Accessibility law changes in 2026: a dated log of updates
The main accessibility law changes in 2026 so far: the US Justice Department moved the ADA Title II web deadlines to April 2027 and April 2028, HHS moved its Section 504 web deadlines to May 2027 and May 2028, and ETSI published EN 301 549 v4.1.1, which is not yet cited in the EU's Official Journal.
Published . Last reviewed .
This log records changes to the laws, regulations, standards and enforcement that affect websites and apps, newest first. Each entry gives the date of the event, one or two sentences on what changed, and the primary source. For the rules themselves, start at web accessibility laws worldwide; for the WCAG version each law requires, see which WCAG version the law requires.
How this log is maintained
We follow our editorial policy: for each entry we read the primary source wherever one is published, such as the Federal Register, the statute, the regulator or the standards body, and the link in each entry points to the best official source we could read. The date on an entry is the date of the event itself, such as publication, signature or a court order, not the day we learned of it. Events we know only from press coverage, such as court actions, are labeled as news reports, and research findings are labeled as research. Forecasts are not entries: where a date is only expected, we say so and do not list it as fact. When we add or re-verify entries, the "Last reviewed" date at the top changes; if we correct an entry, we say what changed.
Dates already set in published rules
These are compliance dates written into rules that have been published. They are not predictions, but they can change again, as the April 2026 extension of the ADA Title II dates showed.
| Date | Rule | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| ADA Title II web rule (WCAG 2.1 AA) | State and local governments with a population of 50,000 or more | |
| HHS Section 504 web rule (WCAG 2.1 AA) | Recipients of HHS funding with 15 or more employees | |
| European Accessibility Act, Article 31(3) | The latest date from which member states must apply the rules on answering emergency communications to the 112 number (Article 4(8)), where they chose to defer them | |
| Accessible Canada Regulations, Digital Technologies Phase 1 | Training for the federal public sector and federally regulated private organizations with 100 or more employees; new and updated web pages, and their accessibility statements, for the public sector | |
| ADA Title II web rule (WCAG 2.1 AA) | State and local governments under 50,000, and special district governments | |
| HHS Section 504 web rule (WCAG 2.1 AA) | Recipients of HHS funding with fewer than 15 employees | |
| Accessible Canada Regulations, Digital Technologies Phase 1 | Public sector documents, mobile apps and procurement; web pages, documents, apps, statements and procurement for federally regulated private organizations with 500 or more employees; web pages for those with 100 to 499 | |
| European Accessibility Act, Article 32 | End of the transitional period for products that service providers already used before June 28, 2025, and the latest end for service contracts agreed before that date; Germany's BFSG uses June 27, 2030 |
One date is not in this table because it is not fixed: the citation of EN 301 549 v4.1.1 in the EU's Official Journal is expected late 2026, but no date has been set, and the sources that predict one disagree.
2026
Entries marked "EUR-Lex listing" record that a member state reported a new or amended EAA measure on the EU's national transposition list. They record the publication, not a summary of what the amendment changes.
: W3C publishes a new WCAG 3.0 Working Draft
The latest WCAG 3.0 Working Draft is a draft, not a standard, and no law references it. W3C says WCAG 3 "will not supersede WCAG 2", and WCAG 2 will not be deprecated until several years after WCAG 3 is finished (W3C introduction to WCAG 3). See our WCAG 3.0 status page.
: AccessibleEU says there is no new deadline from EN 301 549 v4.1.1
The European Commission's AccessibleEU center said "there is no immediate legal requirement to comply with the new version" of EN 301 549 (AccessibleEU news, September 7, 2026). Version 3.2.1, aligned to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, remains the reference until the new version is cited in the Official Journal.
: ETSI publishes EN 301 549 v4.1.1
ETSI published EN 301 549 v4.1.1, which aligns its web, document and software clauses with WCAG 2.2 and drops 4.1.1 Parsing. It gives a presumption of conformity only once it is cited in the Official Journal; our EN 301 549 page explains the differences.
