Live captions for town halls and public meetings: the April 2026 ADA Title II rule, AI captions vs CART, and how to caption a meeting in the browser.
What the April 2026 ADA rule actually says
The 2024 update to ADA Title II expects state and local government web content, including livestreamed and recorded public meetings, to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which includes captions for live audio. Entities with a population of 50,000 or more have until April 24, 2026; smaller entities and special district governments have until April 24, 2027.
AI captions vs CART: which does your meeting need?
AI captions are generated by speech recognition in real time and are a reasonable default for routine meetings on a budget. CART is a trained human captioner producing a verbatim transcript and is the choice for high-stakes hearings, formal accommodation requests, or anything that needs a verified legal record.
Key details
ADA Title II expects live captions for public meetings: April 24, 2026 for entities with 50,000+ residents, April 24, 2027 for smaller ones.
The standard people point to is WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which includes captions for live audio (success criterion 1.2.4).
AI captions are a fast, low-cost way to add real-time access. CART (a human captioner) is the choice when you need verified accuracy or a legal record.
Show captions on the room screen and offer a phone link or QR code, so attendees who cannot read the main screen still get access.
Common questions
Are live captions required by ADA for public meetings?
In most cases, yes for digital content. ADA Title II requires effective communication, and the 2024 update expects state and local government web content, including livestreamed and recorded meetings, to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which includes captions for live audio. Check with your own counsel for how it applies to your entity.
What is the April 2026 ADA captioning deadline?
Public entities with a population of 50,000 or more must meet the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard for digital content by April 24, 2026. Smaller entities and special district governments have until April 24, 2027.
Do I need CART, or are automatic captions enough?
For routine meetings on a budget, AI captions are a reasonable default. For high-stakes hearings, formal accommodation requests, or anything that needs a verified legal record, book a CART writer for human-verified accuracy.