WP Accessibility Knowledge Base
Accessibility legislation
Accessibility legislation is a complicated topic. We will try to cover the most important subjects, but if you have any questions about legislation for your situation, please find legal help with an expert firm.
In most countries or unions there are laws which state you must build accessible digital products and services. Which laws applies to you, depends on who you’re selling the product or service to. That’s why in most legislation, the same basis for adhering to it is used: the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). For example: if you sell to customers in the U.S. you need to look at the Americans with Disabilities Act. For Europe, you look at the European Accessibility Act. Both mention the WCAG as the technical standard for accessiblity. Other than meeting those standards, you may have other obligations as well. We will dive into these a bit deeper in the following sections.
The Web Accessibility Initiative maintains a list of laws and policies by country.
If you are building a WordPress plugin or theme, your software may be used in any jurisdiction. Customers may need your application to meet their local standards to legally use it.
The European Accessibility Act
The European Accessibility Act describes accessibility requirements for products and services sold to consumers within the EU. This includes websites and apps, but also other types of software and digital displays. EU member states agreed to add these requirements in their legislation.
The act is commonly mischaracterized as legislation. The EAA is not itself legislation. Instead, it imposes a requirement on the European member states that they must establish accessibility laws. These laws must cover certain specific areas, but the individual laws are variable. It’s a common misconception that if you’re not based in the EU you don’t have to adhere! IF you are based outside the EU, but you sell products or service to Europe, you’re still required to make those products and services accessible. The supervisory authorities have made accomodations with local overseers to share information about non-conformity, and in extreme cases they can decide on their own to block your services.
Learn more about the European Accessibility Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA governs accessibility requirements in the United States of America. The law, established in 1991, does not specifically address the internet or websites, but does address many key concepts surrounding operating a business or service with accessibility requirements.
The general interpretation of the law is that businesses are required to provide accessible services, but the specific details are largely dictated by the courts. Government, health care and many non-governmental organizations (such as schools) have specific guidance, but businesses do not.
The lack of specific guidance should not be interpreted as a lack of a requirement for accessibility. There are plenty of cases already published where either consumers or others made a succesful complaint in court, even to companies outside the U.S.
Learn more about the American with Disabilities Act
Section 508
Another law in the U.S. is Section 508, a federal law and an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This mandates federal agencies and their contractors to ensure their ICT is accessible to peaple with disabilities. Section 508 still uses WCAG 2.0 as a basis for their technical standard. If you are a contractor for a federal agency, this is what you need to look at. However, since WCAG has been updated with better guidelines, it doesn’t hurt to use WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 as a standard for your projects.
Learn more about Section 508
Web Accessibility Directive
Section 508 in the U.S. is comparable to the Web Accessibility Directive (WAD) in Europe. As with the European Accessibility Act, this is not a law, but also a guidelines to put accessibility into laws. In most European countries it turned into law(s) since 2018. It’s focused on government and semi-governmental organizations, as well as their contractors. You also need to have an accessibility statement on your website, which is updated yearly with the progress of the work you did to become fully accessible. Other requirements could differ per country.
EN 301 549
In Europe, the WAD as well as the EAA point to accessibility requirements for ICT products and services, as published in a document called EN 301 549. The EN stands for European Norm. It draws heavily from the WCAG 2.1, adapted for specific purposed. In this document you will find accessibility guidelines for everything from websites to closed software. The Eurepean Commmission has mentioned that EU member states are free to use WCAG 2.2 if they wish.
Fair warning: meeting all the success criteria for WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 will not ensure presumption of conformity with WAD or EAA, since the EN 301 549 has far more requirements. So it’s an important document to keep an eye on.
Find the most recent version of EN 301 549 (pdf)
Global Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
In the absence of specific legal guidelines, it is most commonly recommended that you follow the latest accessibility standards. WCAG is intended as a multi-purpose document that can apply to any website or app.