Accessibility criteria

The EU Directive on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public-sector bodies (external link) specifies the criteria that must be met for a website or app to be classified as accessible.

These criteria are listed in the standard "Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services" (EN 301 549). Version 3.2.1 (2021-03) of the EN 301 549 standard (PDF) (external link) has been in force since 12/02/2022.

The majority of the clauses in the standard, which begin with the numbers 9 (web), 10 (documents) and 11 (software, e.g. apps), are identical to the criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in version 2.1 (external link) A or AA. Websites and apps are subject to further criteria in addition to WCAG 2.1.

The valid criteria can also be found in Tables A.1 (websites and documents on websites) and A.2 (apps and documents in apps) of Annex A of standard EN 301 549 V3.2.1.

As it may not be clear at first glance which criteria must be met when studying the standard, we have summarised the following information on this website:

• Which criteria are applicable for websites of public-sector bodies?
• Which criteria are applicable for apps of public-sector bodies?
• Which criteria are applicable for digital documents on websites / in apps of public-sector bodies?

The list indicates which criteria are WCAG criteria and which are part of the standard. The latter are listed under "Additional Criteria EN 301 549 V3.2.1". Most non-WCAG criteria only have to be met under certain conditions. The respective requirement can be found in the criteria text under "Condition".