Germany's Accessibility Act: What's Applied to Websites Since June 2025

The Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) transposes the EU's Accessibility Act into German law. Since 28 June 2025, certain digital services have to be usable by people with disabilities — technically aligned with the international WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard.

It mainly affects online shops and other consumer-facing services: e-commerce, banking, telecommunications, passenger transport. Pure B2B offerings with no consumer contact generally fall outside its scope.

There's an important exemption: micro-enterprises — fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total — are exempt from the service obligations. But if you sell products (e.g. hardware), that exemption doesn't apply.

Even businesses formally exempt should still consider it: an accessible website genuinely reaches more potential customers, and in sectors with an older or health-limited customer base — doctors' offices, or trades businesses with an older regular clientele — that's not a side effect, it's a business advantage.

In practice, implementation means: sufficient color contrast, full keyboard operability without a mouse, alt text for images, a logical heading structure — and a published accessibility statement that honestly describes the current state of implementation, including known gaps. That statement is worthwhile even before you're at 100% — it shows you're taking the topic seriously.