Germany · BFSG compliance guide
BFSG compliance for developers (Germany)
Germany transposed the European Accessibility Act through the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz(BFSG — literally "accessibility strengthening act"). It became enforceable on 28 June 2025 and has some of the most muscular penalties in the EU — up to €100,000 per violation, with power for regulators to order a service offline. If your product reaches German consumers, this applies to you even if your company is based elsewhere.
What the BFSG is
The Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz was passed on 16 July 2021 and entered into force on 28 June 2025. It is the German implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/882 (the European Accessibility Act). The law references BITV 2.0 (Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung) and, through it, EN 301 549 — which incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the baseline for web content.
Unlike the public-sector-only BITV 2.0 that preceded it, the BFSG extends the same obligations to private-sector operators that sell to consumers. That is the major shift.
Who it applies to
In-scope services providing to German consumers include:
- E-commerce (§1 BFSG) — online stores, marketplaces, booking services.
- Consumer-facing banking and financial services.
- E-book services and e-readers.
- Electronic communications services (messaging, telephony, emergency communication).
- Transportation ticketing and scheduling services.
- Consumer-facing computer hardware, operating systems, and terminal devices.
Microenterprise exemption (§3 BFSG): companies with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover / balance sheet total below €2 million that provide services are exempt from service obligations. Product manufacturers do not get this exemption.
Non-German companies are in scope if they make services available to consumers in Germany. A U.S. SaaS accepting German signups, or an Israeli e-commerce site shipping to Germany, is subject to the BFSG.
What it requires technically
The BFSG references BITV 2.0, which in turn references EN 301 549 — which incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA for the web. Practically that means:
- Perceivable: text alternatives for non-text content, captions for pre-recorded audio-visual, sufficient colour contrast (4.5:1 for body text).
- Operable: all functionality keyboard-reachable, no time limits on core interactions, no content that flashes more than three times per second.
- Understandable: page language declared (
<html lang="de">), consistent navigation, clear form error messages. - Robust: valid HTML, compatible with assistive technology, ARIA semantics that match the DOM.
EN 301 549 also covers mobile applications and authoring tools, not just websites — important if you ship a native iOS / Android app alongside your web product.
Penalties and enforcement
§37 BFSG (Bußgeldvorschriften) sets out fines for administrative offences. Key figures:
- Up to €100,000 per violation for failing to provide accessible services or misrepresenting conformity.
- Up to €10,000 for lesser failures (e.g., missing accessibility statement, delayed response to consumer complaints).
- The regulator can issue a service-prohibition order — taking your service offline — for persistent non-compliance.
Complaints can be filed with the market surveillance authority in the Bundesland where the service is offered, and by recognised consumer associations (Verbraucherverbände) under §33 BFSG. The association-standing provision means a single non-compliant product can attract a coordinated complaint campaign — which is how overlay-widget users have historically been hit hardest.
Monitoring body and reporting
Market surveillance is coordinated by the Marktüberwachungsbehörden der Länder (state market surveillance authorities). The Bundesfachstelle für Barrierefreiheit, attached to the Federal Ministry of Labour, publishes guidance and consumer tools. Consumers and recognised associations can submit complaints both to the provider directly and — if the provider fails to respond — to the surveillance authority.
You have an obligation under §4 BFSG to publish an Erklärung zur Barrierefreiheit (accessibility statement). That statement must itself be accessible, must be published in German, and must include a contact channel for users to report accessibility barriers.
German accessibility statement — what's required
- Conformance status (fully / partially / not) with BITV 2.0 / EN 301 549.
- List of non-accessible content and the reason (disproportionate burden, exemption, or in-progress remediation with target date).
- Named contact for accessibility feedback — email address plus, ideally, phone.
- Enforcement procedure: which market surveillance authority applies and how users can escalate.
- How conformance was assessed (self-assessment, third-party audit, or both — with date).
- Date the statement was last prepared or reviewed.
- The statement itself must be accessible — not a PDF-only or image-based version.
axle's statement generator is currently Hebrew-first (for Israeli תקנה 35). A German Erklärung template is on the Team plan roadmap. Until then, the generated English structure matches EN 301 549's required fields — you can translate to German and have a native speaker review.
How to comply — a CI-first approach
- Baseline scan. Run axe-core 4.11 against your main entry points (landing, checkout, account). A typical site has 30-80 violations on first scan.
- Fix at the source. Edit templates, not runtime overlays. The BFSG looks at the served HTML, not what JavaScript does after load.
- Put accessibility in CI. Every pull request should fail when severity-serious violations appear. This is what keeps the site compliant between audits.
- Commission one human audit per year. axe-core catches ~57% of WCAG issues; cognitive load, screen-reader flow, and video captioning need human review.
- Publish the Erklärung zur Barrierefreiheit.Include the state market surveillance authority's contact for your Bundesland, and a named accessibility officer for feedback.
- Retain evidence. Save scan reports and PR review trails. When a consumer association complains, your documented good-faith effort is the core of the defence.