AODA Compliance Guide

Is your website
AODA compliant?

The AODA requires Ontario businesses and organizations to make their websites accessible. WCAG 2.0 AA is the standard — and all compliance deadlines have already passed.

Enter a full URL starting with https://, for example: https://yourwebsite.com

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Overview

What is the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act?

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was passed in 2005 with the goal of making Ontario fully accessible to people with disabilities by 2025. For websites and digital content, the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) sets the specific requirements. Organizations with 50 or more Ontario employees must meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Smaller organizations (1–49 employees) must meet WCAG 2.0 Level A. All deadlines have passed — if your organization is in scope and hasn't yet complied, you are currently out of compliance and subject to penalties up to $100,000/day.

Technical standard

WCAG 2.2 Level AA

Scope

Any organization covered by the AODA

Enforcement

Complaints, audits, civil litigation

ADAGuard covers

WCAG 2.2 AA — 22 check categories

Scope

Who does the AODA apply to?

If your organization matches any category below, you are legally required to comply.

1

Ontario public sector organizations

Full WCAG 2.0 AA — all deadlines passed as of 2016

2

Private/non-profit with 50+ Ontario employees

Full WCAG 2.0 AA — deadline was January 1, 2021

3

Private/non-profit with 1–49 Ontario employees

WCAG 2.0 Level A only — deadline was January 1, 2021

4

US/international companies with Ontario employees

Employee count based on Ontario headcount — threshold may still be met

5

US/international companies providing goods in Ontario

Subject to AODA if they meet the employee threshold in Ontario

6

Federal government (banks, telecoms, airlines)

Covered by the separate Accessible Canada Act — not AODA

Technical checklist

What does AODA compliance require?

These are the specific technical obligations your website must meet. ADAGuard automatically checks most of these on every scan.

Check your site now

WCAG 2.0 Level AA for organizations with 50+ Ontario employees (38 success criteria)

WCAG 2.0 Level A only for organizations with 1–49 Ontario employees

Alternative text for all meaningful images (1.1.1)

Color contrast 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text (1.4.3)

Full keyboard accessibility — all functionality usable without a mouse (2.1.1)

Captions for prerecorded video (live captions exempt under AODA)

Pre-recorded audio descriptions exempt under AODA (unlike full WCAG 2.0 AA)

Multi-Year Accessibility Plan published on website (50+ employees)

Multi-Year Accessibility Plan reviewed and updated every five years

Accessibility training provided to applicable staff members

Accessibility compliance reports filed as required by the Accessibility Directorate

Risk

The cost of
non-compliance

AODA is enforced by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario through compliance audits and administrative penalties. Unlike US ADA lawsuits, AODA enforcement is primarily administrative rather than through private litigation.

Corporations: up to $100,000 per day for non-compliance

Individuals: up to $50,000 per day for non-compliance

Organizations may be audited and required to file accessibility compliance reports

Directors can issue compliance orders requiring specific remediation actions

Individuals can also file human rights complaints under the Ontario Human Rights Code

Your path to compliance

How to become AODA compliant

Run your free scan

Paste your URL and run a free WCAG 2.2 AA scan. ADAGuard checks 22 categories of AODA requirements in under 60 seconds.

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Review violations

Get a prioritized list of every violation with the failing element, the WCAG criterion, and before/after code examples to fix it.

Fix & document

Fix violations with your dev team, re-scan to verify, and download a dated audit report as evidence of your compliance effort.

Why ADAGuard

Everything you need for AODA compliance

One platform to scan, fix, document, and monitor your accessibility compliance.

WCAG 2.2 AA scanning

22 check categories. Real browser rendering. Not a simulated or partial test.

Element-level guidance

Every issue includes the failing HTML, the WCAG criterion, and a before/after code fix.

Compliance reports

Dated PDF audit reports to show regulators, clients, or your legal team.

Continuous monitoring

Scheduled rescans alert you when new issues appear after deploys or content updates.

Start your free AODA scan

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FAQ

Common questions about AODA compliance

Don't wait for a lawsuit.
Find out where you stand today.

Scan your site free. Get a full AODA violation report in 60 seconds — with WCAG criterion, failing element, and how to fix it.

Enter a full URL starting with https://, for example: https://yourwebsite.com

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