Starting January 1, 2027, commercial establishments and other places of public accommodation in unincorporated Los Angeles County must enable closed captioning on televisions in public spaces during normal business hours. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the new mandate on September 29, 2026, adding Chapter 11.67, Closed Captioning in Places of Public Accommodation, to Title 11 of the Los Angeles County Code. To help local enterprises prepare for this transition, the county's Aging & Disabilities Department, in partnership with the Department of Economic Opportunity, has launched the 'Turn On Captions' public education and outreach campaign.
The compliance mandate applies to a wide range of local businesses that operate public viewing areas. Under the newly approved ordinance, covered entities include hotels and lodging establishments, restaurants, cafeterias, theaters, entertainment venues, sports arenas, stadiums, retail stores, barber and beauty shops, medical facilities, and government offices where members of the public gather or receive goods and services.
To mitigate operational burdens, the ordinance establishes specific limits and exemptions for local businesses. When multiple televisions in a public area display the same channel or program, business operators are only required to activate closed captioning on one out of every five televisions. Furthermore, the requirement does not apply if a public area does not contain a television or if the television is technically incapable of displaying closed captioning. The county's Department of Economic Opportunity is actively engaging with business associations, chambers of commerce, and other business stakeholders to provide multilingual educational materials and support during this transition period leading up to the implementation deadline.
The practical takeaway
Beginning January 1, 2027, businesses and public accommodations within unincorporated Los Angeles County must ensure closed captioning is turned on during regular business hours on capable televisions in public areas. If multiple screens display the same program, closed captioning must be activated on at least one out of every five televisions. Business operators in unincorporated areas should assess their public television screens to verify if they are capable of displaying captions and determine which screens must have captions enabled under the one-in-five rule.