# HHS-funded providers: kiosks must not shut out people with disabilities, and web and app deadlines moved to 2027–2028 > HHS’s Section 504 rule requires HHS-funded organizations that use self-service kiosks to keep people with disabilities from being excluded, through accessible kiosks or another path to service. A May 7, 2026 interim final rule moved web and app WCAG 2.1 AA dates to May 11, 2027, or May 10, 2028 for recipients with fewer than 15 employees. - Canonical URL: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/hhs-section-504-kiosk-accessibility-web-mobile-wcag-deadline-2027-2028/ - Publisher: Detection Systems & Engineering (DSE Security) - Author: DSE Security Editorial Team - Published: 2026-10-19T00:28:20+00:00 - Modified: 2026-10-19T01:55:08+00:00 - Last reviewed by DSE: 2026-10-19 - Resource type: Explainer - DSE priority: Advisory - Topics: Access Control, IT - Reading time: 2 minutes ## What you need to know HHS’s Section 504 rule requires HHS-funded organizations that use self-service kiosks to keep people with disabilities from being excluded, through accessible kiosks or another path to service. A May 7, 2026 interim final rule moved web and app WCAG 2.1 AA dates to May 11, 2027, or May 10, 2028 for recipients with fewer than 15 employees. ## Potentially affected Hospitals, clinics, community health centers and other recipients of HHS funding, and the vendors who install their check-in, wayfinding and visitor kiosks, websites and apps. ## DSE recommendation DSE recommends that HHS-funded organizations inventory every kiosk, website and app offered to patients and visitors and give each an accessibility owner and plan before the 2027 or 2028 date. ## Article HHS’s Section 504 rule requires HHS-funded organizations that use self-service kiosks to keep people with disabilities from being excluded, through accessible kiosks or another path to service. A May 7, 2026 interim final rule moved web and app WCAG 2.1 AA dates to May 11, 2027, or May 10, 2028 for recipients with fewer than 15 employees. ## Source facts HHS’s [Section 504 section-by-section fact sheet](https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/section-504-rehabilitation-act-of-1973/ocr-detailed-504-fact-sheet/index.html) says recipients that use kiosks, which it describes as self-service transaction machines made available by recipients, must ensure qualified individuals with disabilities are not excluded from or denied the benefits of any program provided through them. Recipients can make the kiosks accessible or set procedures so people who cannot use them can reach the program another way; for example, a recipient with insufficiently accessible kiosks may need to let people go directly to staff at the main desk to register. In a [May 7, 2026 announcement](https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-extends-mobile-and-web-accessibility-deadline.html), HHS’s Office for Civil Rights said an interim final rule extends by one year the dates for HHS funding recipients to conform web content and mobile apps to WCAG 2.1 AA: May 11, 2027 for recipients with 15 or more employees and May 10, 2028 for those with fewer. It said the change aligns with the Justice Department’s parallel Title II rulemaking and imposes no new obligations, and that recipients must still make the web content and apps they provide readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. The fact sheet lists five exceptions to the technical standards, but says that on a specific request from an individual with a disability, a recipient may still have to provide the content in an accessible format. ## Applicability Use this for organizations that receive HHS funding. State and local government entities also fall under the separate ADA Title II rule. ## DSE recommendation DSE recommends that HHS-funded organizations inventory every kiosk, website and app offered to patients and visitors and give each an accessibility owner and plan before the 2027 or 2028 date. Choose kiosks people with disabilities can use, post and train staff on a non-kiosk path such as front-desk check-in, and test web and app content against WCAG 2.1 AA. ## Verification Visit each kiosk location to confirm the alternative path is posted and staffed, and keep accessibility test results for each website and app with a remediation date. ## Official references [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Extends Web and Mobile Accessibility Compliance Deadline](https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-extends-mobile-and-web-accessibility-deadline.html). [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Section 504 Final Rule: Section by Section Fact Sheet for Recipients](https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/section-504-rehabilitation-act-of-1973/ocr-detailed-504-fact-sheet/index.html). Reviewed October 19, 2026. ## Primary reference - Name: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Extends Web and Mobile Accessibility Compliance Deadline - Authority: www.hhs.gov - URL: https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-extends-mobile-and-web-accessibility-deadline.html - Source publication date: Not stated by the source ## Citation and use Preferred citation: “HHS-funded providers: kiosks must not shut out people with disabilities, and web and app deadlines moved to 2027–2028,” DSE Security, https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/hhs-section-504-kiosk-accessibility-web-mobile-wcag-deadline-2027-2028/ Publishing principles: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/dse-updates-editorial-methodology/ Usage and citation policy: https://update.dsesecurity.com/usage/ Copyright © 2026 Detection Systems & Engineering. All rights reserved.