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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires state and local governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations to provide goods, services, and programs to people with disabilities on an equal basis with the rest of the public.

Some people think that only new construction and alterations need to be accessible and that older facilities are “grandfathered,” but that’s not true. Because the ADA is a civil rights law and not a building code, older facilities are often required to be accessible to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate.

The ADA has different requirements for state and local governments and for places of public accommodation (businesses and non-profit organizations that provide goods to or serve the public).

State and local governments (ADA title II entities) must ensure “program accessibility.”

Public accommodations (ADA title III entities) must remove structural and communication barriers where it is “readily achievable” to do so.