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What You Actually Need to Know About Accessibility Standards (And Which Ones Apply to You)

Your legal 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.

The confusion isn't accidental. These aren't competing standards; they're different things altogether. Some are laws. Some are technical guidelines. Some are testing methodologies. Your legal 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.

Here's what you actually need to know: there's a straightforward way to identify which standards apply to your business, what each one means, and what you're legally required to do. It takes about five minutes.

 

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

You must make your website and digital products 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 must ensure websites and apps meet accessibility

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 must 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 government

EN 301 549 + WCAG 2.1 AA

Not legally mandatory, 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)

Legally 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. Hard deadline applies.

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 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 legally mandatory 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 a current legal requirement. No optional timeline. Treat as mandatory.

RGAAv4

French national standard

France's General Accessibility Improvement Framework (Référentiel Général d'Amélioration de l'Accessibilité), version 4. Legally 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

Now that you know which standards apply to your organisation, here's where to go from here.

Step 1: Confirm your baseline.Test your website and digital products against WCAG 2.2 AA (or WCAG 2.1 AA if that's your regional requirement). This is the technical foundation for all other standards. If you're uncertain whether your current digital properties meet this baseline, an accessibility audit is the first concrete step.

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 legal and 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 testing used to be a one-time audit. That approach no longer works. Standards evolve (WCAG 2.2 was released in October 2023; EAA enforcement began in June 2025), regulations change, and your digital content shifts constantly. Organisations that stay compliant are those monitoring accessibility continuously, automatically flagging issues the moment they appear rather than auditing occasionally.

Tools like SiteBeacon cover all these accessibility checks monitoring your website against WCAG 2.2, ADA, EAA, EN 301 549, Section 508, and RGAAv4 simultaneously. Rather than juggling multiple testing tools or manual audits for each standard, continuous monitoring platforms track compliance across all applicable standards and alert you to issues as they emerge.

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. All standards reference or build on it. 87 testable success criteria; Level AA is most commonly required.

  • ADA Title II has a hard deadline. State and local governments must comply by April 26, 2028 ADA Title III (private business) has no federal deadline but active enforcement.

  • The EAA is live now. EU accessibility law enforcement began June 28, 2025 If you serve EU consumers, this is current, not future.

  • EN 301 549 extends beyond websites. EU technical standard covering web, software, hardware, and documents. Incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA but adds broader ICT product requirements.

  • Section 508 applies to federal contractors. U.S. procurement law requiring WCAG conformance, validated via DHS Trusted Tester methodology.

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

  • One baseline, regional layers. Build to WCAG 2.2 AA globally, then layer on regional standards. Standards aren't competing; they're jurisdictional extensions of a 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