Germany: Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (accessibility act) applies to products and services
Date note: Transitional relief: service providers may keep using products already deployed before 2025-06-28 until 2030-06-27, and may continue pre-existing service contracts unchanged until they expire or until 2030-06-27, whichever is earlier; self-service terminals in use before 2025-06-28 may run until the end of their economic life, capped at 15 years after commissioning.
What changes
The BFSG (Germany's transposition of the European Accessibility Act) has applied since 28 June 2025. It requires many consumer-facing products (e.g. computers, smartphones, e-readers, payment terminals, self-service terminals) and services (e.g. e-commerce, banking, telecoms, transport ticketing, e-books) to meet accessibility requirements. A specific exemption in §3 Abs. 3 BFSG excludes Kleinstunternehmen (micro-enterprises: under 10 staff and either annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2m) from the accessibility duties for the SERVICES they provide (this exemption does not extend to putting non-compliant PRODUCTS on the market).
Who is affected
Small, medium and large businesses selling in-scope products or providing in-scope services to consumers in Germany; micro-enterprises are exempt only for services, not for products they manufacture or sell.
Sizes: micro, small, medium, large · Sectors: E-commerce, Retail, Finance / insurance, Transport / logistics, Media / marketing · Applies if: We sell to consumers (B2C); We sell online
What to do
Check whether your products or services fall within BFSG's scope (Anlagen 1-3). If you provide services and qualify as a Kleinstunternehmen, document the exemption. Otherwise design/adapt products and digital services (websites, apps, terminals) to meet the accessibility requirements and keep technical documentation for market surveillance.
Penalty
Fines up to €100,000 for placing non-compliant products on the market, CE-marking violations or offering non-compliant services (§37 Abs. 2 BFSG); up to €10,000 for other listed violations (§37 Abs. 1).
Sources
- gesetze-im-internet.de – BFSG §38 (Übergangsbestimmungen) and §3 (Kleinstunternehmen-Ausnahme) (www.gesetze-im-internet.de)
- gesetze-im-internet.de – BFSG §37 (Bußgeldvorschriften) (www.gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Bundesnetzagentur – Ad-hoc-Gruppe Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (market surveillance) (www.bundesnetzagentur.de)
Last verified 8 September 2026. Informational only, not legal advice.