File a Complaint
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File a Complaint

The Americans with Disabilities Act provides an important tool to fight discrimination: filing a complaint with an appropriate federal agency. This page outlines the steps to get you started.

Report an Accessibility Violation

Who You Can File a Complaint Against

If you believe that you or someone else was discriminated against based on a disability, you can file an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complaint against:

A state government or local government, such as a:

  • Public Hospital
  • Public School
  • Other state or local government program

A business/website that serves the public, such as a:

  • Restaurant
  • Doctor's Office
  • Shop
  • Hotel
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Compliance Mediation Complaint Division

Report a accessibility violation

    If you believe you or someone else has experienced a website accessibility violation, please tell us what happened. Before starting, you can also read the instructions for this form on the government website and what to expect after submission. You are not required to provide your name or contact information. If you want to remain anonymous, leave this section blank. If you choose to provide your contact information, we will only use it to respond to your submission.


    1 Contact Information

    Your contact information is optional. If provided, we will only use it to follow up on your submission.










    Are you now or have ever been an active duty service member?
    If you're reporting on behalf of someone else, please select their status.


    2 Primary Concern

    What is your primary reason for contacting the ADA Violation Division? Select the primary reason that best describes your concern. Each reason lists examples of ADA violations that may relate to your incident. In another section of this report, you will be able to describe your concern in your own words.

    Note: Some primary concerns have follow-up questions. If you select one of these, we ask that you also answer the follow-up question presented below the specific primary reason.

    Examples:

    • Fired, not hired, or demoted for reasons unrelated to job performance or qualifications

    • Retaliated against for reporting discrimination

    • Inappropriately asked to provide immigration documentation

    • Denied reemployment or fired based on military service

    • Denied an accommodation for a disability, including not being allowed to have a service animal in the workplace

    Was this a public or private employer? *

    How large is this employer?

    (*) Public employers include organizations funded by the government like the military, post office, fire department, courthouse, DMV, or public school. This could be at the local or state level. Private employers are business or non-profits not funded by the government such as retail stores, banks, or restaurants.

    Examples:

    • Denied housing, a permit, or a loan based on personal characteristics like race, sex, and/or having children under 18 years old

    • Harassment by a landlord or another tenant, including sexual harassment

    • Challenges with terminating a lease due to military status change

    • Denied an accommodation for a disability, including not being allowed to have a service or assistance animal in public housing

    (Including while in prison)

    Examples:

    • Police brutality or use of excessive force, including patterns of police misconduct

    • Searched and arrested under false pretenses, including racial or other discriminatory profiling

    • Denied rights while arrested or incarcerated

    • Denied access to safe living conditions or accommodations for a disability, language barrier, or religious practice while incarcerated

    Did this happen while in custody or incarcerated?

    *

    Examples:

    • Harassment based on race, sex, national origin, disability, or religion

    • Denied admission or segregated in an education program or activity

    • Denied educational accommodations for a disability or language barrier

    Did this happen at a public or a private school, educational program or activity?

    (*) Includes schools, educational programs, or educational activities, like training programs, sports teams, clubs, or other school-sponsored activities.

    Examples:

    • Obstacles to registering to vote, obtaining or submitting a ballot, having your ballot counted, or entering a polling place to vote

    • Denied adequate voting assistance or accommodations for a disability at a polling place

    • Restricted or prevented from participating in an election, including voting, becoming a candidate, or being elected for office

    This could include a store, restaurant, bar, hotel, place of worship, library, medical facility, bank, courthouse, government building, public park or street, as well as online.

    Examples:

    • A physical or online location that does not provide disability accommodations

    • Denied service or entry because of a perceived personal characteristic like race, sex, or religion

    • Denied an accommodation for a disability, including not being allowed to have a service animal in a commercial or public location

    Where did this happen?

    Place of worship: Church, synagogue, temple, religious community center

    Commercial or retail building: Store, restaurant, bar, hotel, theater

    Healthcare facility: Hospital or clinic (including inpatient and outpatient programs), reproductive care clinic, state developmental institution, nursing home

    Financial institution: Bank, credit union, loan services

    Public space: Park, sidewalk, street, other public buildings (courthouse, DMV, city library)


    The examples above reflect some but not all of the civil rights violations that we address. Select this option if you don't see an example that applies to your situation. You will be able to tell us more later.


    3 Location Details

    Please tell us the city, state, and name of the location where this incident took place. This ensures your report is reviewed by the right people within the Civil Rights Division.


    Examples: name of facility, business or location, school, town or city, prison, polling place, website, etc.






    4 Date

    When did this happen? It is important for us to know how recently this incident happened so we can take the appropriate action. If this happened over a period of time or is still happening, please provide the most recent date.



    5 Personal Characteristics

    Do you believe any of these personal characteristics influenced why you were treated this way? There are federal and state laws that protect people from discrimination based on their personal characteristics. Here is a list of the most common characteristics that are legally protected. Select any that apply to your incident.

    Personal characteristics — select all that apply



    6 Personal Description


    Please share details like:

    • Time

    • Names of people involved including witnesses if there are any

    • Any supporting materials (please list and describe them)


    PDF, DOC, JPG, PNG accepted. Maximum file size: 5MB.

    You may attach further details as extra pages, if necessary.

    To mail a printed copy of the form:
    Compliance Mediation Services
    ADA Violation Division
    The Howard Hughes Center, 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89169 United States
    To reach us by phone:
    (725) 250-8457
    Telephone Device for the Deaf (TTY) (702) 779-4355

    Instructions

    The purpose of this form is to assist you in filing a report with the Civil Rights Division. You are not required to use this form; a letter with the same information is sufficient, however, please ensure you are including the same information.

    Step 3: We will determine next steps and get back to you.

    Possible outcomes include: following up for more information, starting a mediation or investigation, directing you to another organization for further help, or informing you that we cannot help.

    Step 2: We will review your report.

    Teams that specialize in handling your type of issue will review it. If it needs to be forwarded to another team or agency, we will try to connect your complaint to the right group.

    Step 1: You can complete and submit this form.

    By completing this form, you can provide the details we need to understand what happened. You can mail a printed copy of this form via postal service to the division or you can email an electronic copy. Once we receive your report, it is immediately sent to our staff for review.

    Privacy Policy

    The purpose of this form is to allow the public to submit civil rights complaints to the Department of Justice, thereby allowing us to enforce over thirty civil rights statutes (https://civilrights.justice.gov/privacy-policy#our-statutes) within our authority. These statutes authorize us to collect this information. You should know that any information you provide through this form is voluntary, yet failure to provide some of the information might limit the Department’s ability to pursue your claim. We may use this information for certain routine uses, including sharing this information under certain circumstances with:

    • contractors who work with us, if they need it to perform a contract;
    • a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal, as well as opposing counsel during settlement negotiations and/or litigation;
    • Members of Congress;
    • Federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies.

    You can find the complete Privacy Policy at https://civilrights.justice.gov/privacy-policy.

    According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number.

    Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10 minutes per response per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C.

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