated periodically to reflect modern accessibility expectations.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Year enacted | 2007 (Public Act 95-307) |
| Covered entities | State agencies, public universities, and entities using state funds for IT |
| Technical standard | IITAA Web Accessibility Standards (aligned with WCAG and Section 508) |
| Scope | Websites, web apps, software, electronic documents, multimedia |
| Enforcement | Department of Innovation and Technology oversight; procurement review |
| Private sector | Not directly covered, but triggered by state contracts and vendor agreements |
Who Does the IITAA Apply To?
IITAA applies to state agencies, public universities, and any entity that uses state funds to procure or develop information technology. That includes the Illinois Department of Human Services, the University of Illinois system, community colleges receiving state funding, and contractors building digital products for the state.
A private company that builds a website for a state agency falls under IITAA expectations through the contract itself. The state will require accessibility conformance as part of procurement.
What Standard Does the Illinois Web Accessibility Law Require?
The state maintains the IITAA Web Accessibility Standards, which map to WCAG success criteria and Section 508 requirements. In practice, most covered entities target WCAG 2.1 AA conformance because it satisfies both IITAA and federal Section 508 expectations in a single evaluation.
The standards cover websites, web applications, software, PDFs and other electronic documents, video and audio content, and procured IT products. The breadth is wider than many people expect. A purchasing department buying a new HR platform needs to verify accessibility before signing.
How Does IITAA Compare to Federal Laws?
IITAA sits alongside federal accessibility requirements rather than replacing them. Illinois state agencies and universities also need to meet ADA Title II obligations, and any program receiving federal funding triggers Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Vendors selling to the state often need to produce an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) using the VPAT template.
The new ADA Title II web rule, with WCAG 2.1 AA as the required standard, gives Illinois public entities a clear federal benchmark that already maps to IITAA expectations.
What Do Covered Entities Need to Do?
The work falls into a few practical categories.
Evaluate existing digital assets. A manual accessibility evaluation is the only way to determine WCAG conformance. Scans flag approximately 25% of issues, which means they cannot certify conformance on their own.
Remediate identified issues. The evaluation identifies issues with severity ratings. Remediation work follows the report, with fixes prioritized by user impact and legal risk.
Review procurement. Before purchasing software or contracting with a vendor, request an ACR. Review it carefully. A VPAT with vague language or missing evaluation methods is a red flag.
Train staff. Content creators, developers, and procurement officers all need working knowledge of the standards that apply to their role.
Document the work. Keep evaluation reports, remediation records, and accessibility statements current. Documentation is what holds up under review.
What About Vendors Selling to Illinois?
If you sell software, SaaS, or web services to an Illinois state agency or public university, you will almost certainly be asked for an ACR. The WCAG edition of the VPAT is the most common request, though some agencies specify Section 508 or the INT edition when federal funding is involved.
The strongest position for a vendor is an independently issued ACR backed by a recent manual evaluation. Self-completed VPATs without evaluation data behind them often get rejected during procurement review.
How Does Enforcement Work?
IITAA enforcement runs through the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology and through procurement review. There is no IITAA-specific lawsuit pathway for private citizens the way the ADA creates, but accessibility complaints against state entities can be filed under federal law (ADA Title II, Section 504, and Section 508 for federally funded programs).
The practical pressure on covered entities comes from procurement gates, federal compliance obligations, and the reputational risk of inaccessible public services. State universities in particular face active scrutiny from students, faculty, and federal regulators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do private businesses in Illinois need to follow IITAA?
Not directly. IITAA covers state entities and contractors using state funds. Private businesses in Illinois are governed by the ADA at the federal level. That said, any private company selling to or partnering with a covered Illinois entity will face IITAA-aligned requirements through the contract.
What WCAG version does Illinois require?
The IITAA Web Accessibility Standards map to WCAG success criteria, and most covered entities target WCAG 2.1 AA. With the federal ADA Title II rule now specifying WCAG 2.1 AA, that has become the working standard for Illinois public entities and the vendors selling to them.
How do we prove conformance with the Illinois web accessibility law?
Through a manual accessibility evaluation conducted by qualified auditors. The evaluation identifies issues against WCAG 2.1 AA, the team works through remediation, and a follow-up validation confirms the fixes. For vendors, the next step is producing an ACR that documents the result.
Is an ACR the same as IITAA conformance?
No. An ACR is a documentation artifact. It reports how a product measures against accessibility standards at a point in time. Conformance comes from the underlying work: the evaluation, the remediation, the validation. The ACR communicates that work to procurement teams and decision-makers.
For Illinois state agencies, universities, and the vendors who serve them, the work is the same regardless of which acronym is on the request: identify what does not meet WCAG, fix it, document it.
Contact Accessible.org for an accessibility evaluation or VPAT quote.
