ADA Accessibility Due Diligence When Buying an Existing Shopify Store
Acquiring a store means acquiring its barriers, its complaint history, and sometimes its unfinished settlements. The accessibility checks to run before you sign.
Buying an existing Shopify store is buying its traffic, its catalog, and its legal history. A store with years of inaccessible pages may also carry demand letters the buyer never saw, a settlement with unfinished commitments, or a trail of complaints sitting in an inbox nobody checks anymore. None of that shows up in a revenue multiple, and all of it transfers.
Accessibility due diligence is cheap compared with the surprise. A focused review of the site, its history, and its paperwork belongs next to the financial checks, and these are the questions to ask.
Scan the store you are actually buying
Run automated scans and a manual keyboard and screen reader pass over the core buying path before signing, not after migration. Note the age of the barriers you find. Long standing problems on high traffic pages suggest long exposure, which raises the value of the next step: asking directly what claims, letters, or complaints the store has received, and getting the answer in the purchase documents.
Ask for the claims history in writing
Request disclosure of any demand letters, lawsuits, settlements, or agency complaints about website accessibility, plus any remediation plans already agreed. A settlement can include commitments with deadlines and reporting duties that bind whoever operates the site next. Sellers who handled a claim well will have a file: the letter, the response, the fix log. That file is an asset. Silence or vagueness is information too.
Price the remediation into the deal
Cost the fixes like any other deferred maintenance. Template level barriers usually need developer work, content problems like missing alt text and captions need hours, and a proper audit after closing should be budgeted regardless. Buyers routinely negotiate for roof repairs on a building. Treat a store that needs a remediation sprint the same way, with the estimate in the model before the price is final.
Start your own record on day one
After closing, keep the diligence file, run a baseline audit, and log remediation with dates. If a claim arrives about the period before you owned the store, your documents show what you inherited, what you asked, and what you fixed and when. That timeline does not erase inherited problems, but it is the strongest evidence that the new owner treated them seriously from the start.
Related reading
If this topic is useful, these earlier guides go deeper on connected questions: Preparing an Accessibility Evidence Pack for Insurance and Counsel, What to Document After an Accessibility Remediation Sprint So It Holds Up Later, and Are Your Accessibility Scan Logs Discoverable? A Privilege Primer.
Frequently asked questions
Does buying a store transfer its accessibility legal risk?
Practically, yes. Claims target the operating business and the live site, and past settlements can carry ongoing commitments. Even when liability for older conduct is arguable, the new owner faces the cost and distraction, which is why diligence matters.
What documents should a buyer request about accessibility?
Any demand letters, lawsuits, settlement agreements, remediation plans, and prior audit reports, plus disclosure of complaints received through the site or by email. Ask in writing and keep the answers with the purchase records.
How much does it cost to fix an inaccessible store?
It depends on whether barriers are template level, which are fixed once, or spread across content and apps. A pre purchase scan gives a realistic range to budget. Most small stores need a focused developer sprint and content cleanup, not a rebuild.
Should a buyer delay closing over accessibility findings?
Not usually. Findings are common and fixable. They should affect price, budget, and the remediation plan after closing. Undisclosed claims or an active settlement with deadlines are more serious and deserve legal advice before signing.