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Accessibility Standards, Untangled: Which Ones Actually Apply to You? 

 

Your web team mentions WCAG. Your tech team mentions ADA. Your EU partners mention EN 301 549. Your compliance officer brings up Section 508. Your French subsidiary references RGAAv4. And everyone's using different terms like they all mean the same thing. 

They don't. 

Here's the thing: they're not all talking about the same stuff. These standards aren't rivals competing for the same job; they're genuinely different beasts. Some are laws. Some are technical guidelines. Some are ways of testing. Your compliance team is talking about regulations; your developers are talking about technical checklists; your EU partner is talking about a completely different regulatory framework. They all use the word "accessibility," but they're addressing different problems. 

 

The good news

Sorting this out is far less painful than it looks. Give it five minutes and you'll know which standards actually apply to you, what each one really means, and what it expects of you in practice. 

One quick note before you dive in: this guide is general information to help you get oriented, it isn't professional compliance advice. Accessibility laws and standards change, and exactly how they apply depends on your specific situation. Treat it as a starting point, and confirm your obligations with a qualified accessibility or compliance professional before making compliance decisions. 

 

Quick Answer: Which Standards Apply to You?

Answer these three questions, and you'll know exactly which standards matter for your organisation. 

Question 1: Where does your business primarily operate? 

  • United States only 

  • European Union 

  • Both U.S. and EU 

  • Global (multiple regions) 

Question 2: Who do you primarily serve? 

  • Consumers (e-commerce, SaaS, digital services) 

  • Government agencies (federal, state, or local) 

  • Both consumers and government 

Question 3: Do you handle government contracts? 

  • Yes, federal government contracts 

  • Yes, state or local government contracts 

  • No government contracts 

Now find your situation in the table below:

Your Situation
Standards You Need
Deadline / Status
What it means

U.S. only, serving consumers, no government contracts

ADA Title III + WCAG 2.2 AA

No federal deadline; enforcement active now

The general expectation is that your website and digital products are accessible. There's no government-mandated deadline, but lawsuits are active (3,117 filed in 2025).

U.S. only, serving state/local government

ADA Title II + WCAG 2.1 AA

Deadline extended to April 26, 2028

State and local governments are generally expected to ensure websites and apps meet accessibility standards

U.S. only, federal government contractor

Section 508 + WCAG 2.2

Ongoing; may require DHS Trusted Tester validation

If you contract with the federal government, your technology generally needs to meet accessibility standards. Testing methodology may be required.

EU only, consumer-facing digital products

EAA + WCAG 2.1 AA (via EN 301 549)

Enforcement active as of June 28, 2025

EU law now requires consumer-facing digital products to be accessible. No grace period; enforcement is happening now.

EU only, selling to the government

EN 301 549 + WCAG 2.1 AA

Not strictly required, but expected for contracts

EU technical standard. If you want government contracts, this conformance is effectively required.

France, public sector or €250M+ annual turnover

RGAAv4 (built on WCAG 2.1 AA)

Mandatory now

France's national standard. Mandatory for public sector organisations and large private companies.

Operating in multiple regions

WCAG 2.2 AA baseline + all applicable regional standards above

Varies by region; monitor all applicable deadlines

Build to WCAG 2.2 AA as your global baseline, then layer on regional requirements (ADA for U.S., EAA for EU, RGAAv4 for France, etc.).

 

What Each Standard Actually Is

Now that you know which standards apply to you, here's what you're actually dealing with. 

Standard
Type
What It is
Key Details
Your Action

WCAG 2.2

Technical guideline (global standard)

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Created by W3C; now an international standard (ISO/IEC 40500:2026). Defines how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities.

87 testable success criteria. Three conformance levels: A (foundational), AA (intermediate, most common), AAA (advanced). Released October 2023.

Build and test to WCAG 2.2 AA. This is your foundation. Other standards either reference it or build on it.

ADA Title II

U.S. federal civil rights law

Law governing state and local governments. Requires digital services to be accessible. The DOJ confirmed WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard.

Compliance deadline extended to April 26, 2028. Applies to websites and mobile apps of state and local government agencies.

If you're a state/local government: audit your digital properties against WCAG 2.1 AA. A firm deadline applies here, so it's worth planning ahead

ADA Title III

U.S. federal civil rights law

Law governing private businesses, nonprofits, and public accommodations. Requires digital services to be accessible. No federally mandated deadline.

Enforcement is active. 3,117 ADA Title III web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025; e-commerce represents 70% of cases.

If you're a private U.S. business: treat accessibility as ongoing operational requirement. WCAG 2.2 AA is the de facto standard.

Section 508

U.S. federal procurement law

Law requiring federal government to procure accessible technology. Also applies to federal contractors providing technology

Mandates WCAG conformance. DHS Trusted Tester is the standardised testing methodology; federal agencies may require certification.

If you contract with federal government: demonstrate WCAG compliance. Consider DHS Trusted Tester certification for credibility.

EN 301 549

EU technical standard

European technical standard for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) accessibility. Produced by ETSI. Applies broadly: websites, software, hardware, documents, devices.

Incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA for web content but extends to software, hardware, and documents. Not strictly required on its own, but expected for EU government procurement. Adopted by Canada and Australia.

If selling tech to EU market or government: EN 301 549 conformance demonstrates accessibility readiness.

EAA

EU binding law

European Accessibility Act. New EU law requiring consumer-facing digital and physical products to be accessible.

Enforcement began June 28, 2025. It applies to e-commerce, online banking, e-readers, video platforms, ticketing, booking systems, and more. No compliance grace period. EU member states actively monitoring.

If you serve EU consumers with digital products: EAA compliance is generally treated as a current requirement, with enforcement already underway rather than on a future timeline.

RGAAv4

French national standard

France's General Accessibility Improvement Framework (Référentiel Général d'Amélioration de l'Accessibilité), version 4. Mandatory for French public sector and large organisations.

Built on WCAG 2.1 AA but provides more granular, French-specific requirements. Mandatory for public sector and organisations with €250 million or more annual turnover Demonstrates how international standards can be adapted to local governance

If you operate in France and meet the size threshold: RGAAv4 compliance is mandatory. Even if you don't, RGAAv4's detailed guidance is valuable for rigorous accessibility testing.

 

 

What Comes Next

So where do you go from here? Three steps will get you most of the way. 

Step 1: Confirm your baseline. Test your site and digital products against WCAG 2.2 AA or WCAG 2.1 AA if that's what your region asks for. Everything else builds on this one, so it's the place to start. Not sure where you currently stand? An accessibility audit is the fastest way to find out. 

Step 2: Layer on regional requirements.If you operate in multiple jurisdictions, don't test each standard separately. Start with WCAG as your foundation, then add the regional regulatory layers that apply to your markets. For example: WCAG 2.2 AA (global baseline) + ADA Title III (U.S.) + EAA (EU) + RGAAv4 (France, if applicable). 

Step 3: Set up continuous monitoring. Accessibility used to be a once-a-year audit. That doesn't cut it anymore. Standards keep moving (WCAG 2.2 landed in October 2023; the EAA went live in June 2025), rules shift, and your own content changes by the week. The organisations that stay on top of it are the ones watching continuously and catching issues as they appear not the ones checking in every now and then. 

Tools like SiteBeacon watch your site against WCAG 2.2, ADA, EAA, EN 301 549, Section 508, and RGAAv4 all at once. Instead of juggling a separate tool or manual audit for every standard, one monitoring platform keeps an eye on the lot and flags problems the moment they crop up. 

For detailed technical guidance on WCAG, visit the W3C resource centre .

For ADA-specific information, the U.S. Department of Justice publishes ongoing guidance. For EAA and EN 301 549, the European Commission and ETSI maintain current resources. For RGAAv4, the French digital accessibility authority (DINUM) provides granular implementation guidance. 

  

Key Takeaways 

  • WCAG 2.2 is the foundation. Everything else either points back to it or builds on top. 87 testable criteria, and Level AA is the bar most people need to hit. 

  • ADA Title II has a hard deadline. State and local governments need to be compliant by April 26, 2028. (Title III, for private businesses, has no federal deadline but enforcement is very much live.) 

  • The EAA is live now. Enforcement started on June 28, 2025. If you serve EU consumers, this is a now problem, not a someday one. 

  • EN 301 549 extends beyond websites. It's the EU technical standard covering web, software, hardware and documents built on WCAG 2.1 AA, but reaching well beyond the web. 

  • Section 508 applies to federal contractors. It's the U.S. procurement rule that asks for WCAG conformance, usually checked with the DHS Trusted Tester method. 

  • RGAAv4 is France-specific but built on WCAG. Required for the French public sector and large organisations (€250 million or more in annual turnover). 

  • One baseline, regional layers. Build to WCAG 2.2 AA everywhere, then add the regional standards on top. They're not rivals, just local extensions of the same shared foundation. 

 

Quick Compliance Checklist

Keep this handy for your jurisdiction: 

Operating in the U.S. only: 

  •  Identify if you're ADA Title II (government), Title III (private business), or Section 508 (federal contractor) 

  •  Test your website to WCAG 2.2 AA standard 

  •  If ADA Title II: plan for April 26, 2028 deadline 

  •  If ADA Title III or Section 508: set up continuous monitoring 

Operating in the EU: 

  •  Confirm if EAA applies (consumer-facing digital products) 

  •  Test to WCAG 2.1 AA (via EN 301 549) 

  •  If EAA applies: treat compliance as mandatory (enforcement active) 

  •  If selling to government: consider EN 301 549 conformance 

Operating in France: 

  •  Check if RGAAv4 applies (public sector or €250 million+ turnover) 

  •  If applicable: implement RGAAv4 standards (WCAG 2.1 AA plus French-specific requirements) 

  •  If not applicable: consider RGAAv4 as best practice guidance 

Operating globally: 

  •  Build to WCAG 2.2 AA as global baseline 

  •  Map all applicable regional standards (ADA, EAA, EN 301 549, RGAAv4, Section 508) 

  •  Set up continuous monitoring across all applicable standards 

  •  Establish quarterly review cycle for regulatory updates in each market.