Accessibility law · Europe

Netherlands EN 301 549 → WCAG 2.1 AA

In the Netherlands, the standard to meet is EN 301 549 → WCAG 2.1 AA. It binds government bodies, and since June 2025 private providers of e-commerce, consumer banking, telecoms, passenger transport, e-books and audiovisual access services (service microenterprises excepted). This page was reviewed against primary sources on 30 September 2026.

Standard
EN 301 549 → WCAG 2.1 AA
Private sector
Partly
Accessibility statement
Required
Next deadline
1 Jan 2030
Reviewed
30 September 2026
The 50 criteria All jurisdictions Checklist

Scope

Who it applies to

Government websites and apps must apply EN 301 549 (in practice WCAG 2.1 A and AA) and publish an accessibility statement; the government counts a statement with status A, B or C as meeting the duty. Since 28 June 2025 the Implementatiewet toegankelijkheidsvoorschriften producten en diensten applies the European Accessibility Act to private services such as web shops, banking and telecoms, enforced by sector regulators like the ACM with orders subject to penalty payments and fines. Separately, the disability equal treatment act (Wgbh/cz) requires reasonable adjustments and gradual general accessibility from anyone offering goods or services.

  • Public sector

    The state, regional and local authorities, bodies governed by public law and associations of them (Tijdelijk besluit art. 1). Public broadcasters (NPO and regional broadcasters) are excluded. The Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba) is being brought in, with a deadline of 1 January 2030.

  • Private sector

    Partly

    Since 28 June 2025, providers of e-commerce, consumer banking, electronic communications, e-books, access to audiovisual media and passenger transport services, plus makers and sellers of covered products such as computers, phones, e-readers and self-service terminals. Service microenterprises are exempt; the ACM applies the rules to companies with 10 or more staff or annual turnover above €2 million. The Wgbh/cz also applies to businesses and professionals offering goods or services to the public.

Coverage

What it covers

Websites are only part of it. Each tile says whether these rules reach that kind of product, with the detail.

  • Websites

    Covered

    All government sites; private sites in the EAA service sectors.

  • Mobile apps

    Covered

    Government apps since 23 June 2021; private apps in the covered sectors.

  • Documents

    Covered

    Office files published after 23 September 2018 on government sites.

  • Software

    Partly

    Consumer computers, operating systems and e-book software under the EAA law.

  • Kiosks and terminals

    Covered

    Payment terminals, ATMs, ticketing, check-in and information terminals under the EAA law.

  • Public procurement

    Unclear

    No procurement rule was found in the sources reviewed.

Timeline

Deadlines

Next: 1 Jan 2030. Planned deadline for public bodies in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; the change still awaits a royal decree to take effect.

Dates move, so check the linked source before you plan around one.

  1. 1 Jul 2018 In force

    The Tijdelijk besluit digitale toegankelijkheid overheid takes effect.

    Source

  2. 23 Sep 2019 In force

    Government websites published on or after 23 September 2018 must comply.

    Source

  3. 23 Sep 2020 In force

    All other government websites must comply.

    Source

  4. 23 Jun 2021 In force

    Government mobile apps must comply.

    Source

  5. 28 Jun 2025 In force

    The EAA implementation law applies to covered products and consumer services.

    Source

  6. 1 Jan 2030 Expected

    Planned deadline for public bodies in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; the change still awaits a royal decree to take effect.

    Source

  7. 27 Jun 2030 Upcoming

    Last day services may still be delivered with older products; service contracts from before 28 June 2025 may run at most five years from that date.

    Source

Instruments

The law in the Netherlands

4 laws, rules and rulings, oldest first. Each links to its primary source.

Every fact points at a primary source. Dates move, and several moved in 2025 and 2026, so check the source before you rely on one.

  1. 2003

    Wet gelijke behandeling op grond van handicap of chronische ziekte (Wgbh/cz)

    Disability equal treatment act, Stb. 2003, 206

    Bans disability discrimination, including in offering goods and services (art. 5b). Requires effective adjustments on request unless disproportionate (art. 2) and gradual general accessibility (art. 2a). Articles 5c and 5d now carry the EAA rules for some services.

    Primary source

  2. Jul 2018

    Tijdelijk besluit digitale toegankelijkheid overheid

    Government decree transposing Directive (EU) 2016/2102; legal basis now art. 3 Wet digitale overheid

    Government bodies must make websites and apps accessible by applying EN 301 549, publish a statement using the ministry's model, and meet the 2019, 2020 and 2021 deadlines. The minister monitors compliance.

    Primary source

  3. Jun 2025 Latest

    Implementatiewet toegankelijkheidsvoorschriften producten en diensten

    Stb. 2024, 87; transposes the European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882

    Amends the Warenwet, Wgbh/cz, Telecommunicatiewet, Civil Code, Wft and consumer enforcement act so that covered products and consumer services must be accessible from 28 June 2025, and names the regulators that enforce each part.

