Website accessibility demand letter: what it means and what to check

A website accessibility demand letter usually mixes legal demands with technical claims. Handle the legal response with a lawyer, and handle the technical side with a careful issue check.

This is a technical accessibility assessment, not legal advice, and automated testing cannot establish ADA compliance.

What the letter is usually about

Most letters say that a person with a disability could not use parts of the website. They may reference WCAG and list barriers such as missing image descriptions, low-contrast text, form fields without labels, links without names, buttons without names or keyboard navigation problems.

What to check first

1. The exact pages named in the letter. If the letter names a product, booking page or contact form, check those first.
2. Core customer paths. Home, navigation, product or service pages, forms, cart and account pages.
3. Third-party elements. Pop-ups, chat, reviews, cookie banners and embedded forms.
4. Recent changes. New theme, new app, new page builder, new colors or uploaded product images.

Technical claims that are often detectable

• Images with missing alternative text.
• Text and backgrounds with insufficient contrast.
• Form fields that do not have programmatic labels.
• Links or buttons that do not have readable names.
• Pages that do not declare their language.

Claims that need manual review

Some claims cannot be settled by an automated scan. Keyboard traps, confusing focus order, inaccurate alternative text, screen-reader experience and checkout completion need a person to test the flow.

What to do next

Preserve the letter, talk to a lawyer about the deadline, collect technical facts, fix the issues that are real, and document before-and-after results. If your site is on Shopify, also read the Shopify-specific demand letter guide.