Scope (§ 1(3))
This covers websites and apps where consumers buy or book something: online shops, booking systems, order forms. The law also applies to certain sectors, such as banks or telecommunications providers.
Services / Accessibility
Accessible websites under the BFSG
The BFSG has applied since 28 June 2025: if consumers order or book through your website, it usually has to be accessible. We audit and build to WCAG 2.2 AA.
WCAG 2.2 AA · Audit & implementation · Düsseldorf
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Legal position
What the BFSG requires
The German Accessibility Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG) implements EU Directive 2019/882. It applies to services provided to consumers after 28 June 2025 and, under § 1(3) no. 5, also covers services in electronic commerce: websites and apps through which consumers initiate or conclude contracts.
Requirements (§ 3 BFSG, BFSGV)
The BFSG regulation (BFSGV) requires websites to be designed to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust, in line with the state of the art. As the benchmark, the Bundesfachstelle Barrierefreiheit, the federal accessibility agency, points to EN 301 549, which refers to WCAG 2.1 AA.
Duty to inform (§ 14)
You must describe publicly and accessibly how your website meets the requirements: in your terms and conditions or in another prominent place, naming the responsible market surveillance authority. In practice it is usually called the accessibility statement.
Market surveillance (§ 32 ff.)
Consumers can ask the market surveillance authority to open proceedings, and you are given the chance to respond. The authority responsible is the market surveillance body of the German states (MLBF) in Magdeburg. There is also a free conciliation procedure.
Who it covers
Who is covered and who is not
The law protects consumers. What matters is whether your website is set up for consumers to conclude a contract through it, by placing an order or making a booking.
Usually covered
- Online shops and websites where consumers order or conclude contracts
- Online appointment booking, at a hairdresser (the example in the BMAS guidelines from the German labour ministry) or a doctor’s practice
- Banks, phone and internet providers, rail and bus operators with consumer offerings
- Apps through which consumers order or book
Usually not covered
- Micro-enterprises providing services: fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million in either turnover or balance sheet total
- Purely informational websites without ordering or booking (according to the Bundesfachstelle)
- Purely B2B offerings, because the law protects consumers
- Consumer contracts concluded before 28 June 2025 (§ 38) — not the website itself
Whether your website is covered depends on the individual case. A contact form without booking, for example, is not addressed in any official source. We do not give legal advice — if in doubt, ask your lawyer, and the Bundesfachstelle Barrierefreiheit advises micro-enterprises free of charge. Building accessibly pays off either way: your website then also reads better on a phone in bright sunlight and is easier to use for older visitors.
What you get
What we actually deliver
What we do depends on whether your website already exists or is still to be built.
01
Audit of your existing website
We check your site against WCAG 2.2 AA, with tools and by hand using keyboard and screen reader. You receive a report with prioritised findings: what blocks people, what merely annoys, what is cosmetic. We quote the price after the initial consultation.
02
Fixing what the audit found
We fix what the audit found: weak contrast, missing alt text, unlabelled form fields, menus you cannot reach by keyboard. After every step we retest with keyboard and screen reader.
03
Information under § 14 BFSG
We write the text required by § 14 BFSG: a description of your service, how it meets the requirements and which authority is responsible, plus a way to send feedback. It goes in the footer, in accessible form. The legal sign-off stays with you.
04
New build, accessible from the draft
Build new and there is nothing to retrofit later. Accessibility to WCAG is included in the Business package at no extra charge. Contrast and keyboard operation are in the first draft already.
Checklist
How to spot an accessible website
You can check this on your own website, most of it without any tools.
- Body text has a contrast of at least 4.5:1 against the background
- Everything works by keyboard, and the focus is visible
- Every meaningful image has alternative text
- Form fields are labelled, error messages say what is missing
- Headings follow a logical order (H1, H2, H3)
- Text can be enlarged to 200% without content disappearing
- Videos have captions, audio has a transcript
- Links say where they lead, not just “click here”
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about the BFSG
Yes, if it is covered. The law does not ask when your site was built, but whether you have been providing services to consumers through it since 28 June 2025. There is no transition period until 2030 for websites. Only contracts concluded with consumers before that date are protected. Videos and office files from before are exempt, as are archives that have stayed unchanged since then.
For services, yes. You count as a micro-enterprise with up to nine employees and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total. A business with four employees and €1 million in turnover is therefore exempt; one with ten employees is not, even at the same turnover. The exemption covers services only, not manufacturers of the products named in the law.
The BFSG is the law. It says who has to be accessible; its regulation, the BFSGV, says roughly what that means: perceivable, operable, understandable, robust. The WCAG are the W3C test criteria used to measure it, such as 4.5:1 contrast or keyboard operation. They are not mandatory, but the Bundesfachstelle points to them, version 2.1 AA. We work to 2.2 AA, which covers 2.1.
With a new build in the Business package, nothing extra, because accessibility to WCAG is already in there. On an existing website it depends on how much needs doing. A contrast fix is quick; a booking system that cannot be operated by keyboard is a project of its own. So we quote only after the initial consultation, then as a fixed price within 48 hours.
Sources: BFSG (§§ 1, 2, 3, 14, 15, 32, 34, 38), BFSGV (§§ 3, 12; last amended 2026), FAQs and standards guidance from the Bundesfachstelle Barrierefreiheit, BMAS guidelines on the BFSG (2022), market surveillance body MLBF, WCAG 2.2 (W3C). As of September 2026. Not legal advice.
