Accessibility Statement for Your Website: 2026 Template

An accessibility statement is required for most businesses with a website or webshop since 28 June 2025. The obligation comes from two strands: public-sector websites have had this requirement since 2018, but the European Accessibility Act (EAA, Directive (EU) 2019/882) now extends it to the private sector.

Yet almost no SME has one. Most business owners don't even know it's required. This guide covers what an accessibility statement is, when you need one, what must be in it, and how to draft your own.

Want to know how accessible your site is before drafting? Our free website scan gives you an overview of the most common accessibility issues, so your statement matches reality.

What is an accessibility statement?

An accessibility statement is a page on your website that explains how accessible your site is for people with disabilities. You describe the standard you meet, which parts don't yet meet it, and what you're doing to improve.

Think of it like a privacy policy, but for accessibility. It's a public document that tells visitors what to expect and where to go if they hit a problem.

Two legal tracks

Two different laws can require an accessibility statement. Which one applies depends on your type of organisation.

Public sector: required since 2018

Government websites and apps have had to comply with the Besluit digitale toegankelijkheid (based on EU Directive 2016/2102) since 2018. The statement must follow a fixed format and is published on DigiToegankelijk.nl. This track is not new.

Private sector: required since 28 June 2025

The European Accessibility Act (Dutch Implementatiewet, based on EU Directive 2019/882) has been in force since 28 June 2025 for businesses that offer digital products or services to consumers. That covers:

• Webshops
• Websites with online services (bookings, applications, forms)
• Apps
• E-books and e-readers
• Banking and insurance services
• Ticket machines and payment terminals

The law requires conformance with the European standard EN 301 549, which for websites references WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Who does this apply to?

The EAA applies to all businesses offering digital services to consumers, with one micro-enterprise exception. You are exempt if you meet both criteria:

• Fewer than 10 employees
• Less than 2 million euros annual turnover

Both required. If you have 10 or more employees, or more than 2 million euros in turnover, your website falls under the law.

Note: the exception applies only to the EAA. If you are a public-sector body or perform government contracts, the Besluit digitale toegankelijkheid applies and there is no exemption.

What must be in an accessibility statement?

The law and the related European standard EN 301 549 require these minimum elements:

1. Conformance level

State to what extent your website meets WCAG 2.1 AA. Three options:

• Fully compliant, all success criteria met
• Partially compliant, most criteria met, but not all
• Not compliant, substantial shortcomings

Be honest. Most SME websites are partially compliant. That is acceptable as long as you are transparent about what doesn't yet meet the standard.

2. Known accessibility issues

Describe concretely which parts of your site don't comply and why. Examples:

• "Images in our blog articles are missing alt text. We are adding alt text to all articles."
• "The contact form is not fully keyboard-navigable. We will fix this next quarter."
• "PDF documents on our website are not fully readable by screen readers."

3. Contact details for reporting issues

Give visitors a way to report accessibility problems. Minimum:

• An email address
• Optional: phone number or contact form

4. Date of the statement

When you drafted the statement. Shows that the document is current.

5. Date of last assessment

When the site was last tested for accessibility. Does not have to be by an external agency. A self-assessment counts.

6. Improvement plan

Describe what you will do to address the known issues. Give a realistic timeline. You don't have to fix everything at once, but you must show you're working on it.

Disproportionate burden

The law allows an exception where compliance would impose a "disproportionate burden". This is not a blanket exemption. You must justify why the adjustment is unreasonable for your business, considering:

• The cost of the adjustment relative to your turnover
• The expected benefit for users with disabilities
• The size and nature of your organisation

If you invoke disproportionate burden, you must include this in your accessibility statement with an explanation. The ACM assesses case by case whether the claim holds.

In practice this is not an easy escape. A webshop with millions in turnover claiming that adding alt text to product photos is too expensive will not be taken seriously.

ACM reporting obligation

The Autoriteit Consument & Markt supervises EAA compliance in the Netherlands. If you discover an accessibility problem that affects users with disabilities, report it to the ACM without undue delay. The ACM guidance distinguishes between serious problems (which require prompt action) and other deficiencies that can be addressed in a reasonable timeframe. Check the ACM website for current guidance on how and when to report.

The ACM enforces actively and can impose fines up to 900,000 euros under the Wet handhaving consumentenbescherming (WHC). In practice the ACM starts with warnings and gives businesses the chance to improve. But that grace period shrinks as the law has been in force longer.

The EAA is being enforced across Europe. Advocacy organisations in several member states have filed cases against businesses for inaccessible digital services since the Act came into force.

Accessibility statement template

A concise model you can use as a starting point. Adapt to your situation.

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Accessibility Statement of [Company name]

Last updated: [month] 2026

[Company name] is committed to making [website name] accessible to all visitors, including people with disabilities. We use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as our standard.

Status: Our website is partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA. The following parts do not yet comply:

• [Describe inaccessible parts, e.g. "Not all images have alt text."]
• [E.g. "Colour contrast on some buttons does not meet the minimum 4.5:1 ratio."]
• [E.g. "PDF documents are not fully readable by screen readers."]

Improvement plan: We are working on resolving the issues above. [Describe timing, e.g. "We expect to complete the alt text additions by the end of Q2 2026. Colour contrast will be addressed in the next website update."]

Last assessment: [date]

Feedback and contact: Encountered an accessibility problem on our website? Contact us at [email]. We aim to respond within 5 business days.

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Where to publish the statement

Put the accessibility statement on its own page, e.g. /accessibility or /accessibility-statement. Add a footer link, next to your privacy policy and cookie policy.

The statement must be reachable from every page within at most three clicks. The footer is the most logical place.

Dutch businesses can also register their statement on toegankelijkheidsverklaring.nl, the national accessibility statement register. Public-sector bodies are required to register there. Private-sector businesses are not required to register, but doing so demonstrates good faith to the ACM and makes your statement easier for users to find.

How to assess your website

You don't need an expensive audit to start. There are three ways to evaluate your site's accessibility.

Free self-assessment steps

• Contrast check: use a browser contrast-checker tool on your headings and body text
• Alt text check: right-click images and "Inspect element". Does the alt attribute have text?
• Keyboard navigation: navigate the entire site using only the Tab key. Can you reach every link and button? Can you see where you are?
• Screen reader test: try VoiceOver (Mac) or NVDA (Windows, free) to hear your site
• Free website scan: we automatically check for common issues like missing alt text, contrast and heading structure

The most common accessibility problems

Insufficient colour contrast is the single most frequent accessibility failure found across websites. The ACM's November 2025 investigation of 60 large Dutch webshops found that 61% had serious accessibility problems. Other frequent problems:

• Images without alt text
• Forms without labels
• Missing heading structure (H1, H2, H3 out of order)
• Links without clear descriptions ("Click here")
• Videos without subtitles

Most of these are inexpensive to fix. Adding alt text, adjusting colours and binding labels to form fields can be done by your web designer in a few hours. Or do it yourself if you have CMS access.

For more on the law and the concrete requirements, see our article on the European Accessibility Act.

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This article is technical analysis, not legal advice. Consult a lawyer for advice specific to your situation.

Sources

• Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (EAA) (eur-lex.europa.eu)
• Wet handhaving consumentenbescherming (Whc) (wetten.overheid.nl)
• Autoriteit Consument & Markt (acm.nl)
• ACM investigation: customer with disability cannot reach majority of large webshops (acm.nl)