The ADA Chapter Files contain the record of the activities of the various ADA chapters throughout the country arranged alphbetically by state. There are also files at the end of the series dealing with ADA's internationally based membership which seems to have been largely located in Paris, as well as general correspondence the national organization had with its various chapters.

The file contains correspondence dealing with local and national political action; internal organizational rivalries; personnel problems, correspondence with the members; invitations to ADA social affairs; printed propaganda for local and national elections and issues; lists of contributions and contributors; and mimeographed financial reports, press releases, minutes of board meetings, and constitutions. The states with the largest files are: New York, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois; with the remaining states having relatively smaller files.

With the exception of New York, within each state the general state files are first, followed alphabetically by the city, county, and district chapter. Within each folder the material is arranged chronologically by months. States where there are numbered assembly or congressional districts the materials are filed chronologically by the number of the district at the end of that state's file.

Some city chapter records may also be filed at the state level, for example records for the Detroit chapters can also be found under the general Michigan materials. The New York State files are not separated by chapter; therefore, the files are arranged chronologically.