In 2026, BFSG accessibility has well and truly arrived in everyday business. Since the German Accessibility Improvement Act (BFSG) came into force on 28 June 2025, many digital products and services have been required to be accessible. Almost a year later, one thing is clear: enforcement is picking up speed, and the number of warning letters is rising noticeably.
For SMEs with an online shop, online booking or digital services, this is a wake-up call. Anyone who has not yet made their website accessible is taking a concrete financial and legal risk. At the same time, plenty of half-truths are circulating about what is actually mandatory and which warning letters are even justified. We bring clarity to the situation.
BFSG accessibility: who is affected
The law applies to products placed on the market since 28 June 2025 and to services provided to consumers since that date. Those affected include the entire online retail sector, hardware and software, banking services and long-distance passenger transport.
There is, however, one important exception. Microenterprises with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover of at most two million euros that provide services are exempt from the law. Caution: if microenterprises place products on the market, the exemption does not apply. The distinction needs to be examined carefully in each individual case.
Do not be too quick to rely on the microenterprise exemption, though. As soon as you sell goods through an online shop, you quickly qualify as a provider of electronic commerce services - and then the requirements apply regardless of your headcount. When in doubt, a proper legal assessment is cheaper than a later retrofit under time pressure or a fine proceeding.
The new market surveillance authority and its powers
The German federal states have created a joint supervisory body. With the state treaty that came into force on 26 September 2025, the states' Market Surveillance Authority for the Accessibility of Products and Services (MLBF), based in Magdeburg, has taken up its work.
The authority acts both proactively on the basis of a market surveillance strategy and through spot checks. If it finds non-conformity, it requires the company to establish conformity. If that does not happen, measures follow, up to and including fines or even a ban on offering the product or service. Depending on the violation, fines can reach up to 100,000 euros.
Beyond the fine, the possible ban on offering your service is the sharpest sword. For an online shop that earns its revenue over the internet, an ordered shutdown would be an existential threat. That is another reason to treat the BFSG not as a tiresome formality but as a business-critical requirement, and to tackle it proactively before the supervisory authority or a competitor takes action.
Putting the 2026 wave of warning letters in perspective
Since the end of 2025, a marked increase in warning letters has been observed, and it intensified in the first quarter of 2026. Specialized law firms and competitors are systematically scanning websites for violations. The most frequent complaints do not concern highly complex technology but the basics.
- Missing alternative text for images
- Insufficient color contrast
- Forms that cannot be used without a mouse
- A missing or inadequate accessibility statement
Important to know: legal experts point out that many of these warning letters are legally questionable. The direct competitive relationship between the parties that the law requires is often missing. So respond calmly, do not rush to sign any pre-formulated cease-and-desist declarations, and seek legal advice when in doubt.
These measures protect your web presence
The best protection against warning letters and fines is a website that is genuinely accessible. The international WCAG standard, which also underpins the European norm, provides the guidance. Many effective steps can be implemented with manageable effort.
Concrete first steps
- Add alternative text to all informative images
- Ensure sufficient color contrast
- Guarantee full keyboard operability
- Use a clear heading structure and semantic HTML
- Give forms unambiguous labels and error messages
- Publish a correct accessibility statement
A professional audit reliably uncovers the critical issues. Pure overlay tools that claim to make everything accessible at the click of a button, on the other hand, are no substitute for clean technical implementation and have drawn criticism. They often merely mask the problems instead of fixing them at the root, and can even make things worse for people using assistive technology.
Do not forget the accessibility statement
A separate and often overlooked mandatory element is the accessibility statement. Providers must inform users about the accessibility of their offering and explain how the requirements are met. This exact point comes up in many warning letters because a statement is simply missing or incomplete.
A good statement names the current state of accessibility, any known limitations and a contact channel for feedback from affected users. It should be easy to find, typically linked in the footer of your website. Doing this properly signals to both users and the supervisory authority that you take the matter seriously.
Seeing accessibility as an opportunity
Accessibility is more than compliance. An accessible website reaches more people, improves the user experience for everyone and has a positive effect on search engine optimization. Clean, semantic HTML and good structure help search engines and screen readers alike. Approach the topic strategically and you win twice.
Millions of people in Germany live with permanent impairments, and the population is aging, with declining vision and hearing. These target groups have purchasing power and are loyal. Offering them accessible access opens up measurably larger markets - an argument that goes far beyond mere legal certainty. What is more: what helps people with impairments often improves usability for everyone else too, for instance on smartphones or in poor lighting conditions.
How to respond correctly to a warning letter
If you have already received a warning letter, staying calm is the first step. Do not react in panic and do not sign anything unchecked. Proceed in a structured way instead:
- Note the deadline, but do not act rashly
- Have it checked whether a competitive relationship even exists
- Do not sign pre-formulated cease-and-desist declarations unexamined
- Document and assess the alleged defects technically
- When in doubt, turn to specialized legal advice
Since many warning letters are legally contestable, a well-founded review can fend off expensive, excessive demands. At the same time, you should fix the technical defects anyway - if only to be on the safe side next time.
In the long run, prevention is the best strategy. A website that is built cleanly and accessibly from the start offers hardly any attack surface - neither for warning letters nor for market surveillance. So make accessibility a fixed part of every relaunch and development decision instead of bolting it on afterwards. That is cheaper, more sustainable and delivers far better quality than a repair under pressure.
Conclusion
The BFSG and accessibility have become reality for many SMEs in 2026. With active market surveillance from Magdeburg, possible fines of up to 100,000 euros and a growing wave of warning letters, waiting is not an option. The good news: the most frequent defects are comparatively easy to fix, and accessibility pays into reach and SEO. Tackle the topic in a structured way now and you turn a legal obligation into a genuine competitive advantage while protecting yourself against warning letters and regulatory measures. It pays off in more ways than one not to wait any longer.
Unsure whether your website meets the requirements of the BFSG, or have you already received a warning letter? Cryon audits your web presence for accessibility from Leipzig, implements the necessary technical adjustments and creates a legally sound accessibility statement. Contact us for an initial assessment.
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