Accessibility statement

A well-written and maintained accessibility statement will show you care about accessibility. And that you care about your users as well.

When your accessibility statement is up to date, your users can save time. They don't have to find out the hard way that the site is inaccessible to them. So make sure you keep your accessibility statement updated when something changes.

Don't make false claims. Don't forget about the accessibility failings after writing them down. You should fix the problems at some point. Give users a time estimate.

Add the creation and update times of the document to the accessibility statement. That way users know if the accessibility statement is up to date.

Check if you need to provide an accessibility statement by law. The requirements aren't the same in all countries. Make sure that you check what you need to do in your country.

What should go into an accessibility statement?

Your accessibility statement should state the accessibility status of your content. Include at least the following:

• An outline of key guidelines and standards the website follows
• Any known exceptions to the intended level of web accessibility
• Contact information for reporting difficulties with the website

Make sure your accessibility statement is accessible. And pay attention to the cognitive load of the page. That way you can ensure that all your users can access the page.

In some situations, you may be required to provide particular content in your accessibility statements. For example, there are specific requirements for accessibility statements in relation to the EU Web Accessibility Directive.

The EU Web Accessibility Directive requirements for the accessibility statement

The requirements cover a lot of the things mentioned so far on this page. But this is a list of the requirements:

1. The statement must include an explanation of which parts of the content of the service provider's digital service do not meet the accessibility requirements. In addition, this must include a justification for the deviation from the accessibility requirements.
2. The statement must include instructions on how the user can access the information contained in the digital service or an alternative way of accessing the service if the service or any part of it is not in an accessible format for the user.
3. The statement must include the electronic contact details of the service provider to which the user can send accessibility feedback.
4. The statement must include a link to the website of the supervisory authority where the user can lodge an accessibility complaint or request for clarification.