When will WCAG 2.2 become mandatory in the EU?

WCAG 2.2 is not yet the legal standard

WCAG 2.2 is not currently mandatory in the EU. The applicable requirement is EN 301 549 V3.2.1, which in practice amounts to WCAG 2.1 level AA. This standard applies in exactly the same way across all twenty-seven Member States: the European Accessibility Act refers to a single harmonised standard, not a standard per country. A successor is on the way, designated EN 301 549 V4.1.x, which will contain the requirements of WCAG 2.2 AA. That version is expected in 2026, but does not yet have a set entry-into-force date and is therefore not yet binding.

For e-commerce sites and digital service providers, this means that testing now takes place against WCAG 2.1 AA, not the newer version 2.2. Anyone who already accounts for the additional success criteria from WCAG 2.2 is getting ahead of a future tightening, but is not yet held accountable for it. Once EN 301 549 V4.1.x formally comes into force, the legal requirement will shift to WCAG 2.2 AA. Until then, version 2.1 remains the standard, unchanged across all twenty-seven Member States.

Where this comes from: EN 301 549 and the W3C standard

The European Accessibility Act does not itself mention a WCAG version, but refers to the harmonised standard EN 301 549; the current version of that, V3.2.1, sets out the requirements of WCAG 2.1 level AA. WCAG 2.2 exists as a W3C standard and is technically the successor to 2.1, but becomes a legal requirement only once EN 301 549 receives a new version that refers to it. That successor, designated V4.1.x, is expected in 2026; a set entry-into-force date is currently lacking.