What Is AODA Compliance? A Plain-Language Guide for Ontario Businesses

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October 25, 2026

If you run a business or non-profit in Ontario, you have probably heard the term AODA and wondered what it actually expects from you. This guide explains it in plain language. It is general information, not legal advice.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 is an Ontario law aimed at making the province accessible by removing barriers in goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings and information. Its day-to-day requirements live in the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 191/11), which sets rules for information and communications, employment, transportation, the built environment and customer service.

The AODA applies to businesses and non-profits of every size in Ontario, as well as public sector organizations. Which specific rules apply depends on your organization's size and type. Two thresholds matter most for websites and reporting:

• Organizations with 50 or more employees (and designated public sector organizations) are generally required to make covered public websites and web content meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA, subject to the regulation's scope limits and exceptions.
• Organizations with 20 or more employees must file an accessibility compliance report with the Province every three years. The next deadline is December 31, 2026.

Ontario's reporting guidance uses the peak employee count in Ontario during the previous 12 months, counting full-time, part-time and seasonal employees.

For covered organizations, public websites and web content published after January 1, 2012 must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA, with two stated exceptions: live captions and pre-recorded audio description. In practice that means text alternatives for images, sufficient colour contrast, full keyboard access, visible focus indicators, labelled form fields, a logical heading structure and content that assistive technology can interpret.

You must also provide information in accessible formats on request, in a timely way, at no more than the regular cost charged to others, and your feedback processes must be accessible.

The Province can audit and inspect organizations, issue compliance orders and impose administrative penalties. Under the Act, a corporation convicted of an offence can be fined up to $100,000 for each day the offence continues.

An automated scan is a practical first step: it finds the obvious, measurable issues quickly. Our no-cost scan uses Google mobile PageSpeed for the submitted URL and Fortress HTML checks on up to 500 discoverable same-host pages. Automated tools catch only part of WCAG, so findings always need human review, and a full evaluation needs keyboard and screen-reader testing. No scan or fix guarantees legal compliance.

Official sources:

• AODA, 2005: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/05a11
• Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/110191
• How to make websites accessible: https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-make-websites-accessible
• Completing your accessibility compliance report: https://www.ontario.ca/page/completing-your-accessibility-compliance-report

Run a no-cost compliance scan of your website →

Last updated: October 2026