Which accessibility laws apply to my website?
It depends on where your organization is based, where your customers are and what kind of organization you are. A US city falls under ADA Title II, an online shop selling to EU consumers under the European Accessibility Act, an Ontario business with 50 or more staff under the AODA. Answer the questions below to see your list.
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Laws that may apply to your answers
What this finder can and can't tell you
It matches your answers against a fixed list of laws, each checked against its primary source on the date shown above. It does not know your contracts, your exact headcount in each place, or how a court or regulator would read your facts, and it covers a limited set of countries. A law it lists may turn out not to apply, and a law it does not list may still reach you. This is general information, not legal advice. See our editorial policy for how we source and review law pages.
The laws this finder checks
Most web accessibility laws point to the same technical standard, the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), either directly or through the European standard EN 301 549. What differs is who is covered, which WCAG version is named and when the duty starts. The finder uses the rules below. Our overview of web accessibility laws worldwide covers each country in more depth.
| Law | Who it covers | Technical standard | Key dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADA Title II web rule (US) | State and local governments, including special districts | WCAG 2.1 AA | April 26, 2027 (population of 50,000 or more); April 26, 2028 (under 50,000, and special districts) |
| ADA Title III (US) | Businesses open to the public | No regulation; DOJ guidance calls WCAG helpful guidance | Already applies |
| Section 508 (US) | Federal agencies | WCAG 2.0 A and AA | Required since January 18, 2018 |
| Section 504, HHS web rule (US) | Recipients of HHS funding, such as hospitals | WCAG 2.1 A and AA | May 11, 2027 (15 or more employees); May 10, 2028 (fewer than 15) |
| Air Carrier Access Act website rule (US) | US and foreign airlines operating aircraft with more than 60 seats, for websites marketing flights to the US public | WCAG 2.0 AA | Required since December 12, 2015 (core travel pages) and December 12, 2016 (all other pages) |
| European Accessibility Act (EU) | Listed consumer products and services, including e-commerce, wherever the provider is established; microenterprises are exempt for services only | EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (WCAG 2.1 AA) | Applies since June 28, 2025 |
| Web Accessibility Directive (EU) | Public sector websites and apps | EN 301 549 V3.2.1 | Accessibility statement required |
| Equality Act 2010 (UK) | Service providers | None named for private businesses | Already applies |
| Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 (UK) | Public sector bodies | WCAG 2.2 AA (GOV.UK guidance) | Accessibility statement required |
| Accessible Canada Act digital rules (Canada) | Federal public sector, and federally regulated private organizations averaging 100 or more employees over the preceding three calendar years | CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024 | December 5, 2027 (training for all; public sector web pages); December 5, 2028 (private-sector web pages; documents, mobile apps, statements and procurement for the public sector and for private organizations with 500 or more employees) |
| AODA (Ontario) | 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 |
The finder also covers national laws implementing the European Accessibility Act in Germany (BFSG), Ireland (S.I. No. 636/2023) and Spain (Law 11/2023), France's Article 47 of Law 2005-102 (RGAA 4.1.2), Australia's Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Digital Inclusion Standard, New Zealand's Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.2 (WCAG 2.2 AA), Japan's amended disability discrimination act and Brazil's Law 13.146/2015. For any other country, start with W3C's list of web accessibility laws and policies.
Country pages go deeper: United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada, plus the ADA and websites, the ADA Title II deadline, the European Accessibility Act guide and EN 301 549 explained. If a letter has already arrived, read what to do with an accessibility demand letter.
Which WCAG version should you build to?
The laws above name WCAG 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2, at Level AA. Each WCAG version keeps the older criteria, so a site that meets WCAG 2.2 Level AA also meets 2.1 and 2.0 at that level. Building to 2.2 AA covers the WCAG part of every law in the finder. See which WCAG version applies, what's new in WCAG 2.2, all 86 WCAG 2.2 success criteria and our WCAG 2.2 checklist.
After you know which laws apply
Every law here is judged against real pages, so the next step is finding what is broken on yours. Start with the free scan, then check the parts rule-based scanners can't judge: whether your alt text is accurate with the alt text checker, color pairs with the contrast checker and image contrast checker, structure with the heading checker and link text checker, and documents with the PDF accessibility checker. The accessibility bookmarklet runs checks on any page in your own browser. Where a law asks for an accessibility statement, the statement generator drafts one.
No tool makes a site meet a law. What we check lists exactly what our scans cover, why rule scanners miss issues explains the rest, and overlays and the FTC covers why widgets don't change the answer. The deep audit and monitoring plans cover whole sites, including Shopify stores.
Questions about which laws apply
Is website accessibility required by law?
For many organizations, yes. US state and local governments must meet WCAG 2.1 AA under the ADA Title II web rule from April 26, 2027 or April 26, 2028, depending on population. Listed consumer services in the EU, including e-commerce, have been covered by the European Accessibility Act since June 28, 2025. Ontario businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees have had to meet WCAG 2.0 AA (excluding success criteria 1.2.4 and 1.2.5) since January 1, 2021. Whether a law reaches your site depends on your facts, which is what the finder above asks about.
Does the ADA apply to my private business website?
The Department of Justice's 2022 guidance says the ADA applies to the web offerings of businesses open to the public, but no regulation sets a technical standard for them; the guidance calls WCAG helpful guidance. In Robles v. Domino's (9th Cir. 2019) a website with a nexus to a physical place was held to be covered, and courts disagree about businesses that exist only online. Our guide to the ADA and websites covers this in detail.
Does the European Accessibility Act apply to a business outside the EU?
It can. The Act applies to covered products and services placed on the EU market regardless of where the provider is established. A US or UK online shop selling to EU consumers is providing e-commerce, one of the listed services, so the Act applies to it unless the microenterprise exemption does. See our European Accessibility Act guide.
Are small businesses exempt?
Some thresholds exist, and they differ by law. Under the EAA, microenterprises providing services (fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million) are exempt from the service requirements, but not from the product requirements. Ontario's website rule applies to businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees. Canada's federal digital rules exempt private organizations averaging 99 or fewer employees, and give organizations with 100 to 499 employees fewer duties than those with 500 or more. A threshold in one law does not carry over to another.
Which WCAG version do I need?
It depends on the law: WCAG 2.1 AA for ADA Title II and the HHS rule, WCAG 2.0 for Section 508 and Ontario, EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (aligned to WCAG 2.1 AA) under the European Accessibility Act, and WCAG 2.2 AA for UK and New Zealand government sites. Because each WCAG version keeps the older criteria, building to WCAG 2.2 AA meets all of these at the WCAG level. More in which WCAG version applies.
Does this finder store my answers?
No. It runs as a script in your browser. Nothing you choose is sent to a server or saved, and closing the tab clears it.
Is this legal advice?
No. The finder and this page are general information to help you work out which laws to read first. Every result links to its primary source. For a decision that depends on your situation, talk to a lawyer.
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