BFSG

Imagine a bike shop with 15 employees that has sold accessories through its own online shop for years. In summer 2025, a customer emails to ask why she can’t complete checkout with her screen reader. Until then, that was a question of good customer service. Since the BFSG, it can also be a legal question.

Explained simply

BFSG is short for Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, which translates roughly as Germany’s Accessibility Strengthening Act. It requires companies in Germany to design certain products and services so that disabled people can use them without particular difficulty and, in principle, without help from others. Its requirements have applied since 28 June 2025.

Think of it this way: new public buildings have long had rules for ramps and lifts. The BFSG brings that idea to parts of the digital world, such as online shops, banking apps and e-tickets.

The law is Germany’s implementation of EU Directive 2019/882, better known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA). Other EU countries have their own national laws based on the same directive. Before the BFSG, digital accessibility rules in Germany mainly applied to public bodies. Now many private companies are covered for the first time.

Who the law applies to

The BFSG distinguishes between products and services. Products include computers, smartphones, ATMs, ticket machines and e-book readers, among others. Services include telecommunications, consumer banking, e-books, parts of passenger transport and e-commerce. Put simply, e-commerce covers websites and apps through which consumers can enter into a contract, such as typical online shops and booking platforms.

There is an exemption for microenterprises, but only for services. A microenterprise has fewer than ten employees and either an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros. Companies that manufacture, import or sell products covered by the law can’t rely on this exemption. Whether a specific offering falls under the law, for example a B2B shop or a purely informational website, isn’t always clear cut. It’s worth getting legal advice here. This entry is a professional overview, not legal advice.

What it requires technically

Websites and apps must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Those are the four principles of WCAG. In practice, the WCAG success criteria at Levels A and AA, referenced through the European standard EN 301 549, are the main benchmark. They include full keyboard accessibility and sufficient contrast, for example. Providers also have to publish an accessibility statement explaining how their service meets the requirements.

Enforcement lies with the joint market surveillance authority of the German federal states (MLBF), based in Magdeburg. Violations can lead to fines of up to 100,000 euros. For the full picture, read The BFSG in Practice: What Germany’s Accessibility Act Means for Websites and Apps.

An example

Here’s an example: an online shop for home accessories with 20 employees has order buttons that only respond to mouse clicks and form fields without labels. There is no accessibility statement.

After the redesign, the whole checkout works with a keyboard and screen reader, error messages explain what’s missing, and the footer links to a plain statement listing known limitations and a contact option. That helps disabled people, and also anyone ordering one-handed on the go.

In practice

• Document whether you’re covered. Is your offering aimed at consumers, are contracts concluded online, and how big is the company? Write down the result, even if it’s “not covered.”
• Check the key flows first. Login, search, cart and payment matter more than the home page. The WCAG 2.2 Quick Reference helps you test systematically.
• Don’t rely on overlays. Accessibility toolbars injected by a script don’t fix errors in the code. Missing labels and keyboard traps remain.

Related terms

Accessibility, WCAG, Screen Reader, Keyboard Accessibility

Sources

• Federal Ministry of Justice: Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG). Gesetze im Internet, 2021 (in German)
• Bundesfachstelle Barrierefreiheit: Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz. Federal Accessibility Agency (in German)
• European Parliament and Council: Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services. EUR-Lex, 2019
• IHK Berlin: Informationsseite zum Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz. IHK Berlin (in German)