What must an accessibility statement contain?

Mandatory content, free format

An accessibility statement describes the extent to which a web shop or service complies with the European accessibility standard, which parts do not yet comply, and how a visitor can report a problem. The directive prescribes that content — what must be included — but leaves the format free: there is no mandatory template with fixed headings or a fixed layout. This means that a statement can be placed on the company's own website, in its own house style, as long as the core elements are present: the level of compliance, the known defects, and a way to respond.

Language and, to a lesser extent, format conventions differ by country. In Germany, the document is called the Erklärung zur Barrierefreiheit and must be in German. In France it is the déclaration d'accessibilité, in French. In Belgium, the language depends on the language region served by the web shop — Dutch or French — and a Belgian shop often serves both language regions at the same time, which means that in practice two statements are needed, each in the language of that version of the site. In the Netherlands it is simply called the accessibility statement, also here in free format.

Where this follows from the directive

That content is regulated at European level while form remains free by country follows from the structure of Directive (EU) 2019/882: the directive harmonises the accessibility requirements themselves — in practice EN 301 549 and WCAG 2.1 level AA — and leaves implementation, including the precise form of documents such as the statement, to the national legislation of each member state. This explains why the content of an accessibility statement is the same everywhere, while language and convention differ by country.