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EU Rules Mandate Accessible Public Sector Websites

Author: European Parliament
Published: 2016/10/29 - Updated: 2025/12/25
Publication Type: Announcement
Category Topic: Website - Related Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This report documents European Parliament rules requiring that websites and mobile applications of public sector organizations - including government administrations, hospitals, courts, universities, and libraries - meet unified accessibility standards. The policy addresses a significant gap: approximately 80 million EU residents have disabilities, with projections suggesting this number would reach 120 million by 2020 as populations age. The directive requires public bodies to maintain detailed accessibility statements, establish feedback mechanisms for users to report problems, and provide on-demand access to certain excluded content types. Member states were given 21 months to incorporate the rules into national law, followed by staggered implementation deadlines for new websites, existing websites, and mobile applications. This represents a substantial practical advancement for disabled and elderly people seeking to complete essential tasks online - filing taxes, applying for benefits, or enrolling in educational programs - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

The websites and apps of public administrations, hospitals, courts and other public sector bodies will have to be made accessible to everyone, under new EU-wide rules approved by the European Parliament on Wednesday.

Main Content

The web accessibility directive, already agreed by Parliament and Council, should make it easier for disabled and elderly people to access data and services on the internet, e.g. to file a tax declaration, apply for an allowance, pay fees or enrol at university.

"Today, we have ensured that e-government is accessible to everyone. Just as physical government buildings should be accessible, so too should the digital gateways. We solved the public side of web accessibility, but the internet is far more than government websites and apps. We need reform also for the private world of services, from banks to television stations to private hospitals. I hope that we can soon adopt the European Accessibility Act, so that both public and private services are accessible to all our citizens", said Parliament's rapporteur Dita Charanzová (ALDE, CZ).

Under the new rules, the websites and mobile apps of public sector bodies - from administrations, courts and police departments to public hospitals, universities and libraries - will have to meet common accessibility standards. MEPs ensured that apps used on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, must also comply with these rules.

Feedback Mechanism

Public sector bodies will have to provide and regularly update a "detailed, comprehensive and clear accessibility statement" on the compliance of their websites and apps with the directive, including an explanation for those parts of the content that are not accessible, and the reasons for that inaccessibility. A "feedback mechanism" will have to be put in place to enable users to report compliance issues and to request specific information if content is inaccessible.

On-demand access to certain types of content:

Some types of content are excluded from the scope of the directive, but only if they are not needed for administrative processes, such as office file formats, pre-recorded time-based media or the content of archived websites. MEPs ensured that public sector bodies will have to make this excluded content accessible to any person upon request (on-demand access).

Public sector bodies will have to give an "adequate response to the notification or request within a reasonable period of time", and provide a link to an "enforcement procedure" for use in the event of an unsatisfactory response to the feedback or on-demand request. Member states will have to designate an authority tasked with monitoring and enforcing these rules.

Around 80 million people in the EU have a disability. As the EU's population ages, the number of people with disabilities or age-related internet access difficulties is expected to increase to 120 million by 2020.

Next Steps

Once the directive is published in the EU Official Journal, member states will have to transpose it into their national laws within 21 months of its date of its entry into force. They then have 12 months to apply the provisions to new websites, 24 months to apply them to existing websites and 33 months to apply them to public sector bodies' mobile applications.

Procedure: Co-decision, second reading agreement

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: The approval of this directive reflected both hard-won recognition and an incomplete victory. While ensuring that government digital services would become universally accessible, the Parliament's rapporteur herself acknowledged the limitation: the rules applied only to the public sector. The broader digital economy - banks, insurance companies, retailers, and streaming services - remained largely outside this framework, meaning millions could still be excluded from essential private-sector services. This dichotomy exposed a deeper tension in accessibility policy: treating digital access as something governments must guarantee for their own services while allowing private industry to choose. In the decade since this directive's passage, that tension has only sharpened, as essential goods, financial services, and social participation have increasingly migrated to digital platforms beyond regulatory reach - Disabled World (DW).

Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by European Parliament and published on 2016/10/29, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.

Related Publications

• Europe Agreement Regarding Accessible Websites: Informal deal with European Parliament on new directive to make public sector websites and mobile applications more accessible for people with disabilities.

• Public Sector EU Websites Must Now Be Accessible: All European public-sector bodies now legally obliged to have accessible websites for all members of the public including persons with disabilities.

• : Call to make Nepal's digital future accessible to all, urging inclusive design, policy reform, and accountability for people with disabilities.

• : Prayatna Nepal convened 35 stakeholders from government, private sector, and disability organizations to advance digital inclusion through practical guidelines.

• : Workshop in Kathmandu addresses legal frameworks, accessibility barriers, and digital inclusion strategies for visually impaired women in Nepal.

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APA: European Parliament. (2016, October 29 - Last revised: 2025, December 25). EU Rules Mandate Accessible Public Sector Websites. Disabled World (DW). Retrieved January 30, 2026 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/accessibility/websitedesign/european.php
MLA: European Parliament. "EU Rules Mandate Accessible Public Sector Websites." Disabled World (DW), 29 Oct. 2016, revised 25 Dec. 2025. Web. 30 Jan. 2026. <www.disabled-world.com/disability/accessibility/websitedesign/european.php>.
Chicago: European Parliament. "EU Rules Mandate Accessible Public Sector Websites." Disabled World (DW). Last modified December 25, 2025. www.disabled-world.com/disability/accessibility/websitedesign/european.php.

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