The European Accessibility Act, explained for online shops
Since 28 June 2025, most online shops selling to consumers in the EU must be accessible. Who is concerned, what it requires, and what to do first.
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Accessibility statements for online shops, country by country
What an online shop's accessibility statement must say in the EU (Germany, Spain, Italy), the UK, the US, Ontario and Australia, and the rule they share.
An accessibility statement tells visitors how accessible your shop is, what is not, and how to reach you when something blocks them. What it must contain depends on where you sell. Here is the model each country uses, for an online shop, and the one rule they share: the status you claim must come from an audit, not from a tool.
What every statement contains
- The standard it measures against, and the status: fully, partially or not compliant.
- Who audited the site, when, and the share of criteria met. Automated checks alone cannot set a status: without an audit, the honest answer is "not compliant".
- What is not accessible yet, and what is exempt.
- A way to reach you, and where to complain if your answer does not help.
The EU: information on a service
Under the European Accessibility Act, an online shop is a service. Its information must give a general description of the service, explain how it is used, say how it meets the accessibility requirements (in practice the standard EN 301 549, which uses WCAG 2.1 AA), and name the national authority in charge. Microenterprises — fewer than 10 people and no more than €2 million in turnover — are exempt for services. Each country writes it into its own law:
- Germany: the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG, § 14 and Annex 3); the authority is the MLBF, the Länder's market surveillance office in Magdeburg.
- Spain: Ley 11/2023; the market surveillance authority of the autonomous community, or the state's coordination unit created in 2026.
- Italy: decreto legislativo 82/2022; the authority is AgID, the Agency for Digital Italy.
France keeps its own model: the official RGAA statement, in French, measured against the RGAA 4.1.
Write the statement in the language of the country you sell to: a German customer reads a "Barrierefreiheitserklärung", not an English page.
The United Kingdom
The Equality Act 2010 asks businesses to make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers, without a technical standard. The government's sample statement, measured against WCAG 2.2 AA, is a common model for UK shops; complaints go to the Equality Advisory and Support Service.
The United States
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require a statement, and courts look at whether the shop can be used. A statement in the W3C's words — fully, partially or not conformant with WCAG 2.1 AA — shows customers and regulators where you stand, and complaints can go to the Department of Justice.
Ontario and Australia
In Ontario, the AODA's Integrated Accessibility Standards ask organisations with 50 or more employees to meet WCAG 2.0 AA on their websites. In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 sets no technical standard; WCAG is the yardstick, and complaints go to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Write it, then have it approved
Relyo writes the statement as a page of your WordPress site, after the model you choose among nine — France, the EU, Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK, the US, Ontario and Australia — in its language, and fills the non-compliances from its own checks. It never claims more than your audit backs. A statement is a legal text: have it approved by your lawyer before you publish it.