What happens if my accessibility statement is not up to date?

An outdated accessibility statement is itself a finding

An accessibility statement that no longer matches the actual state of the web shop counts in most cases as a defect in itself, regardless of how accessible the site otherwise is. The statement is intended as a current status report: what is already in order, what is not yet, and what plan underlies it. A statement that refers to an old version of the site, to defects that have already been remedied, or that simply has not been updated for years, no longer provides a reliable picture. That is precisely the kind of point that a supervisory authority flags first, even without a complaint having been received — Can the market surveillance authority check my webshop without anyone complaining? describes how such an investigation on its own initiative proceeds in practice.

What happens after that varies by country, because each country has its own supervisory authority and its own enforcement route. In the Netherlands, the ACM supervises and an outdated statement may be grounds for an inquiry or a letter; what is to be done in that regard is described at I received a letter from the ACM about accessibility, what should I do?. In Belgium, supervision lies with FOD Economie, in France with the DGCCRF. In Germany, alongside supervision by the supervisory authority, there is also a separate, faster route: competitors or advocacy organisations can send a cease-and-desist letter on the basis of BFSG, and a statement that is clearly not being updated is precisely the kind of leverage point for that — see What is an Abmahnung for accessibility and who can send it?. How the penalties look concretely in each country is summarised on the page about sanctions by country.

Why currency is a requirement, not a detail

The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) requires ongoing, verifiable accountability for the accessibility of a service, and the national implementations — such as the German BFSG — translate that into supervision and enforcement at the national level. A statement that no longer matches the actual state of the site therefore does not fulfil the purpose of that obligation, regardless of how accessible the underlying pages themselves are. The ACM has already indicated in its communication on preparing for these rules that companies must be ready for this, which indicates that the statement as a document is being taken seriously in supervision.