Web accessibility laws by country: what each one requires
Where a web accessibility law names a technical standard, it is almost always WCAG, usually version 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2 at Level AA. The table below covers 14 jurisdictions, each row checked against its primary source. Building to WCAG 2.2 AA meets every WCAG version these laws name, because each version keeps the older criteria.
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This page is general information, not legal advice. Whether a law applies to your organization depends on facts only you and your lawyer can weigh, such as where you operate, who your customers are, your sector and your size. For a quick first pass, the which accessibility laws apply tool asks those questions and points you to the rows that matter.
The laws at a glance
Each row names the law or rule, who it covers, the technical standard it points to, the dates that matter, and the primary source we checked it against. Dates are written as they appear in the source. "No standard named" means the law sets a duty without naming a technical specification.
| Jurisdiction | Law or rule | Who it covers | Technical standard | Key dates | Primary source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States (federal) | ADA Title II web rule (28 CFR Part 35, subpart H) | State and local governments, including special district governments | WCAG 2.1 AA, for web content and mobile apps | April 26, 2027 (population 50,000 or more); April 26, 2028 (under 50,000 and special districts) | ADA.gov fact sheet on the web rule | |
| United States (federal) | ADA Title III | Businesses open to the public | No web regulation; DOJ calls WCAG "helpful guidance" | DOJ guidance of March 18, 2022 (non-binding) | DOJ web accessibility guidance | |
| United States (federal) | Section 508 (36 CFR 1194) | Federal agencies' information and communication technology | WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA | Published January 18, 2017; required from January 18, 2018 | U.S. Access Board ICT standards | |
| United States (federal) | HHS Section 504 web rule (45 CFR Part 84) | Organizations that receive HHS funding, such as hospitals | WCAG 2.1 AA | May 11, 2027 (15 or more employees); May 10, 2028 (fewer than 15) | Federal Register, 91 FR 25496 | |
| United States (federal) | Air Carrier Access Act rule (14 CFR 382.43) | U.S. and foreign airlines operating an aircraft with more than 60 passenger seats | WCAG 2.0 AA | Pages for core services (booking, check-in, itinerary, flight status and more) by December 12, 2015; all remaining primary-site pages by December 12, 2016 | eCFR, 14 CFR 382.43 | |
| New York State | State Technology Law 103-b (chapter 734 of 2023) | State agency websites | "The most current version" of WCAG | Signed December 22, 2023 (chapter 734); effective 180 days later | New York Senate, S3114A | |
| Canada (federal) | Accessible Canada Act and Digital Technologies Phase 1 regulations | Federally regulated organizations; the digital rules cover the public sector and private organizations with 100 or more employees | CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024 | December 5, 2027 (staff training for all covered organizations; public-sector web pages); December 5, 2028 (private-sector web pages, documents, mobile apps) | Government of Canada, Digital Technologies Phase 1 | |
| Ontario | AODA Integrated Accessibility Standards (O. Reg. 191/11, s.14) | Designated public sector organizations, and businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees | WCAG 2.0 AA, excluding 1.2.4 and 1.2.5 | Required since January 1, 2021 | Ontario.ca, how to make websites accessible | |
| European Union | European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) | Listed consumer products and services, including e-commerce, wherever the provider is based; service microenterprises are exempt | EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (WCAG 2.1 AA) | Applies since June 28, 2025; products already used to provide a service may stay in use until June 28, 2030, but there is no general grace period for existing websites | EUR-Lex, Directive 2019/882 | |
| European Union | Web Accessibility Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2102) | Public sector bodies' websites and mobile apps | EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (WCAG 2.1 AA) | Accessibility statement with a feedback mechanism required (Article 7) | EUR-Lex, Directive 2016/2102 | |
| Germany | BFSG (national EAA law); BITV 2.0 for the public sector | EAA products and services; service microenterprises exempt | EAA requirements | Service contracts made before June 28, 2025 may run to June 27, 2030; fines up to €100,000 | Gesetze im Internet, BFSG | |
