The accessibility statement

Public-sector institutions must publish an accessibility statement on their website or in their app. The statement provides detailed, comprehensive and clear information about the digital accessibility of the service in question in an accessible format.

What does an accessibility statement contain?

The accessibility statement addresses and answers the following points:

Compliance status

How accessible is this website/app? Is it "fully compliant", "partially compliant" or "not compliant" with the requirements?

• "Fully compliant" means that all accessibility criteria are met without exception.
• "Partially compliant" means that at least half of the accessibility criteria are met.
• "Not compliant" means that more than half of the accessibility criteria are not met.

Non-accessible content (where applicable)

Which parts are not accessible? Why are they not accessible? Are accessible alternatives provided?

A comprehensive manual check, usually carried out by external providers, clarifies in detail whether a website or app is accessible in accordance with the law. All parts that are found not to be accessible must be listed in the accessibility statement and gradually made accessible. You can find tips on commissioning an accessibility check here.

Preparation of the accessibility statement

When was the statement drawn up? On what basis (self-check or third-party check) was it drawn up?

Feedback and contact information

Which public-sector institution can you turn to if you encounter non-accessible content?

This can be a helpdesk, for example, which can be reached via a form or email.

Enforcement procedure

Who can you turn to if no satisfactory result has been achieved after contacting the institution?

The FFG complaints office is the point of contact for users of federal websites and apps. If you encounter non-accessible content on a website or app published by a federal province, please contact the respective regional complaints office.

Where is the accessibility statement published?

Websites include a link to the accessibility statement on their homepage. It can also be accessed via any subpage, for example, through a link in a static header or footer (like imprint or data protection statement).

It is also advantageous for app users if they can easily find the accessibility statement. We therefore recommend providing a link to the accessibility statement in a suitable place in the app or, ideally, making it available within the app itself.

The statement can also be published on the website of the legal entity that developed or commissioned the development of the app, although this is less user-friendly. Alternatively, it can also be made available when downloading the app.

We recommend providing the accessibility statement as an HTML page, not in file formats such as Word or PDF.

Updating the accessibility statement

Operators of public websites/apps must regularly review and update the accessibility statement. The statement must be reviewed at least once a year and updated if necessary. The date of the update is noted in the accessibility statement under "Preparation of the accessibility statement".

Model statement (federal government)

Here you will find a model statement for federal websites and apps. It shows how it is structured and includes all mandatory content. (Please note: the federal provinces have different requirements regarding enforcement procedures)

• Model statement in German
• Model statement in English

The European Commission proposes additional (optional) content for the accessibility statement that website operators can include voluntarily. The European Commission's detailed model accessibility statement, including all optional content, can be found in Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523 (external link) in the "Annex".