Digital accessibility is a prerequisite for digital participation and therefore essential to social inclusion. In the public sector, digital accessibility has been a legal requirement for some time. Since September 2020, an EU directive has required public-sector digital services across the European Union to be accessible. This page provides an overview of the relevant directives and legislation.
Table of Contents
Accessibility requirements for public-sector bodies
Directive (EU) 2016/2102
Directive (EU) 2016/2102 has required public-sector bodies in EU Member States at national, regional and local level to provide accessible digital services since September 2020, including websites, intranets, downloads and mobile applications. The Directive applies to websites and mobile applications of public-sector bodies. These include, in particular, government bodies, regional and local authorities and bodies governed by public law. Typical examples include public authorities and local administrations.
The Directive also requires public-sector bodies to provide:
- an accessibility statement containing detailed, comprehensive and clear information about the accessibility of their digital services
- a feedback mechanism that allows users to report accessibility problems and request that existing barriers be removed
Implementation of the Directive: legislation
At federal level in Germany, the European Directive was implemented in 2019 through BITV 2.0, the Federal Ordinance on Accessible Information Technology. Accessibility requirements for digital services are implemented in accordance with the European standard EN 301 549, which sets minimum accessibility requirements for information and communications technology (ICT), particularly Section 9 on web content. These minimum requirements for accessible ICT products are based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The WCAG are built around four fundamental principles for accessible digital services: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
In addition to implementation at federal level, Germany has state laws and, in some cases, state-specific regulations. The federal states have a degree of discretion as to whether they follow BITV 2.0 when implementing digital accessibility requirements or adopt different rules. However, state-level provisions must still meet the minimum standard set out in EN 301 549.
Summary: Under Directive (EU) 2016/2102, digital services provided by public-sector bodies must comply with the current version of BITV 2.0 or the applicable state regulation, with reference to the current version of EN 301 549. The four WCAG principles of perceivable, operable, understandable and robust must be observed.
Accessible surveys in the public sector
How do online surveys relate to the Directive and the legislation? Online surveys are interactive web services: participants read content, use form controls and submit information. This is directly relevant to public-sector bodies, as BITV 2.0 expressly highlights services involving user interaction, such as forms. Online surveys should therefore also be designed to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
LamaPoll can be used to create accessible surveys for the public sector. LamaPoll follows WCAG standards when implementing accessibility. When creating a survey, however, many accessibility criteria also depend on how the survey creator designs the questionnaire:
Survey creators have direct control over many aspects of creating an accessible survey with LamaPoll. Our accessible survey checklist provides practical guidance.
Accessibility for public-sector bodies: the example of Berlin
Berlin, where LamaPoll is based, implemented the European Directive in state law through the Berlin Accessible Information and Communications Technology Act (BIKTG Bln, 2019). Berlin also has standards for accessible websites and web-based applications. They explain how websites and software should be tested and which criteria are mandatory.
One example from the requirements for websites and web-based software:
“The website or software must be fully usable with the two most recent versions of the JAWS and NVDA screen readers. All documents used on the website must be accessible and comply with Berlin's accessibility standards.” (Source: Berlin standards for accessible websites and web-based applications)
Benefits of accessible websites and surveys
Accessible digital services are mandatory for public-sector bodies. Beyond that, accessibility offers wider benefits to users of websites and surveys, including where accessibility is not yet a legal requirement. From a user-centred perspective, implementing digital accessibility is generally advisable.
Benefits of accessible surveys
- more people can take part in the survey independently
- questionnaires can also be completed using a keyboard and assistive technologies
- clear content and a well-structured questionnaire make the survey easier for everyone to use
- people are not excluded from participation simply because of technical barriers
Accessible surveys with LamaPoll
LamaPoll enables public-sector bodies to create accessible online surveys in line with WCAG requirements. Alongside the technical accessibility of the survey software, the way the questionnaire is designed also matters, including clear content, meaningful labels and appropriate question types.
Our accessible survey checklist explains what to consider when creating an accessible survey.