    Primary source

  4. Dec 2025

    Besluit invoering BSN en voorzieningen digitale overheid BES

    Stb. 2025, 406

    Extends the government accessibility decree to public bodies in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, which must comply by 1 January 2030; the accessibility part takes effect on a date set by royal decree.

    Primary source

Enforcement

Enforcement and penalties

  • Who enforces

    Government sites: the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), with the DigiToegankelijk team running the public dashboard. EAA: the ACM (e-commerce and telecoms), AFM (banking and financial e-commerce), Commissariaat voor de Media (e-books and audiovisual access), ILT (transport), RDI (products) and the Justice and Security Inspectorate (112). Wgbh/cz: the College voor de Rechten van de Mens and the courts.

  • How

    The ministry samples and tests government sites and checks statements; a public dashboard shows every site's status. EAA regulators act on complaints and run thematic and risk-based checks. In March 2026 the ACM reported that 61% of about 100 large web shops it tested were not accessible and said it would act against companies that do not improve.

  • Penalties

    The government decree has no fines. Under the EAA law, regulators can order compliance under penalty (last onder dwangsom), apply administrative enforcement, impose administrative fines, and have products withdrawn. No fine amounts were stated in the sources reviewed.

  • Individuals

    Consumers can report problems to the relevant regulator, and individuals and interest groups can sue a business in the civil courts over EAA non-compliance. Under the Wgbh/cz anyone can ask the College voor de Rechten van de Mens for an opinion, which is not binding, or go to court, where the burden of proof shifts to the provider.

Accessibility statement

A statement is required

Required

Government bodies must publish an up-to-date statement on the conformity of each website and app, using the model set by the Minister of the Interior (Tijdelijk besluit art. 4), and update it at least once a year. Statements are graded A (fully compliant), B (partly compliant), C (first measures taken), D (not compliant) or E (no statement); the government treats A, B or C as meeting the legal duty. Private service providers must describe in their terms or an equivalent document how the service meets the accessibility requirements.

Exemptions

What is exempt

Exemptions are narrow and usually have to be claimed and explained, not assumed.

  • Disproportionate burden (onevenredige last), weighed on size, resources and costs against benefits for disabled users.
  • Service microenterprises under the EAA law.
  • Public broadcasters are outside the government decree.
  • Office files published before 23 September 2018.
  • Prerecorded time-based media published before 23 September 2020, and all live media.
  • Online maps, if essential information is available accessibly.
  • Third-party content not funded, developed or controlled by the body.
  • Reproductions of heritage collection items.
  • Intranet and extranet content published before 23 September 2019.
  • Archived content not needed for active tasks and not updated after 23 September 2019.
  • Self-service terminals already in use may stay in service until the end of their economic life, but no more than 20 years after entry into use.

The standard

What WCAG 2.1 Level AA asks for

50 success criteria: 30 at Level A and 20 at Level AA. 4.1.1 Parsing counts in this version, but WCAG 2.2 removed it as obsolete, so it has no page here.

1. Perceivable

2. Operable

3. Understandable

4. Robust

Beyond the law

6 Level A and AA criteria in WCAG 2.2 that these rules do not require yet. Meeting them now costs little and is where the rules are heading.

Meeting it

Where to start

The standard named here is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

  1. Audit your pages against WCAG 2.1 Level AA: 50 success criteria at Level A and AA.
  2. Check text and control contrast in the Contrast Checker.
  3. Run the URL Analyzer for the problems a machine can find, then test with a keyboard and a screen reader.
  4. Publish an accessibility statement that says what does not meet the standard yet, and how to report a problem.
  5. Work through the Accessibility Checklist and keep a record of what you tested.

This is a summary to orient you, not legal advice. For a decision that matters, read the primary sources and ask a lawyer who practices there.

Questions

Common questions

  • Does it apply to private companies?

    Yes for EAA services since 28 June 2025: web shops and other e-commerce, consumer banking, telecoms, e-books, audiovisual access and passenger transport. The ACM applies it to companies with 10 or more staff or turnover above €2 million. Every business offering goods or services is also bound by the Wgbh/cz duty to make reasonable adjustments.

  • What do the A to E statuses mean?

    They grade a government site's accessibility statement: A fully compliant, B partly compliant, C first measures taken, D not compliant, E no statement. The government counts A, B or C as meeting the legal duty. On 30 September 2026 the dashboard listed 9,096 sites and apps, 858 of them at status A.

  • Which WCAG level applies?

    The decree names EN 301 549; the government's guidance translates that into the 50 WCAG 2.1 success criteria at levels A and AA.

  • Who enforces the rules for web shops?

    The ACM, from 28 June 2025. It said it would first focus on critical problems, and in March 2026 it found 61% of about 100 large web shops it tested inaccessible. Financial e-commerce and banking fall to the AFM.

  • Can a user complain?

    About a government site, use the feedback route in its accessibility statement. About a business, report it to the relevant regulator, sue in the civil courts, or ask the College voor de Rechten van de Mens for a non-binding opinion under the Wgbh/cz.

Sources

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these; the few secondary sources are marked. Reviewed 30 September 2026.

Elsewhere

Also in Europe

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