ACCESS Act of 2026.

Educational Programs: The Department of Justice will develop a program to educate State and local governments and property owners on strategies to promote access for persons with a disability (Section 2(a)).

Multilingual Technical Assistance: The Department of Justice will make technical assistance publications available in all languages commonly used by owners and operators of United States businesses to the extent practicable (Section 2(b)).

Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Judicial Conference of the United States will develop a model program to promote the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve claims of architectural barriers quickly and efficiently without the need for costly litigation (Section 5).

Expedited Fact-Finding: The proposed model program for dispute resolution should include an expedited method for determining relevant facts related to barriers to access (Section 5).

Notice and Cure Requirements: A person aggrieved by a failure to remove an architectural barrier or a technological barrier to a website or mobile application may not commence a civil action unless they have complied with specific notice and cure period requirements (Section 3(B)(i)).

Specific Notice Mandates: To initiate a claim, a person must provide written notice specific enough to allow the owner or operator to identify the barrier, which must include the address or digital information, whether a request for assistance was made, and whether the barrier was permanent or temporary (Section 3(B)(ii) and Section 3(C)).

Wait Periods for Action: Under the new requirements, an owner or operator has a period of 60 days after receiving notice to provide a description of improvements or to make substantial progress in removing the barrier before a civil action can proceed (Section 3(B)(ii)(aa) and (bb)).