Got an ADA demand letter? What to do first

What is an ADA demand letter?

It's a letter, usually from a law firm, saying your website isn't accessible under the ADA and asking you to settle before they file a lawsuit. It often lists problems found on your site, such as images without descriptions or a checkout that doesn't work with a screen reader. It usually asks for a payment and for your site to be fixed.

These claims are common in the US: more than 3,000 website accessibility lawsuits were filed in federal court in 2025, according to the law firm Seyfarth Shaw, and that count leaves out demand letters and state-court cases. Many businesses are targeted more than once. UsableNet, which tracks these cases, found that in 2025, 45% of federal digital accessibility lawsuits targeted companies that had been sued before.

A demand letter is different from a lawsuit. If you've been served with a lawsuit (a summons and complaint from a court), deadlines are already running. In federal court, you generally have 21 days after being served to respond. Call a lawyer the same day.

What should I do first?

Do these five things in the first few days, roughly in this order.

On insurance, ask your broker exactly what's covered, including whether the policy pays for fixing your website or only for the claim itself.

What should I not do?

Don't ignore it, don't pay or sign anything without advice, and don't treat a widget as the fix.

• Don't ignore it. As one law firm puts it: "demand letters must be taken seriously. Failing to appropriately address may result in costly litigation."
• Don't call or email the sender yourself to argue or explain. Leave that to your lawyer.
• Don't pay quickly to make it go away without advice. A law firm warns that "settling with a private litigant does not insulate the business from litigation by the DOJ or other private litigants." Another claimant can send a letter about the same problems.
• Don't take your site offline or delete pages without advice. You need the records.
• Don't count on an accessibility widget. Lawsuit trackers keep counting suits against sites that already have one. In 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission ordered one widget vendor to pay $1 million over claims that its tool could make any website compliant.

How do I check whether the claims are true?

Test the specific problems the letter names, on the pages it names, and write down what you find. Some of the listed problems may be accurate, some may be vague, and some may no longer be true.

A simple first check you can do yourself:

1. Open the pages mentioned in the letter.
2. Run a free scanner like WAVE or axe on them, and save the results with the date.
3. Try the main journey with only the keyboard: Tab to move, Enter to click, Space to tick boxes. Can you get from a product to a completed checkout?
4. Check that images have useful descriptions and form fields have labels.

For a solid answer, have someone who tests with screen readers look at your key journeys. That gives your lawyer facts to work with, and gives your developer a list of what to fix. Your lawyer may want to arrange this testing themselves, so ask first.

Should I fix the website now?

Usually yes, but agree the timing with your lawyer. Fixing real problems helps the people who can't use your site, and it reduces the chance of the next letter. Under the ADA, a private claimant's main remedy is a court order to fix the site, plus attorney's fees. So a site that already works well is your best long-term position.

Keep a dated record of what you fixed. Fix what blocks a purchase or booking first: the checkout, forms, menus and product options.

What to do next

1. Write down the date you received the letter and any deadline it mentions.
2. Send a copy to your insurer or broker, and ask what your policy covers.
3. Contact a lawyer who handles ADA website claims before you reply.
4. Save a copy of your site and the letter.
5. Get a clear picture of where your site stands, and start fixing what blocks people. An accessibility review of your key journeys is one way to get that picture.