Inaccessible Website: What It Can Cost You
“Fines of up to €100,000” now shows up in every other newsletter, usually followed by a sales pitch. The amount is correct, but it is a maximum at the end of a multi-stage procedure, not the bill after your first mistake. Here is what actually happens under the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG), what is legally unresolved, and which costs realistically hit you first.
The fine range, in concrete terms
The rules on fines are in § 37 BFSG. The law distinguishes two tiers:
| Tier | Range | For what |
|---|---|---|
| § 37 para. 1 nos. 1, 7, 8, 9, 10 | up to €100,000 | Among other things, placing non-accessible products on the market and offering a non-accessible service. This is where e-commerce websites fall. |
| all other cases | up to €10,000 | Violations of information, labeling and documentation obligations. |
Two things tend to get left out of the panic messaging. First, these are maximum amounts, not standard rates. The actual amount depends on the nature, severity and duration of the violation as well as the financial circumstances of the business concerned. Those are the general principles of German law on administrative offenses. A trade business with an appointment booking tool is in a different league than a large corporation.
Second, before a fine is even on the table, there is a procedure.
What market surveillance really does
Enforcement lies with the market surveillance authorities of the German states. §§ 29 and 30 BFSG prescribe a staged approach. Simplified:
Step 1: Request to fix the problem
If a deficiency is found, the authority first asks you to fix it, with a deadline. That is the norm on first contact, not the exception.
Step 2: Measures if nothing happens
If no correction follows, the authority can order measures. This is where it gets unpleasant.
Step 3: Prohibition
As a last resort, the authority can prohibit the service from being offered. For an online shop, that would mean sales come to a halt.
If you respond to the first request, you will as a rule get off without a fine. The expensive scenario isn't “not accessible,” it's “not accessible and then did nothing.”
How a procedure typically starts
Not through blanket inspections, since the authorities simply don't have the capacity for that. It starts with a complaint. Consumers and recognized associations can report violations. Complaints come up where someone wanted to get something done and failed: an order form that doesn't work without a mouse, an error message the screen reader doesn't read aloud, a contrast level a 68-year-old can no longer read.
The open question: cease-and-desist letters
This is where it gets interesting, and where many marketing texts simply get it wrong. Whether a BFSG violation can be targeted with a cease-and-desist letter (Abmahnung) under Germany's Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) is not settled.
The legal debate essentially comes down to two questions. Are BFSG provisions market conduct rules within the meaning of the UWG? A large part of the legal literature currently assumes they are. And is a violation appreciable, meaning significant enough to count? German courts have traditionally set that threshold low.
There is a weighty argument on the other side: with market surveillance, the BFSG has its own enforcement body. If you consider that exhaustive, you conclude that parallel cease-and-desist letters are not an option. Supporters of the opposing view counter that data protection also has its own supervisory authorities, and cease-and-desist letters happen there anyway.
Neither position has been decided by Germany's highest courts. Anyone who tells you today that cease-and-desist letters are a sure thing is selling you fear. Anyone who says they are ruled out is selling you a false sense of security. At this point, neither claim is credible.
The costs that hit before any fine
People talk about fines because they come with a number. The costs that kick in first don't have one, but they hurt:
- Abandoned orders. A form you can't use without a mouse loses customers silently. Nobody complains; they're just gone. That has been happening since the day the site went live.
- Retrofitting instead of building it in. Accessibility in a new build adds a manageable premium. Bolted onto an existing site after the fact, it gets considerably more expensive, especially when content exists as images or a theme can't be customized.
- Exclusion from public tenders. If you supply public-sector clients, you'll run into accessibility anyway: the BITV applies there. Without proof, you're out before anyone even looks at your price.
- The timing. Once the authority's request arrives, a deadline is running. Rebuilding under a deadline costs more than rebuilding on your own schedule, and you no longer have any bargaining position.
The more honest calculation
Set the assumed fine aside and calculate this instead: how many people can't get through your checkout? In Germany, a considerable part of the population lives with an impairment that affects how they use a website, permanently or temporarily, from poor eyesight to motor impairments to the reading glasses that happen not to be on their nose right now. Over the lifetime of a website, even a small share of those people adds up to more money than any realistic fine.
What makes sense to do now
- Find out whether you're affected. Not every website falls under the BFSG. How to check is explained in our article BFSG 2026: Does Your Business Website Have to Be Accessible?, including the micro-enterprise exemption.
- Assess where you stand. Keyboard test, zoom to 200%, measure contrast. One hour, no expertise needed.
- Publish an accessibility statement. It is part of the requirements, and it can openly name what is still missing. With an authority, a documented plan with deadlines puts you in a completely different position than having nothing at all.
- Prioritize by impact. Checkout and forms first. The blog archive from 2018 can wait.
Point 3 is underestimated. If you have an honest statement with a timeline online, you are documenting that you're working on the issue. That's a different situation from a business where nothing has happened and nobody was in charge.
Frequently asked questions
Is the fine per violation or per website?
The law ties the fine to the individual administrative offense, not to the website as a whole. The specific amount is up to the authority and depends on the nature, severity and duration of the violation as well as the financial circumstances.
Does an accessibility widget protect me from fines?
No. Overlays don't change a page's structure. A button without a label is still a button without a label. They don't work as proof of conformance; if anything, they only document that you knew about the problem.
What if my website builder isn't accessible?
Responsibility stays with whoever offers the service. If the platform sets limits that can't be overcome, that's an argument you can make to the authority, but not a free pass. In practice, most barriers come from the theme, content and customizations anyway, which means from you.
How long does retrofitting take?
For a solidly built site, a few days are often enough for contrast, focus styles and forms. If the structure has to be reworked, it becomes a project of several weeks. That's why it pays to take stock before a deadline is running.
Where can I read up on this?
The fines are set out in § 37 BFSG, the market surveillance procedure in §§ 29 and 30. Practical guidance and contacts are available from the Federal Accessibility Agency (Bundesfachstelle für Barrierefreiheit).
The short version
- § 37 BFSG: up to €100,000 for serious violations, up to €10,000 in all other cases. These are maximum amounts, not standard rates.
- Under §§ 29, 30 BFSG, market surveillance proceeds in stages: first a request, then measures, and in extreme cases a prohibition.
- If you respond to the first request, you usually get off without a fine.
- Whether competitors can send cease-and-desist letters is legally open. Anyone who sells it to you as certain is selling fear.
- Lost customers and expensive retrofitting hit you sooner than any authority.
Check first, then decide.
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