55.565.
(a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity on the basis of a specific accessibility barrier on an internet website that is developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website is not accessible.(b) To be entitled to statutory damages on the basis of a specific accessibility barrier that constitutes a violation of subdivision (f) of Section 51, a plaintiff shall prove either of the following:
(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in the plaintiff’s ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users because the internet website was not accessible.
(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing or using all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because the internet website was not accessible.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, judgment shall not be entered in favor of any party solely based on evidence of an automated scan of an internet website.
(2) (A) An entity’s internet website may be found to be accessible notwithstanding that content on the internet website that is described in subparagraph (B) is not accessible if a user of the internet website is not required to utilize the content in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions, or interact with the entity or the entity’s goods, services, or presentations via the internet, and the entity promptly makes the content available, upon request, to the requester in a format that is accessible to the requester.
(B) The content referenced in subparagraph (A) is either of the following:
(i) Data that has been archived as of January 1, 2025, and all of the following criteria are satisfied:
(I) The data are organized and stored in a dedicated area clearly identified as being archived.
(II) The data reproduce paper documents created before January 1, 2025, or reproduce the contents of other physical media created before that date.
(III) The data are retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping.
(IV) The data are not altered or updated after the date of archiving.
(V) The data may include conventional electronic documents posted and made available on the internet website before January 1, 2025, in word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet files.
(ii) Content that is posted by a third party and not developed, procured, used, funded, or otherwise controlled by the entity, including by means of a contractual, licensing, or other arrangement between the third party and the entity.
(3) In a civil action alleging that an internet website is not accessible, the party who asserts that an entity’s internet website meets the requirements to be deemed accessible pursuant to paragraph (2) has the burden of proving both of the following:
(A) Any content that is not accessible is content that is described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2).
(B) Upon request, the entity promptly made the content available to the requester in a format that was accessible to the requester.
(d) (1) In a civil action seeking statutory damages under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3 on the basis of a specific accessibility barrier on an entity’s internet website that is a violation of subdivision (f) of Section 51, the entity shall not be liable for those damages if the entity establishes, as an affirmative defense to the claim, that all of the following apply:
(A) The entity identified the specific accessibility barrier in a digital accessibility report posted on the accessibility page, described in subparagraph (H), of its internet website.
(B) Before the date when the entity identified the specific accessibility barrier pursuant to subparagraph (A), both of the following were true:
(i) A complaint had not been filed against the entity alleging the specific accessibility barrier identified in the digital accessibility report and seeking damages under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or Section 54.3.
(ii) The entity had not been notified that a user of the internet website intended to file a complaint described in clause (i) or otherwise make a claim for damages, including through structured negotiation or other nonjudicial, nongovernmental process, against the entity on the basis of the specific accessibility barrier identified in the digital accessibility report.
(C) Within 90 days of identifying a specific accessibility barrier in a digital accessibility report on the accessibility page, described in subparagraph (H), of its internet website, the entity remediated the specific accessibility barrier and updated its accessibility page to reflect the fact and date of the remediation of that specific accessibility barrier.
(D) The entity reasonably believes that the entity’s internet website is accessible.
(E) The entity uses automated and manual testing mechanisms to regularly monitor the internet website to ensure that the internet website is accessible, and the entity remediates any specific accessibility barrier that it identifies.
(F) (i) The entity has posted on its accessibility page described in subparagraph (H) its policy and general practices for ensuring that the entity’s internet website is accessible, including the frequency of reviewing or monitoring and testing content on the internet website.
(ii) The post described in clause (i) specifies the extent to which the entity relies on manual testing by users with disabilities and the extent to which the entity uses automated testing mechanisms.
(G) The entity ensures that if a user of the internet website is required to utilize either a link to third-party content, or a resource developed or controlled by a third party, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions, or interact with the entity or the entity’s goods, services, or presentations via the internet, that the required third-party content or resource is accessible.
(H) The entity constructed an accessibility page labeled “accessibility” that is displayed and linked to from the primary domain directory and home page of its internet website and used the term “accessibility” for any linked text or text descriptions leading to that page, and all of the following criteria are satisfied:
(i) The accessibility page and all content available on that page conformed to the internet website accessibility standard when created and continues to conform to the standard whenever it is updated.
(ii) The accessibility page contains the following statement:
“On this page, you can download our Digital Accessibility Report. The Digital Accessibility Report has information about specific accessibility barriers that we know about on our website or app, along with the date by which we expect each barrier to be fixed. We will update the Digital Accessibility Report any time that a barrier listed in the report is fixed.
We may not be liable for certain kinds of damages under California law if a specific accessibility barrier is listed on our Digital Accessibility Report, and we fix that specific accessibility barrier within 90 days of that listing, unless you have filed a lawsuit about that specific accessibility barrier or told us that you intended to make a claim for damages about that specific accessibility barrier before we list it in our Digital Accessibility Report. If we do not fix a specific accessibility barrier within 90 days of the barrier being listed in our Digital Accessibility Report, we will not have protection from damages. For more information about the scope of our protection from damages, you can look at Section 55.565 of the California Civil Code. You can download our Digital Accessibility Report here [link to digital accessibility report].
(iii) (I) If the entity restricts access to the digital accessibility report, the entity shall provide access to the report to a requester within 10 days of receiving a request for the report.
