Web accessibility regulations in Spain and the European Union
Which rules affect websites and apps in Spain, who has to follow them and what they require, explained in plain language. This is general information, not legal advice.
| Rule or standard | Who it applies to | What it requires, in short | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Accessibility Act: Directive (EU) 2019/882 and, in Spain, Law 11/2023 | Businesses that provide certain services to consumers, such as e-commerce or banking. Microenterprises that provide services are exempt. | Accessible websites and apps, and accessibility information about the service. | 28 June 2025 |
| Public sector: Directive (EU) 2016/2102 and Royal Decree 1112/2018 | Public administrations and public sector bodies. | Accessible websites and apps, an accessibility statement, a feedback mechanism and regular reviews. | 2018, with staggered deadlines up to 2021 |
| EN 301 549 | The European technical standard for the accessibility of ICT products and services. | Technical requirements. For the web, it refers to WCAG levels A and AA. | v3.2.1 cited in the Official Journal of the EU; v4.1.1 published on 2 September 2026 |
| WCAG 2.2 | Guidelines from the W3C, the worldwide technical reference. | 55 level A and AA success criteria. | October 2023 |
Guides to the regulations
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European Accessibility Act (EAA)
Services covered, the microenterprise exemption, obligations, deadlines and penalties.
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EN 301 549
What it is, which version currently applies and what changes with v4.1.1, based on WCAG 2.2.
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WCAG 2.2
Principles, levels and the full list of the 55 level A and AA success criteria.
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Accessibility statement
The public sector accessibility statement and the accessibility information for businesses.
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Public sector
What Royal Decree 1112/2018 requires and how monitoring works.
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Does the EAA apply to me?
Four questions to get a rough idea of which rules apply to you.
Criteria and scope of SiteNorma’s analysis
Which technical criteria our automated analysis checks, what you get from the free analysis and what it cannot tell you.
Which criteria we use
We run automated tests based on WCAG 2.2, levels A and AA: 55 success criteria, the technical reference that EN 301 549 points to. WCAG are guidelines published by the W3C: basing our tests on them does not mean that the W3C endorses SiteNorma or its results.
We apply the axe-core rules for WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 at levels A and AA, plus our own checks: reflow at 320 pixels, text spacing, tabbing through the page, autoplay, automatic redirects and language.
What the free analysis includes
- One page of your website, the one you choose, on desktop (1366 × 768 pixels) and on mobile (390 × 844).
- The confirmed issues, by severity: critical, serious, moderate and minor.
- How many criteria need manual review.
- No sign-up: leaving your email is optional.
What its limits are
- Automated tests only detect some of the barriers. They can show that a criterion fails, never that it passes.
- They cannot decide, for example, whether alternative text describes an image well, whether the reading order makes sense or whether a purchase can be completed with the keyboard alone.
- The result is an automated estimate. It is not your website’s legal conformance status and it does not replace manual review.
The EN 301 549 currently cited in the Official Journal of the EU (v3.2.1) is based on WCAG 2.1. Version 4.1.1, based on WCAG 2.2, was published on 2 September 2026 and its citation is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. You will find the details in EN 301 549 and, on how we scan and score, in the methodology.
About this information
We summarise the regulations in our own words and link to the official texts. This is not legal advice: before making a specific decision, check with your legal adviser. Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.
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