Your ADA settlement doesn’t end the day you sign it. Your site still has to meet a standard, and you have to prove it.

My ADA lawsuit settlement says I have to make my website accessible — what do I actually have to do, and how do I prove it?

If you’ve settled an ADA website lawsuit, signing isn’t the finish line. It’s usually the start. Most settlements and consent decrees want three things. First, get the site up to a named standard — for most cases that’s WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Then keep it there, because every edit can break something. And be able to prove all of it, usually for a fixed term, and usually re-checked by the same side that sued you.

It’s the last two that trip people up. A one-time fix, signed off with a free automated tool, can pass on the day and be in breach a month later. Two reasons. Those tools don’t test the keyboard failures the standard covers. And a site that keeps getting edited keeps drifting off it. Read the rest with your own agreement in front of you. And read it with your attorney too: we’re not a law firm, and your settlement is what controls what applies to you.

What a settlement actually puts on your list

The wording changes case to case. The shape doesn’t. Three obligations, and most people only plan for the first.

Reach the standard

Remediate the site to the standard the agreement names, commonly WCAG 2.1 AA, by a set date.

Keep it there

Hold conformance as the site changes. New pages, new plugins, and redesigns all reintroduce failures.

Prove it

Produce evidence on a schedule, or on demand. This is the part almost nobody is set up for.

Reach it. Keep it. Prove it.

Why “my developer already fixed it” often isn’t enough

Most fixes get signed off with a free automated scan. Those tools check the page sitting still. They’ll catch missing alt text and weak contrast fine. What they can’t see is anything that only breaks when someone actually uses the page.

Take a keyboard focus trap: you tab into a menu or a popup and can’t get back out, and everything behind it is stuck. That’s a WCAG 2.1.2 failure, Level A, the lowest bar the standard has, and a static scan walks right past it. One US e-commerce site we scanned came back 94/100 with zero axe-core violations and still had one. A clean score and meeting your standard aren’t the same thing. We took that case apart here.

Why a widget usually doesn’t satisfy a settlement

An accessibility widget runs in the visitor’s browser. It never touches your actual code, so the defects are still sitting there underneath. That’s why a widget rarely satisfies a settlement. Regulators noticed too, and the litigation data isn’t kind to the widget pitch either:

$1M

FTC fine against accessiBe, the largest overlay vendor, in 2025, over deceptive claims about what its widget could do.

22.6%

of the sites sued over accessibility in the first half of 2025 already had a widget installed, per UsableNet.

What “prove it” actually looks like

“Prove it” is where most people get stuck. Their old developer can’t hand over anything a court would take seriously. A widget certainly can’t. What holds up is dated documentation: an audit that actually tests the keyboard paths, rescans on a set schedule, and reports that log what was found, what got fixed, and when.

That’s the work Fix47 does. We fix the defects in your code, including the interaction failures a static scan misses. We rescan every month. You get dated evidence reports you can put in front of whoever asks. Our client Pinsilike went from 73 axe-core violations to zero, and we have monitored it every month since. None of this promises nobody will ever sue you — nobody honest promises that. It’s the record and the upkeep your agreement is asking for.

Frequently asked questions

My ADA lawsuit settlement says I have to make my website accessible — what do I actually have to do?

Most settlements point to a named technical standard, usually WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and require you to bring your site up to it, keep it there as the site changes, and often prove it on a schedule. Your own agreement controls the specifics, so read the remediation clause with your attorney. But the shape is almost always the same: reach the standard, maintain it, document it.

Does an ADA settlement require ongoing work, or is it a one-time fix?

Usually ongoing. Consent decrees and settlement agreements commonly run for a fixed term, often a year or more, with monitoring or periodic reporting built in. A website keeps changing, so a fix that passes on signing day can drift out of conformance the next time someone edits a page. That's why these agreements tend to ask for maintenance and proof, not a single pass.

My developer already fixed the site — am I in the clear?

Not necessarily. Most 'we fixed it' checks are run with a free automated tool, and those tools test the page while it's sitting still. They miss failures that only appear during interaction, like a keyboard focus trap, a WCAG 2.1.2 Level A failure, which is exactly the kind of thing a plaintiff's monitor re-tests. A clean automated score is a starting point, not proof you meet the standard your settlement names.

Can I use an accessibility widget to satisfy my settlement?

Generally no. Settlements typically require you to remediate to a standard, and an overlay widget runs in the visitor's browser without changing your site's code. In 2025 the FTC ordered accessiBe, the largest widget vendor, to pay $1 million over deceptive claims, and 22.6% of the sites sued over accessibility in the first half of 2025 already had a widget installed. Check your agreement, but a widget rarely meets what a court named.

What happens if my site falls out of compliance after I settle?

This is where it gets serious, and where you should lean on your attorney. Falling short of a consent decree isn't a fresh, separate lawsuit — it can reopen the original matter or expose you to contempt, without the settlement leverage you had the first time. That's the risk the maintenance and proof requirements are built to prevent. Fix47 is not a law firm and this isn't legal advice.

How do I prove my site meets the standard my settlement names?

With dated documentation. That means an audit that includes keyboard-path testing, not just a static scan; rescans on a schedule to catch regressions; and dated reports that record what was found and what was fixed. If your compliance is ever questioned, you hold a record of findings and fixes tied to dates, which is a very different position than a screenshot of a toolbar.

See where your site stands against the standard your settlement names

Your agreement makes you prove conformance. It doesn’t tell you whether you’re there right now. The free Fix47 scan does. It takes about a minute, and it runs the keyboard-path layer the static tools skip — the same layer a plaintiff’s monitor re-tests. You’ll see your score straight away, no signup. Better you find out first than they do.

Run the free scan