| France | Law 2005-102, Article 47 | Public bodies, and companies with average French turnover of €250 million or more | RGAA 4.1.2 | ARCOM enforces; fines up to €50,000 for the accessibility duty | Légifrance, Article 47 | |
| Ireland | S.I. 636/2023 (national EAA law) | EAA products and services | EAA requirements | From June 28, 2025; up to €60,000 and/or 18 months on conviction on indictment | Irish Statute Book, S.I. 636/2023 | |
| Spain | Law 11/2023, Title I (national EAA law) | EAA products and services | EAA requirements | Applies from June 28, 2025 | BOE, Law 11/2023 | |
| United Kingdom | Equality Act 2010, sections 20 and 29 | Service providers, including private businesses (anticipatory reasonable adjustments) | No standard named | In force | legislation.gov.uk, section 29 | |
| United Kingdom | Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/952) | Public sector bodies | WCAG 2.2 AA (named in GOV.UK guidance); accessibility statement required | In force | GOV.UK public sector guidance | |
| Japan | Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, as amended (Act 56 of 2021) | Private businesses (reasonable accommodation is mandatory) | No web standard mandated; JIS X 8341-3:2016 (equivalent to WCAG 2.0) is the current national standard | Mandatory for private businesses from April 1, 2024 | Cabinet Office of Japan | |
| Brazil | Brazilian Inclusion Law (Law 13.146/2015), Article 63 | Websites of companies headquartered or represented in Brazil, and of government | No WCAG version named | Law of 2015 | Planalto, Law 13.146/2015 | |
| New Zealand | Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.2 | Public Service departments and other named government agencies | WCAG 2.2 AA | Version 1.2 in force | digital.govt.nz, Web Accessibility Standard 1.2 | |
| Australia | Disability Discrimination Act 1992, s.24; Digital Inclusion Standard, criterion 4 | Providers of goods and services (DDA); federal agencies (Digital Inclusion Standard) | DDA: no standard named. Federal agencies: the "latest version of WCAG" | In force | digital.gov.au, Digital Inclusion Standard criterion 4 |
The common thread: WCAG
Read down the "Technical standard" column and one name keeps coming back. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the W3C, are what most of these laws point to, either directly (the ADA Title II rule, Section 508, Ontario, UK public sector, New Zealand) or through a standard built on them. The European standard EN 301 549 v3.2.1, used for the EAA and the Web Accessibility Directive, is aligned to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and Canada's federal rules use CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. WCAG 2.2 is also published as ISO/IEC 40500:2025.
Two patterns show up across the table:
- Public sector rules name a version. Governments tell their own agencies exactly what to meet: WCAG 2.0 AA under Section 508, WCAG 2.1 AA under the ADA Title II rule, WCAG 2.2 AA under UK and New Zealand government guidance.
- Private-sector duties often name nothing. The US ADA Title III, the UK Equality Act, Australia's DDA, Japan's amended act and Brazil's Article 63 set a duty not to discriminate without naming a technical standard. In practice, WCAG is what people measure against, which is why the ADA website compliance guide spends time on it.
France is the clearest exception in the table: Article 47 names the national standard RGAA 4.1.2 rather than WCAG itself.
Which WCAG version should you build to?
The laws above name WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 or "the most current version". You do not need to track them separately. According to the W3C's WCAG overview, each version keeps the criteria of the one before, so content that meets WCAG 2.2 also meets 2.1 and 2.0. The one removal, success criterion 4.1.1 Parsing, was dropped from 2.2 as obsolete (W3C, What's New in WCAG 2.2).
So the practical target is WCAG 2.2 Level AA: 55 success criteria at Levels A and AA, counted from the WCAG 2.2 Recommendation. Our which WCAG version page maps each law to its version, what's new in WCAG 2.2 covers the nine criteria 2.2 added, and the WCAG 2.2 criteria guide explains all 86 in plain English. For a working list, start with the WCAG 2.2 checklist.
WCAG 3.0 is a W3C Working Draft. The W3C says it "will not supersede WCAG 2", and no law in this table references it.
Laws that name a standard other than WCAG itself can ask for more than WCAG alone. Canada's rules, for example, apply separate EN 301 549 clauses to web pages, documents and mobile apps, and France's RGAA is its own reference. Use WCAG 2.2 AA as the floor, then check the specific standard your law names.
