BFSG: Germany's accessibility law explained
Updated
The Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) is Germany’s law for the European Accessibility Act. The name means “Accessibility Strengthening Act”. It is dated July 16, 2021 and took effect on June 28, 2025.
The law sets the rules. A separate regulation, the BFSGV (Verordnung zum Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz), sets the detailed accessibility requirements. It is dated June 15, 2022, also took effect on June 28, 2025, and was last amended in July 2026.
What it covers
The BFSG covers the same products and services as the EAA (§ 1). It applies to products placed on the market after June 28, 2025, and to services provided to consumers after June 28, 2025.
- Products: consumer computers and operating systems, payment terminals, ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines, interactive information terminals, smartphones and similar devices, devices for TV and streaming, and e-readers.
- Services: telecommunications, parts of air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport (such as websites, apps and e-tickets), consumer banking, e-books and their software, and e-commerce.
E-commerce is the widest group. It includes many online shops and booking sites that sell to consumers.
Under § 3, a product or service is accessible when people with disabilities can find, access and use it in the usual way, without special difficulty and, in principle, without help from others. For websites and apps, the BFSGV asks that they be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust: the four principles of WCAG.
The microenterprise exemption
The accessibility duty doesn’t apply to microenterprises that offer or provide services (§ 3(3)). The BFSG defines a microenterprise as a business with (§ 2 no. 17):
- fewer than 10 employees, and
- an annual turnover of no more than €2 million, or an annual balance sheet total of no more than €2 million.
The exemption is for services. Microenterprises that make or sell covered products are not exempt from the product rules.
The information you must publish
A service provider may only offer a covered service if it meets the requirements and if the provider has published the information listed in Annex 3 (Anlage 3) in an accessible form (§ 14). This information goes in the general terms and conditions (AGB) or somewhere else that is clearly visible. It includes:
- a general description of the service, in an accessible format
- the descriptions and explanations needed to understand how the service works
- a description of how the service meets the accessibility requirements of the BFSGV
- the name of the market surveillance authority responsible
Many German sites publish this as an Erklärung zur Barrierefreiheit (accessibility statement) and link to it from their terms. The law itself speaks of “information about services”. The provider must keep the information for as long as the service is offered.
Market surveillance
The BFSG is enforced by market surveillance authorities set up under the law of the German states (§ 2 no. 22). For services (§ 28), the authority:
- checks a service when it has reason to think the service doesn’t meet the requirements, and
- also checks services by random sample, without a specific reason. For websites and apps it follows Annex 1.
Consumers can ask the authority to open proceedings against a business. Recognized associations can apply for them or in their own name (§ 32). Consumers can also ask for conciliation (Schlichtung, § 34).
Offering a service that doesn’t meet the requirements can lead to a fine of up to €100,000. Other breaches, such as missing or wrong information, can lead to a fine of up to €10,000 (§ 37).
Transition periods
The BFSG has its own end dates (§ 38). They differ slightly from the directive.
| What | Until |
|---|---|
| Services provided with products already used lawfully before June 28, 2025 | June 27, 2030 |
| Service contracts agreed before June 28, 2025 | Until they expire, but no later than June 27, 2030 |
| Self-service terminals already in use before June 28, 2025 | End of their useful life, but no more than 15 years after they were first used |
How Perceivly helps
- Monitoring checks your site against WCAG 2.2 A and AA on a schedule and tracks each issue until it is fixed.
- The statement generator helps you write and host a statement page to link from your terms.
- PDF reports and the issue history show the work you have done over time.
Automated tests find only part of accessibility issues. A person still needs to check keyboard and screen reader use, alt text, captions and plain language. Perceivly helps you find and track issues; it can’t tell you whether the BFSG applies to you.
Sources
- Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) (gesetze-im-internet.de, in German)
- Verordnung zum Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSGV) (gesetze-im-internet.de, in German)
- Directive (EU) 2019/882 (EUR-Lex)
This page is general information, not legal advice. Only the German text of the law is binding.