FAQ zur Barrierefreiheitserklärung

Yes, all publicly accessible websites on which digital services or information are offered must provide an explanation.

This applies, for example, to:

• Websites with a contact form

• Online shops

• Pages with product catalogues or downloads

• Booking or reservation systems

• Career pages with application forms

❌ Purely internal systems such as intranets or closed customer portals with login are not affected.

Yes. B2B sites are also affected if they are publicly accessible (i.e. without a login) and provide information or services. § 12a paragraph 1 BGG (Disability Equality Act) clearly states: 

„

Federal public bodies shall design their services [...] on the internet [...] to be accessible and shall publish a declaration on accessibility.

 

This currently mainly concerns public bodies but:
With the implementation of EU Directive 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act), a significantly broader obligation for private providers will apply from 28 June 2025. § 1 para. 1 Accessibility Act (BFSG) says:

„This Act applies to companies that provide or supply products and services to consumers that fall within the scope of Chapter III of Directive (EU) 2019/882.

 

In addition in § 2 para. 1 BFSG:

„This Act applies to companies [...] insofar as they provide the relevant products or services to the public.

 

This means specifically:

• A B2B website that is publicly accessible (without login) falls under the term „made available to the &public“.

   

• Even if the offer is directed to other companies, the website is publicly accessible and therefore reportable.

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• This applies in particular if contact forms, quotation requests, product information, download areas or other interactive or information-based services are offered on the website.

 

The law does not differentiate according to website type, but prüft:

1. Is the website publicly accessible?

2. Does it provide a service to the general public?

3. Is this service one of the digital services regulated by law?

The EU Directive 2019/882, Annex I + II, is relevant for this. It lists the following digital services, among others, which must be designed to be accessible:

• Online shops

• Banking and payment services

• Transport booking systems

• Information portals with download offers

• Websites with contact or forms

• Digital access systems to goods and services

These requirements were implemented in Germany with the BFSG

What about „unreasonable effort“?

According to § 4 BFSG and Article 5 of the EU Directive, companies can under certain conditions invoke „unreasonable expense“, e.g. in the case of small companies. However, this does not replace the obligation to declare. The declaration must then explain and document precisely this point.

The obligation for technical accessibility of the website itself depends on who operates the website and for whom it is intended. There are currently two sets of rules that affect different operators:

1. public bodies (e.g. cities, schools, chambers)

Since 2019, these must:

• make their websites technically accessible

• and additionally publish an accessibility statement

Legal basis:

• § 12a BGG in conjunction with the BITV 2.0

• Implementation of EU Directive 2016/2102

This obligation already applies and is regularly monitored by the federal states' monitoring centres.

Private companies (e.g. retailers, service providers, banks, platforms)

From 28 June 2025, the following will apply to them:Legal basis:

• Accessibility Act (BFSG)

• Implementation of the EU Directive 2019/882 („European Accessibility Act“)

Which companies are affected

The accessibility obligation applies from 28 June 2025, but there are exceptions. According to § 2 para. 2 BFSG, micro-enterprises are exempt if they have fewer than 10 employees and less than 2 million € annual turnover.

But beware: this exception only applies to the technical implementation – not to the accessibility declaration!

Yes and no:

There is a transitional rule for the technical accessibility of the website itself: If your site was published before 28 June 2025 and is not fundamentally changed, it is deemed to be protected until 2030 (§ 32 para. 2 BFSG).

❗But: There is no transitional period for the Declaration of Accessibility. It is mandatory from 28 June 2025 – also for older websites.

The declaration is an official information on your website, which shows:

• How accessible is the site currently?

• What other problems are there?

• How were barriers tested (e.g. with which procedure)?

• When did the last test take place?

• How can visitors report barriers?

• Which conciliation body is responsible?

📌 It must be linked in a clearly visible way, e.g. in the footer – just like the legal notice or privacy policy.

No, that's not enough

An automatically generated accessibility statement without an underlying analysis is legally inadmissible and can lead to legal consequences.

Both the BITV 2.0 (for public bodies) and the BFSG (for companies from 2025) explicitly require that the declaration states:

• When the page was tested

• How it was checked (manually, automated, according to which standard, with which tools)

• Which pages were analysed

• Which barriers were identified and where

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A generator or AI tool cannot provide this content as it does not perform an actual test – it merely creates a standard text without reference to the real website. The statements of the report are legally binding and can be warned or objected to by authorities if they are not verifiable. This proof is checked by market surveillance authorities.

A meaningful analysis should include:

Selection of typical pages:

• Start page

• CMS text page

• Product page or shop area

• Contact form or reservation

Print after:

• BITV 2.0 (valid in Germany)

• WCAG 2.1 (international standard)

• manually and with tools (e.g. axe, NVDA, keyboard tests)

Result: A test report on which the explanation is based, including the specific test date

An update of the declaration is necessary if there are structural or functional changes to the page that could affect accessibility.

Typical cases for a necessary update:

• Relaunch or CMS change
• New navigation or new page types
• Integration of new tools (e.g. booking system)
• Major design change (e.g. contrast, layout)
• Replacement or expansion of interactive content

However, if you only have content changes in the existing layout, then an update is generally not necessary.

This can lead to the following consequences:

• Warning letters from competitors or associations

   

• Fees from regulatory authorities

   

• Notifications to arbitration boards

• Image damage with customers and partners

Even small companies or sites with few functions (e.g. only contact form or PDF download) must provide an explanation.

❗ Even if you want to refer to „disproportionate effort“, this must be documented and justified in the declaration.

Yes, the analysis for accessibility is a classic consulting service and can be supported by the BAFA programme or other funding, for example. We will be happy to help you apply for these.

According to § 4 BFSG and Article 5 of EU Directive 2019/882, accessibility must be guaranteed unless the implementation is disproportionate

The following principle applies:

Accessibility is the standard. Deviations must be actively justified and documented.

If you integrate a new tool (e.g. a chat plugin, booking system, product viewer, slider tool, content management system, online shop, etc.), then:

1. Are you responsible for ensuring that it meets the accessibility requirements
   ? you must check (or have checked) whether the tool is accessible

    

2. If the tool is not accessible, you must declare this publicly
   → In your accessibility statement under „non-accessible content“

3. You may only use it if you can clearly document one of the following reasons:

   • Technically not otherwise possible at present (e.g. no accessible alternative tool available)

   • Unreasonable effort required for the changeover (e.g. high costs, extreme complexity)

   •  

   • Short-term use until an accessible alternative is available

A simple „The tool just couldn't do it“ is not enough.

You need to document, for example:

• What alternatives have been tested?

• Why is the currently used tool still in use?

• What measures are planned to ensure accessibility in the future?

If there are accessible alternatives, you as the operator of a website are obliged to use them – if this is financially and organisationally viable.

This obligation arises from the principle of proportionate implementation in accessibility:

• Accessibility is fundamentally mandatory.

   

• A deviation is only permissible if the implementation would demonstrably represent disproportionate effort.

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• This effort must be specifically justified and documented in the accessibility statement