: French court orders Carrefour to make its site and app accessible (news report)
In summary (référé) proceedings, the Caen judicial court ordered Carrefour to make carrefour.fr and its app accessible within six months under a penalty payment, as reported by Handicap.fr on June 15, 2026. The same report says the Lille court had earlier rejected a similar action against Auchan E-Commerce on scope.
: Latvia publishes an amendment to its EAA law (EUR-Lex listing)
A law of May 14, 2026 amending Latvia's Goods and Services Accessibility Law was published and reported on EUR-Lex. See the European Accessibility Act by country for each state's measures.
: Slovakia amends its EAA law (EUR-Lex listing)
Act No. 88/2026 Coll., which also amends Act No. 351/2022 Coll. on the accessibility of products and services, and Government Regulation No. 89/2026 Coll. on technical accessibility requirements for products were published and reported on EUR-Lex.
: HHS extends its Section 504 web accessibility dates
HHS moved the compliance dates of its web and mobile app rule for recipients of its funding, such as hospitals, to May 11, 2027 for those with 15 or more employees and May 10, 2028 for those with fewer (91 FR 25496). The standard stays WCAG 2.1 Level AA under 45 CFR 84.84.
: DOJ extends the ADA Title II web deadlines
An interim final rule moved the compliance date for state and local governments of 50,000 or more people from April 24, 2026 to April 26, 2027, and for smaller governments and special districts from April 26, 2027 to April 26, 2028 (91 FR 20902). The standard is unchanged at WCAG 2.1 Level AA; see our ADA Title II deadline guide and our page for local government websites.
: Sweden amends its accessibility ordinance (EUR-Lex listing)
Sweden published SFS 2026:290, amending Ordinance 2023:676 on the accessibility of certain products and services, and reported it on EUR-Lex.
: Lithuania amends its EAA law (EUR-Lex listing)
Law No. XV-760 amending Lithuania's Law No. XIV-1633 on Accessibility Requirements for Products and Services was published and reported on EUR-Lex.
: Slovenia amends its EAA law (EUR-Lex listing)
Slovenia published an amendment (ZDPSI-A, Official Gazette 14/2026) to its Act on the Accessibility of Products and Services for Persons with Disabilities, and reported it on EUR-Lex.
: WebAIM Million 2026 (research, not law)
The WebAIM Million found detected WCAG 2 failures on 95.9% of the home pages it tested, with low-contrast text on 83.9% and missing alternative text on 53.1%. It is the standard reference for real-world failure rates; our guide to the most common accessibility errors covers each one.
: Germany's BFSG authority adopts its market surveillance strategies
The MLBF's board adopted its market surveillance strategies for products and services, which prioritize checks based on risk assessment, technological trends and consumer applications under the BFSG (MLBF announcement of February 19, 2026). The strategies are published on its site; see our Germany page.
2025
: Canada registers Phase 1 of its digital accessibility regulations
The Regulations Amending the Accessible Canada Regulations (SOR/2025-255) were registered on December 5, 2025 and published in the Canada Gazette on December 17, 2025. They adopt the CAN/ASC EN 301 549 standard and come into force on the second anniversary of registration, with some sections on the third; see the dates table above and Canada's Phase 1 guidance.
: French associations take four grocers to court (news report)
Disability associations brought emergency proceedings against Auchan, Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Picard over their online shopping services, as reported by Clubic on November 12, 2025.
: Germany's joint BFSG authority takes over enforcement
The MLBF, the German states' joint market surveillance authority for the BFSG, has been fully responsible for enforcement since this date, according to the Bavarian trade inspectorate. The MLBF itself says that, as the joint authority of the 16 German states, it began its nationwide work in September 2025. Our Germany page explains what it checks.
: French associations put four retailers on formal notice (news report)
ApiDV and Droit Pluriel gave Auchan, Picard, Carrefour and E.Leclerc formal notice to make their online shopping services accessible, as reported by Handicap.fr on July 13, 2025.
