Quick Overview: Digital Accessibility

BFGS is the abbreviation for Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz. It is a German law that aims to promote the equal participation of people with disabilities in economic and social life. The full name of this federal law is “Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie (EU) 2019/882 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates über die Barrierefreiheitsanforderungen für Produkte und Dienstleistungen und zur Änderung anderer Gesetze”.

The BFSG comes into force in Germany on 28 June 2025. It implements the European Accessibility Directive 2019/882.

Unfortunately, absolute accessibility will not be achievable in practice. For this reason, the law has been called the ‘Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz’ and not, as originally intended, Barrierefreiheitsgesetz.

Everyone – regardless of their abilities or impairments – should be able to participate in digital life without restriction. This includes, for example, people with disabilities, older people and people with little experience in using digital media.

The BFSG is based on EU Directive 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council, also known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA). This European directive defines common accessibility requirements for products and services in order to facilitate access to them for people with disabilities. To this end, the EU member states must enact accessibility laws in accordance with European standard EN 301 549. The BFSG transposes this EU directive into German law and obliges private economic operators to design certain products and services that are used by consumers to be barrier-free.

All manufacturers, retailers and importers of the digital products regulated by the BFSG as well as providers of the corresponding services are affected, see Section 1 BFSG. It does not matter whether the products sold are accessible themselves or whether the service is delivered online or offline.

The BFSG applies to the following products and services from 28 June 2025:

• Products: Computers including operating systems, routers, tablets, mobile phones, internet-enabled televisions, e-book readers, self-service terminals (e.g. payment terminals, cash and ticket machines),
• Services: Telecommunications services (telephony, messenger services, etc.), passenger transport services (websites, apps or electronic ticketing services), banking services, e-book software, electronic commerce services (e-commerce, online shops, contact forms, appointment booking systems).

Details can be viewed here: § 1 BFSG

No! Only online shops in the B2C sector, i.e. those aimed at end consumers, are affected. Micro-enterprises in the service sector are exempt. This obligation arises from § 1 Abs. 3 Nr. 5 BFSG as the term ‘Dienstleistungen im elektronischen Geschäftsverkehr’ covers the online sale of any products and services.

The BFSG does not apply to:

• Private and purely business or B2B offers
• Small businesses (less than 10 employees or less than EUR 2 million annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2 million) that offer the services regulated in the BFSG
• Companies with an economic risk due to accessibility can apply for an exemption from the requirements

For certain products and services, transitional regulations apply that allow the accessibility requirements to be fulfilled at a later date. These regulations are set out in Section 38 BFSG. For example, there is a transitional period of five years for certain services, while a period of 15 years applies to self-service terminals.

The BFSG sets out general requirements for the accessibility of products and services. However, the specific requirements are regulated in the statutory ordinance – the BFSGV. The technical standards for this are provided by the DIN EN 301 549 standard, which in turn refers to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). In order to provide accessible websites, the WCAG must therefore be fulfilled. Currently, the European Standard (EN) 301 549 still refers to version 2.1, i.e. WCAG 2.1. However, it is also advised that the latest version or version 2.2 should be followed, as the EN is to be adapted in the future (probably at the end of 2025).

WCAG 2.1 consists of 78 success criteria. If your online store fulfils these requirements, it is said to be compliant. However, as a WCAG-compliant online store does not have to fulfil all of the success criteria, these are divided into three different levels of compliance to illustrate the degree of adaptation:

• A (lowest level, highest priority)
• AA (medium level, standard that should be achieved)
• AAA (highest level, lowest priority)

For you and your online store, this means that you must fulfil all A and AA criteria. The WCAG can be compared to an onion: If you fulfil the AA criteria, you automatically also cover the A criteria.

Yes, on the website of Aktion Mensch. German translation of the directive >>

The WCAG and the BITV (Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung) differ in their scope and their legal basis, but have similar objectives. While the WCAG are international guidelines that serve as the basis for accessibility standards worldwide, the BITV is a German ordinance that implements the requirements of the WCAG in German law and is aimed at federal public bodies. Although the BITV 2.0 is based on the European Directive 2016/2102, it also includes the EN 301 549 standard, which in turn refers to the WCAG.

Yes, there are various tools to assess the accessibility of a website (e.g. WAVE, Google Lighthouse etc.). We have written a blog article in which you can read about the various test tools: to the blog article >>

The BFSG is a binding law that companies must comply with. Therefore, violations and non-compliance not only result in fines of up to 100,000 euros, but can even lead to the website or online store being shut down.

Compliance with accessibility requirements is checked on a random basis by the market surveillance authorities of the federal states. However, it can also be initiated by specific complaints from consumers, recognised associations and warnings from competitors under competition law.

The BGG obliges public bodies of the federal government to ensure accessibility, while the BFSG is aimed at private economic actors. They also differ in their respective areas of application. The BGG contains legal requirements for accessibility in the areas of construction, transport, information technology and communication with citizens. The BFSG, on the other hand, requires certain products and services used by consumers to be accessible.