(II) If the entity’s digital accessibility report is protected from public view, the entity shall add the following statement immediately following the statement in clause (ii):
“When you download this file, you will not be able to read it right away because you will need a password. You can request a password by emailing us at [insert email address], and we will send you the password within 10 days of receiving your request. Once you have the password, you will be able to look at the information in the Digital Accessibility Report.”
(I) On the accessibility page described in subparagraph (H), the entity provides a process for users of the internet website, including users with disabilities, to contact the entity to do both of the following:
(i) Obtain assistance with the internet website or to otherwise access, view, utilize, or conduct transactions with respect to the entity or the entity’s goods, services, or presentations.
(ii) Report specific accessibility barriers the users encounter on the internet website.
(J) The entity’s process for a user of the internet website to report a specific accessibility barrier the user encounters on the internet website described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (I) shall satisfy all of the following criteria:
(i) The entity reviews each report within five business days in order to determine whether it identifies a specific accessibility barrier.
(ii) The entity responds to the person making the report within 48 hours of receiving the report by acknowledging its receipt and providing a copy of the report.
(iii) No later than 90 days after the date of the submission of a report, the entity remediates each specific accessibility barrier and notifies the reporting party of its determination and remediation, as applicable.
(iv) The entity retains all records related to each report for at least three years after the date on which the report is submitted to the entity.
(2) An entity shall not claim the affirmative defense specified in paragraph (1) for a specific accessibility barrier that previously was identified by the entity in a digital accessibility report or that is so similar to a previously identified specific accessibility barrier that it has the same effect on a user as the previously identified specific accessibility barrier.
(3) After qualifying for the affirmative defense described in paragraph (1) as applicable to a specific accessibility barrier identified and remediated pursuant to this subdivision, the entity shall not make any additional alteration to the identifiable location on its internet website where the specific accessibility barrier was remediated if the alteration would create a new specific accessibility barrier. If the entity does so, it shall identify the new specific accessibility barrier in a new digital accessibility report and meet all of the requirements of paragraph (1) in order to qualify for the affirmative defense described in paragraph (1) as applicable to that newly created specific accessibility barrier.
(4) A defendant who qualifies for the affirmative defense set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.
(5) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.
(e) This section does not do any of the following:
(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.
(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entity’s internet website.
(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone internet website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.
(4) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.
(5) Affect whether a defendant may assert defenses that may otherwise be applicable, including, but not limited to, a defense that the plaintiff does not have standing to bring the claim or that remediation of an accessibility barrier would be an undue burden.
(6) Impose liability on a distributor of video programming for a specific accessibility barrier with respect to the closed captioning or audio description of the video programming if all of the following apply:
(A) The video programming is subject to the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-260) and the implementing Federal Communications Commission regulations.
(B) The video programming, including the closed captioning and audio description of the video programming, complies with the accessibility requirements of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-260) and the implementing Federal Communications Commission regulations.
(C) Individuals have the right to obtain a decision from the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission regarding the accessibility of the video programming, including the closed captioning and audio description of the video programming.
(f) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Accessibility” means the quality of an internet website being accessible and useable, particularly to people with disabilities.
(2) “Accessible” means that an internet website is usable because it provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entity’s goods and services such that individuals with disabilities can do all of the following with substantially equivalent timeliness, privacy, independence, and ease of use as individuals without disabilities:
(A) Access the same information as individuals without disabilities.
(B) Engage in the same interactions as individuals without disabilities.
(C) Conduct the same transactions as individuals without disabilities.
(D) Otherwise participate in or benefit from the same services, programs, and activities as individuals without disabilities.
(3) “Conform” means, with respect to an internet website, to become accessible and, taking into account the variety of possible implementations, to meet the criteria specified by the applicable internet website accessibility standard, except if conforming to the standard is not necessary, or not possible, due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website or the lack of conformity with the internet website accessibility standard has such a minimal impact on a user of the internet website that it would not affect the accessibility of the internet website.
(4) (A) “Digital accessibility report” means a report that contains all of the following information in an accessible, nonproprietary tabular format about a specific accessibility barrier identified in the report:
(i) The identifiable location on the internet website where a user of the internet website would encounter the specific accessibility barrier and the function or component of the internet website at that location.
(ii) A short description of the specific accessibility barrier and how it affects the ability of a user, particularly a user who is a person with a disability, to access or use the internet website and, if applicable, the provisions and success criteria of the internet website accessibility standard to which the location, function, or component of the internet website fails to conform.
(iii) The names of either the entity or resource service provider that the entity believes to be responsible for the specific accessibility barrier or a list of all resource providers who contributed to or developed the inaccessible content identified in the report.
(iv) The date when the digital accessibility report about the specific accessibility barrier is first displayed on the entity’s accessibility page.
(v) The date when the specific accessibility barrier is expected to be remediated that is within 90 days of the violation first being displayed on the entity’s accessibility page.
(vi) Upon remediation of the specific accessibility barrier, the date when the specific accessibility barrier was remediated.
(5) “Entity” means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.
(6) “Internet website” includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.
(7) “Internet website-related accessibility standard” means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.2 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under federal law, the more stringent standard shall apply to this section.
(8) “Resource service provider” has the same meaning as defined in Section 55.566.
(9) “Specific accessibility barrier” means the specific aspect of an internet website’s content design, functionality, or behavior that causes the internet website to be not accessible to users of the website, particularly users who are people with disabilities.
(g) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2025.