: DOJ raises the ADA Title III civil penalty maximums
For civil penalties assessed after July 3, 2025, the maximum in a Justice Department ADA Title III case is $118,225 for a first violation and $236,451 for a subsequent one (28 CFR 85.5). These apply in cases the Justice Department brings; private plaintiffs get injunctive relief and attorney's fees instead, as our guide to ADA website compliance explains.
: The European Accessibility Act applies
From this date, Article 31(2) of Directive (EU) 2019/882 required member states to apply their national EAA laws to covered products and services, including e-commerce. On the same date Ireland's S.I. No. 636 of 2023 came into operation and Germany's BFSG entered into force, and it is the date from which the Dutch regulator ACM said it would enforce the rules for e-commerce; see the EAA by country.
: Manitoba's standard reaches private businesses
Manitoba's Accessible Information and Communication Standard began applying to private sector organizations and non-profits, with WCAG 2.1 AA for new web content, after the government (May 1, 2023) and the public sector (May 1, 2024) (AccessibilityMB fact sheet).
: FTC final order against accessiBe
The FTC approved a final order requiring the overlay vendor accessiBe to pay $1,000,000 over its claims that the product would make websites meet WCAG (FTC press release). It is why we never say that software alone can make a site meet the law; see overlays and the FTC and what to use instead of an overlay.
Earlier changes that still shape 2026
- : W3C updated WCAG 2.2, first published as a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023. It has 86 success criteria; see what is new in WCAG 2.2.
- : Japan made reasonable accommodation mandatory for private businesses under its amended disability discrimination act (Cabinet Office).
- : New York signed S3114A (chapter 734 of 2023), requiring state agency websites to meet the most current version of WCAG (New York Senate).
- : Ontario's AODA website requirement, WCAG 2.0 AA except 1.2.4 and 1.2.5, applied to designated public sector organizations and organizations with 50 or more employees (Ontario government).
- : The refreshed Section 508 standards for federal agencies, based on WCAG 2.0 A and AA, were published, with compliance required from January 18, 2018 (U.S. Access Board).
What to do with this log
Most entries move a date or a reference standard, not the work itself: most of the rules above point to WCAG Level AA. Our guide to WCAG conformance levels explains what AA means, and our WCAG 2.2 checklist lists the criteria. To find out which rules apply to you, use which accessibility laws apply. To see where your site stands, our free scan runs 16 rule-based WCAG checks on up to three pages; automated checks cover only part of WCAG, as our page on what automated testing can check explains.
What we don't claim
This log is general information, not legal advice. It covers the changes we have verified at a primary source, not every change in every jurisdiction, and the official texts linked in each entry are authoritative. Our methodology page lists what our scans check, and no tool can confirm that a site meets a law.
Accessibility law changes in 2026: common questions
What are the biggest accessibility law changes in 2026?
In the US, the Justice Department moved the ADA Title II web deadlines to April 26, 2027 and April 26, 2028, and HHS moved its Section 504 web dates to May 11, 2027 and May 10, 2028. In the EU, ETSI published EN 301 549 v4.1.1 on September 2, 2026, and a French court ordered Carrefour to make its site accessible.
Did the ADA Title II deadline change?
Yes. An interim final rule published on April 20, 2026 moved it to April 26, 2027 for governments of 50,000 or more people and April 26, 2028 for smaller governments and special districts. The standard is still WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Do I have to meet EN 301 549 v4.1.1 now?
No. It is not yet cited in the EU's Official Journal, so v3.2.1, aligned to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, remains the reference, and AccessibleEU says there is no immediate legal requirement to comply with the new version.
Does any law require WCAG 3.0?
No. WCAG 3.0 is a W3C Working Draft, W3C says it will not supersede WCAG 2, and no law references it.
Has anyone been fined under the European Accessibility Act?
As of mid-2026 we have found no confirmed fine issued under any national EAA law. The most visible enforcement so far has been court action in France, brought by disability associations.
How do you decide what goes in the log?
An entry goes in when a change affects websites or apps and we have read the best source available for it, official wherever one is published. Events we know only from the press, such as court actions, are labeled as news reports, research is labeled as research, and expected dates are never listed as facts.
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