Accessibility-compliance glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms that come up when you deal with the BFSG, the European Accessibility Act and WCAG — each linked to the tool or reference that helps.
A German formal cease-and-desist / warning letter. The main BFSG enforcement mechanism against shops.
A JavaScript widget (accessiBe, UserWay…) that re-renders a page at runtime. Marketing compliance, not legal compliance.
A published statement of how a service meets accessibility requirements. Required for most covered shops.
The open-source accessibility testing engine inside Lighthouse, Chrome DevTools — and WCAGdesk’s scanner.
Germany’s Accessibility Strengthening Act — the national law transposing the EU Accessibility Act, in force since 28 June 2025.
An established German manual accessibility testing methodology, based on WCAG / EN 301 549.
EU Directive 2019/882 harmonising accessibility requirements for products and services across member states.
The European accessibility standard. Its chapter 9 references WCAG, giving the EAA and BFSG a presumption of conformity.
The authority that enforces the BFSG for products and services. In Germany: the MLBF, run jointly by the federal states.
BFSG/EAA exemption for service providers with fewer than 10 staff AND ≤ €2M turnover. Services only — not products.
A cryptographic timestamp from a trusted authority proving a document existed at a given time and was not backdated.
Assistive software (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack) that reads a page aloud or to a braille display.
A penalty-backed declaration to cease a violation, usually demanded by an Abmahnung. Sign a modified version.
A standard document reporting a product’s conformance against WCAG / EN 301 549, often requested in procurement.
The W3C guidelines (current version 2.2) that define how to make web content accessible. The basis EU law builds on.
WCAG’s three tiers. EU law (via EN 301 549) requires Level A and AA; AAA is aspirational.