BFSG: what German businesses must do (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz)
In short: The BFSG is Germany's transposition of the European Accessibility Act. Since 28 June 2025 it requires businesses selling covered digital products and services to German consumers to meet EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.1 AA. State market surveillance authorities enforce it, fines reach €100,000, and micro-enterprises with under 10 staff and under €2 million turnover are exempt.
Germany's Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz has applied since 28 June 2025. Here's what it requires, who enforces it, and the practical steps to comply — without the legalese.
What is the BFSG?
The Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG, roughly "Act Strengthening Accessibility") is Germany's transposition of the EU's European Accessibility Act into national law. It has applied since 28 June 2025 and requires covered businesses to make their websites, e-commerce shops, and certain apps perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for people with disabilities.
It sits alongside — but is distinct from — BITV 2.0 (Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung), the older ordinance that has long required German federal public-sector websites to be accessible. The BFSG extends comparable obligations to the private sector for the first time, at national scale.
Who's in scope
The BFSG covers businesses offering consumer-facing digital products or services in Germany: e-commerce, banking and payment services, telecoms, transport ticketing, e-books, and most consumer web and mobile apps. It doesn't matter whether the business is based in Germany, elsewhere in the EU, or outside the EU entirely — what matters is whether it sells to consumers in the German market.
If you're unsure whether your specific product category is covered, the safe default is to treat a WCAG 2.1 AA audit as necessary rather than optional.
The fine: up to €100,000
Non-compliance can trigger a Bußgeld (administrative fine) of up to €100,000. Fines are imposed by the Marktüberwachungsbehörden — the market surveillance authorities run at the level of Germany's federal states (Länder), not by a single national regulator.
Before or alongside a fine, authorities can issue an Abmahnung (a formal warning demanding correction within a deadline) or an Untersagung (an order to stop offering the non-compliant product or service). In practice, most enforcement starts with a warning and a chance to fix the problem — but ignoring that warning is where the financial risk escalates.
The standard behind the law
The BFSG sets its technical bar at EN 301 549, the EU's harmonized accessibility standard. For web content, EN 301 549 maps to WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the same benchmark referenced by BITV 2.0 for the public sector. So if you've already built to WCAG 2.1 AA for another market, you're largely aligned with what the BFSG expects.
Who's exempt: Kleinstunternehmen
Kleinstunternehmen (micro-enterprises) — fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total — are exempt from the BFSG's product and service obligations. This mirrors the EAA's EU-wide micro-enterprise exemption exactly; Germany didn't narrow or widen it in its national transposition.
What you need to do, step by step
Start with an automated WCAG 2.1 AA scan to catch the code-level issues quickly: missing alt text, unlabeled form fields, poor heading structure, broken ARIA references, and more. Fix what it finds.
Follow up with a manual review for what automated tools can't verify on their own — color contrast on CSS-class-based text, real keyboard-only navigation, and actual screen reader behavior. Many businesses then publish a voluntary Erklärung zur Barrierefreiheit (accessibility statement) describing their conformance status; while not always strictly mandatory for private businesses under the BFSG, it's increasingly treated as best practice and can reduce your exposure if a Marktüberwachungsbehörde does investigate.
Finally, re-check after every meaningful site change. Accessibility regressions are quiet — a redesigned checkout flow or a new component library can reintroduce issues you already fixed.
Check your BFSG exposure
Run a free automated WCAG 2.1 AA scan in about 20 seconds and see where your site stands against the standard behind the BFSG.
Scan your site free →When did the BFSG take effect?
Does the BFSG apply if my company isn't based in Germany?
Is a WCAG overlay widget enough to comply?
Who enforces the BFSG?
What's the difference between the BFSG and BITV 2.0?
How much can the fine be?
This article is general information, not legal advice. Whether the BFSG applies to your specific business, and what exactly it requires, depends on your situation — consult a lawyer for a binding assessment.
Germany (BFSG) guide · Overlay vs. code fix · Methodology · European Accessibility Act (EAA) 2025: the complete guide · Do accessibility overlays make you compliant?