A client wrote to you: “Your website is not accessible, you risk a fine.” Or your accountant mentioned it. Or a salesperson sent you a worrying email with a date: June 28, 2025.
Before paying for anything, one simple question: are you actually affected? The answer is often no. Sometimes it is yes. This article tells you which, backed by official sources, and lets you decide without pressure.
We sell an accessibility service. We say so right away: if you are exempt, you don't need us. This article is here so that you know it.
The website accessibility requirement: what changed on June 28, 2025
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) has applied since June 28, 2025. This is what the DGCCRF (the French consumer protection and fraud authority) states in its practical guide for professionals on economie.gouv.fr.
It covers products (computers, smartphones, payment terminals, e-readers) and services. For a business owner with a website, the line that matters is this one: the services covered include e-commerce. The list also includes consumer banking services, telephony, transport and audiovisual media.
In plain terms: if you sell online to consumers, the question applies to you. If you have a showcase site without online sales (a plumber, a firm, a bakery showing its opening hours), this type of site is not on this list of services. For a borderline case, check the DGCCRF page or ask a lawyer.
The directive has been transposed into French law. The texts can be read on Légifrance, notably the order of September 6, 2023 and the Consumer Code.
Who is exempt? Micro-enterprises, under conditions
This is the point many salespeople forget to mention. According to the DGCCRF, companies with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total under 2 million euros get a specific approach: service providers have no accessibility obligation in that case.
What this means for you:
- A sole tradesperson, or one with three employees, selling services online: exempt.
- An online shop with 4 people and €600,000 in turnover: exempt, as a service provider.
- An e-commerce business with 12 employees or more than €2M in turnover: affected.
Careful, a nuance in wording. Sources differ slightly on the exact phrasing of the thresholds (some sites write “or” where the DGCCRF writes a cumulative threshold). The text that counts is the law and the official guide. If you are in doubt at the edge of a threshold, don't rely on a blog article, including ours: check at the source.
There are also other exemptions: if making the service accessible fundamentally changes its nature, or if the cost would be disproportionate. The DGCCRF specifies that these cases are declared online and must be justified. It is not an automatic way out.
Don't confuse it with the RGAA, which mostly concerns the public sector
Two rules are in circulation, and they often get mixed up.
The RGAA is the French technical standard. The official page on the scope (DINUM) lists: public-law legal entities, certain private entities with a public service mission, and companies whose turnover exceeds 250 million euros. Arcom, which oversees this obligation, states on its site that, for private companies, it only checks display obligations, not technical compliance.
The June 2025 directive targets e-commerce services, including for companies far smaller than €250M. It is enforced by the DGCCRF. For websites, the DGCCRF says the RGAA is the national technical and legal standard, with the WCAG and the European standard EN 301 549 as reference standards.
Remember: the RGAA is the technical manual. The 2025 directive is what extends the obligation to part of the private sector.
What are the penalties?
Again according to the DGCCRF, failing to meet accessibility obligations is a fifth-class offense, meaning a €7,500 fine, cumulative depending on the number of violations found. Inspectors can also order a professional to come into compliance.
On the RGAA side, Arcom can, after a formal notice, impose fines of up to €50,000 for failing accessibility requirements and up to €25,000 for other obligations. This only concerns the bodies listed above.
Are inspections really happening?
Yes, but not against the small shop around the corner. In its one-year review, the DGCCRF says it launched an investigation in early 2026 targeting the websites and apps of large online retailers. It has inspected more than 20 sites since the start of the year and plans corrective or punitive follow-up for half of them. Around a hundred businesses are to be inspected in 2026 (DGCCRF review).
The most frequent failures found on distance-selling sites: insufficient color contrast, loss of information when the page is enlarged, being unable to navigate by keyboard (to choose a delivery address or a payment method), and no non-compliance statement.
Consumers can also report a site through SignalConso. The DGCCRF says it has received nearly 100 reports. An unhappy customer can therefore trigger an inspection, even for a small business.
Am I affected? The 4-question test
Answer honestly:
- Do you sell online to consumers (cart, payment, paid booking)? If not, you are probably not in scope.
- Do you have 10 or more employees? If so, the micro-enterprise exemption does not apply.
- Does your turnover or balance sheet exceed €2M? If so, the same applies.
- Are you a service provider in one of the categories (banking, transport, telephony, media)? These sectors have their own rules.
If you answer “no” to the first question, or “no” to questions 2 and 3, you are very probably out of scope. Keep that conclusion, but keep the source too: the DGCCRF page.
Even if exempt, accessibility can be worth it
The legal obligation is one thing. The commercial interest is another. A site that can be read without effort, with well-contrasted colors, visible buttons and clear forms, converts better with everyone: an older person, someone checking their phone in the sun, a customer with a disability.
But it is not a legal emergency for you if you are exempt. It is reading comfort to handle when you redo your site.
If you are affected: what to do, in order
- Take stock. An automated tool spots part of the errors: contrast, missing alternative texts, form fields without labels. It does not detect everything, but it gives a first picture.
- Fix the blocking errors: keyboard navigation, forms, contrast, the checkout path.
- Get an audit if needed. A full RGAA audit is carried out by a specialist auditor, page by page, with a detailed report.
- Publish the required information: the DGCCRF notably mentions publishing evidence of compliance, such as RGAA audit reports.
- Monitor over time. Every new page, every new product can bring errors back.
A few free options exist: the DINUM tools on design.numerique.gouv.fr, and browser extensions that detect contrast. They take time and a minimum of technical knowledge.
What Fiddes Access does, and what it doesn't
Fiddes Access offers three levels:
- Automated pre-audit: €149. A report of the main errors and a fix plan.
- Fixes: €490 to €990 depending on the size of the site, to correct the errors found.
- Full RGAA audit: custom quote, carried out page by page according to the official standard.
The price is displayed, the scope is clear, no work starts before payment, and the money-back guarantee applies.
What we don't do: promise guaranteed compliance. No serious person can guarantee it from an automated tool. A full audit, done by a qualified human, is the only way to really measure the state of a site. Our pre-audit tells you where you stand and what to fix first. It does not replace a full audit or legal advice.
Who it is useful for: an e-commerce business above the thresholds, a company answering a call for tenders with an accessibility requirement, or an owner who wants to know where they stand before being inspected. For an exempt micro-enterprise offering services, it is not necessary.
Details and ordering on the Fiddes Access page.