By region
United States
The US has several overlapping rules: the ADA Title II rule for state and local government, Title III for businesses, Section 508 for federal agencies, and sector rules for HHS-funded organizations and airlines. The US accessibility laws page covers each one. For dates, see the ADA Title II deadline guide. Businesses should read ADA website compliance for businesses, and anyone who has received a legal letter should start with what to check first after an ADA demand letter.
European Union
The European Accessibility Act covers private-sector products and services, and the Web Accessibility Directive covers the public sector. Each member state writes its own law and sets its own penalties. See the EU accessibility law page, the EAA guide, and the EN 301 549 page for the standard. Version 4.1.1 of EN 301 549, aligned to WCAG 2.2, was published by ETSI on September 2, 2026, but it is not yet cited in the EU Official Journal, so v3.2.1 still applies (AccessibleEU, September 7, 2026). Citation is expected late 2026.
United Kingdom
The Equality Act 2010 applies to businesses without naming a standard, while public sector bodies work to WCAG 2.2 AA and must publish an accessibility statement. See the UK accessibility law page.
Canada
Federally regulated organizations fall under the Accessible Canada Act, with digital rules starting December 5, 2027. Ontario has required WCAG 2.0 AA since 2021. See the Canada accessibility law page.
Countries not in this table
We add a jurisdiction only after verifying its primary sources: the statute, regulation or official government guidance itself, not a vendor summary. For countries we have not covered, the best neutral starting point is the W3C's Web Accessibility Laws and Policies list, which covers 45 jurisdictions. The W3C describes it as "not a comprehensive or definitive listing", and it was last updated on January 13, 2025, so check each entry against the government source it links to.
Widgets and scans are not proof
None of these laws names a widget or a scan report as a way to meet it. In April 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring accessiBe to pay $1,000,000 over claims that its product would make websites WCAG-conformant. Automated testing finds real problems, and it is where most teams should start, but many WCAG criteria need human judgment. Our comparisons of accessibility overlays and rule-based scanners explain where each falls short, and our methodology lists exactly what GotAlt checks.
How we verify this page
Every row in the table was checked against the primary source it links to, on the date in its "Last verified" column. Where a detail could not be confirmed from a primary source, such as some national penalty amounts, we leave it out rather than repeat a secondary figure. Our editorial policy sets out how we source, date and correct law pages.
Questions about web accessibility laws
Which countries have web accessibility laws?
Many. The table on this page covers the US (federal and New York State), Canada (federal and Ontario), the EU (the EAA and the Web Accessibility Directive), Germany, France, Ireland, Spain, the UK, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand and Australia. For other countries, the W3C keeps a list of 45 jurisdictions, which it describes as "not a comprehensive or definitive listing".
Which WCAG version do most laws require?
Where a law names a version, it is WCAG 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2, usually at Level AA. Section 508, Ontario and the US airline rule use 2.0; the ADA Title II rule, the HHS Section 504 rule and EN 301 549 v3.2.1 use 2.1; UK public sector guidance and New Zealand use 2.2. Building to WCAG 2.2 AA meets all of these versions, because each version keeps the older criteria.
Do these laws apply to a business based in another country?
Some do. The European Accessibility Act applies to covered products and services placed on the EU market, regardless of where the provider is established, unless the provider is a service microenterprise (fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million in turnover or balance sheet total). For other laws, the answer depends on the law and your facts, so ask a lawyer.
Is there one international web accessibility law?
No. Each country or region writes its own law. What they share is the technical standard: WCAG, published by the W3C and also adopted as ISO/IEC 40500:2025.
Does an accessibility widget or a scan satisfy these laws?
None of these laws names a widget or a scan report as a way to meet it. The FTC's April 2025 order against accessiBe ($1,000,000) concerned exactly that kind of claim. A scan is a starting point for finding problems; meeting WCAG also takes manual testing and fixes in the site's own code.
How current is this page?
Each row shows the date it was last checked against its primary source. The page dates at the top show when the page as a whole was published and last reviewed. Our editorial policy explains how we source and correct law pages.
See how your site measures against WCAG
Whichever law applies to you, the work starts with knowing what is broken. A free scan shows the issues automated checks can find, and the report lists exactly what was checked.
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