The ADA says any place or service that state and local governments give must be accessible to people with all kinds of disabilities. This includes:

• Police and fire services
• Public parks and all the programs they offer
• State-operated mental health and development disabilities centers
• Employment services
• Public schools, universities, colleges, and trade schools
• Public transportation like buses and trains
• State, county, and city government buildings
• Courthouses
• Elections polling places.

Issues having to do with employment discrimination by state or local governments are covered by a different section of the ADA. See Equip for Equality’s “Discrimination at Work” Fact Sheet for more information.  

State and local governments cannot stop you from joining a service, program, or activity because of a disability. For example, a city cannot stop a person with epilepsy from using parks.

Governments must change rules when needed to give people with disabilities equal access to services, as long as it does not make a huge change the program. For example, a city office with a “no animals” rule must still allow service animals for people with disabilities.

Rules that block equal access must be removed. For example, a city cannot demand only a driver’s license for ID, since some people with disabilities do not drive.

Governments must also provide auxiliary aids. See the next section.  

Examples of auxiliary aids and services

• For people who are deaf or hard of hearing: qualified interpreters, note takers, computer-aided transcription services, phone amplifiers, and video-text displays.
• For people with vision impairments: qualified readers, audio recordings, Braille, and large print materials.
• For everyone: accessible websites and other ways for people with hearing or vision disabilities to communicate with the agency.

No. Government service providers must give you the auxiliary aids you need. For example, they cannot make you bring your own interpreter. If you do bring someone with you, like a friend or family member, nobody can make you use that person to interpret. Government service providers may also have to give other kinds of auxiliary aids for communication such as Braille or large-print documents, note takers, or closed-captioning for videos.

You should ask for auxiliary aids from the government office. For some kinds of aids that require extra time to prepare, such as ASL interpreters, it is helpful to call in advance.

No. They must give you these things and services for free.

Sometimes they don’t have to make changes in buildings; but do they do have to make sure everyone has access. In older buildings, state and local governments may not have to get rid of physical barriers that stop people from getting inside or using services. s easy. However, newer government building must meet all accessibility requirements.

But they have to make sure all of the services and programs are accessible.  For example, think of a library with books on the second floor but no elevator or ramp to get there. The library does not have to put in ramps or an elevator if it has staff who will go upstairs to get books for people in wheelchairs who cannot go upstairs.

Yes. But only if the back door is kept unlocked the entire time that the front door is unlocked, and  if the back door is not too far away.  There must be  an accessible way to go from the back door  to the inside of the building.

People with disabilities have the right to the same programs and services as people without disabilities. The government generally cannot require that people with disabilities use separate services or benefits  unless there is no other good alternative. Even if a separate service is offered, you do not have to use it. You can choose to use the one everyone else uses and the government must make it accessible to you.

If you think you were discriminated against, you can file a lawsuit within two years of the time it happened. You can also file a complaint with the Department of Justice or the federal agency in charge of the kind of place it happened. For example, if the issue is with a county hospital, you can file with the Department of Justice or the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services.

However, even if you file a complaint with a federal agency, you still only have two years from the date of discrimination to file in court. Filing with an agency does not give you more time to go to court.