§ 35.104 Definitions. Cross Reference
Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 65187 , Aug. 9, 2024.
For purposes of this part, the term— *1991 Standards* means the requirements set forth in the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, originally published on July 26, 1991, and republished as Appendix D to 28 CFR part 36.
*2004 ADAAG* means the requirements set forth in appendices B and D to 36 CFR part 1191 (2009).
*2010 Standards* means the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which consist of the 2004 ADAAG and the requirements contained in § 35.151.
*Act* means the Americans with Disabilities Act (Pub. L. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 42 U.S.C. 12101-12213 and 47 U.S.C. 225 and 611).
*Archived web content* means web content that— ( 1 ) Was created before the date the public entity is required to comply with subpart H of this part, reproduces paper documents created before the date the public entity is required to comply with subpart H, or reproduces the contents of other physical media created before the date the public entity is required to comply with subpart H;
( 2 ) Is retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping;
( 3 ) Is not altered or updated after the date of archiving; and
( 4 ) Is organized and stored in a dedicated area or areas clearly identified as being archived.
*Assistant Attorney General* means the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice.
*Auxiliary aids and services* includes— ( 1 ) Qualified interpreters on-site or through video remote interpreting (VRI) services; notetakers; real-time computer-aided transcription services; written materials; exchange of written notes; telephone handset amplifiers; assistive listening devices; assistive listening systems; telephones compatible with hearing aids; closed caption decoders; open and closed captioning, including real-time captioning; voice, text, and video-based telecommunications products and systems, including text telephones (TTYs), videophones, and captioned telephones, or equally effective telecommunications devices; videotext displays; accessible electronic and information technology; or other effective methods of making aurally delivered information available to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing;
( 2 ) Qualified readers; taped texts; audio recordings; Brailled materials and displays; screen reader software; magnification software; optical readers; secondary auditory programs (SAP); large print materials; accessible electronic and information technology; or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to individuals who are blind or have low vision;
( 3 ) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and
( 4 ) Other similar services and actions.
*Complete complaint* means a written statement that contains the complainant's name and address and describes the public entity's alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the agency of the nature and date of the alleged violation of this part. It shall be signed by the complainant or by someone authorized to do so on his or her behalf. Complaints filed on behalf of classes or third parties shall describe or identify (by name, if possible) the alleged victims of discrimination.
*Conventional electronic documents* means web content or content in mobile apps that is in the following electronic file formats: portable document formats (“PDF”), word processor file formats, presentation file formats, and spreadsheet file formats.
*Current illegal use of drugs* means illegal use of drugs that occurred recently enough to justify a reasonable belief that a person's drug use is current or that continuing use is a real and ongoing problem.
*Designated agency* means the Federal agency designated under subpart G of this part to oversee compliance activities under this part for particular components of State and local governments.
*Direct threat* means a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by a modification of policies, practices or procedures, or by the provision of auxiliary aids or services as provided in § 35.139.
*Disability.* The definition of *disability* can be found at § 35.108.
*Drug* means a controlled substance, as defined in schedules I through V of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).
*Existing facility* means a facility in existence on any given date, without regard to whether the facility may also be considered newly constructed or altered under this part.
*Facility* means all or any portion of buildings, structures, sites, complexes, equipment, rolling stock or other conveyances, roads, walks, passageways, parking lots, or other real or personal property, including the site where the building, property, structure, or equipment is located.
*Historic preservation programs* means programs conducted by a public entity that have preservation of historic properties as a primary purpose.
*Historic Properties* means those properties that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or properties designated as historic under State or local law.
*Housing at a place of education* means housing operated by or on behalf of an elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate school, or other place of education, including dormitories, suites, apartments, or other places of residence.
*Illegal use of drugs* means the use of one or more drugs, the possession or distribution of which is unlawful under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812). The term *illegal use of drugs* does not include the use of a drug taken under supervision by a licensed health care professional, or other uses authorized by the Controlled Substances Act or other provisions of Federal law.
*Individual with a disability* means a person who has a disability. The term *individual with a disability* does not include an individual who is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs, when the public entity acts on the basis of such use.
*Mobile applications (“apps”)* means software applications that are downloaded and designed to run on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.
*Other power-driven mobility device* means any mobility device powered by batteries, fuel, or other engines—whether or not designed primarily for use by individuals with mobility disabilities—that is used by individuals with mobility disabilities for the purpose of locomotion, including golf cars, electronic personal assistance mobility devices (EPAMDs), such as the Segway® PT, or any mobility device designed to operate in areas without defined pedestrian routes, but that is not a wheelchair within the meaning of this section. This definition does not apply to Federal wilderness areas; wheelchairs in such areas are defined in section 508(c)(2) of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12207(c)(2).
*Public entity* means— ( 1 ) Any State or local government;
( 2 ) Any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or States or local government; and
( 3 ) The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and any commuter authority (as defined in section 103(8) of the Rail Passenger Service Act).
*Qualified individual with a disability* means an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity.
*Qualified interpreter* means an interpreter who, via a video remote interpreting (VRI) service or an on-site appearance, is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary. Qualified interpreters include, for example, sign language interpreters, oral transliterators, and cued-language transliterators.
*Qualified reader* means a person who is able to read effectively, accurately, and impartially using any necessary specialized vocabulary.
*Section 504* means section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-112, 87 Stat. 394 (29 U.S.C. 794)), as amended.
*Service animal* means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual's disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.
*Special district government* means a public entity—other than a county, municipality, township, or independent school district—authorized by State law to provide one function or a limited number of designated functions with sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as a separate government and whose population is not calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census or Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.
*State* means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
*Total population* means— ( 1 ) If a public entity has a population calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census, the population estimate for that public entity as calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census; or
( 2 ) If a public entity is an independent school district, or an instrumentality of an independent school district, the population estimate for the independent school district as calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates; or
( 3 ) If a public entity, other than a special district government or an independent school district, does not have a population estimate calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census, but is an instrumentality or a commuter authority of one or more State or local governments that do have such a population estimate, the combined decennial Census population estimates for any State or local governments of which the public entity is an instrumentality or commuter authority; or
( 4 ) For the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, the population estimate for the United States as calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census.
*User agent* means any software that retrieves and presents web content for users.
*Video remote interpreting (VRI) service* means an interpreting service that uses video conference technology over dedicated lines or wireless technology offering high-speed, wide-bandwidth video connection that delivers high-quality video images as provided in § 35.160(d).
*WCAG 2.1* means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) 2.1, W3C Recommendation 05 June 2018, *https://www.w3.org/TR/2018/REC-WCAG21-20180605/* and *https://perma.cc/UB8A-GG2F .* WCAG 2.1 is incorporated by reference elsewhere in this part (see §§ 35.200 and 35.202).
*Web content* means the information and sensory experience to be communicated to the user by means of a user agent, including code or markup that defines the content's structure, presentation, and interactions. Examples of web content include text, images, sounds, videos, controls, animations, and conventional electronic documents.
*Wheelchair* means a manually-operated or power-driven device designed primarily for use by an individual with a mobility disability for the main purpose of indoor or of both indoor and outdoor locomotion. This definition does not apply to Federal wilderness areas; wheelchairs in such areas are defined in section 508(c)(2) of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12207(c)(2).
[Order No. 1512-91, 56 FR 35716, July 26, 1991, as amended by AG Order No. 3180-2010, 75 FR 56177, Sept. 15, 2010; 76 FR 13285, Mar. 11, 2011; AG Order 3702-2016, 81 FR 53223, Aug. 11, 2016; AG Order No. 5919-2024, 89 FR 31336, Apr. 24, 2024]