Digital Accessibility for Public Sector Institutions
Whether citizen portals, town hall websites, or administrative services: Digital accessibility is legally required for public sector bodies at both federal and state levels. The legal basis is formed by the Disability Equal Act (BGG), BITV 2.0, and EU Directive 2016/2102 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications. With SiteCockpit, you implement legal requirements efficiently and with full legal certainty, creating digital participation for all citizens.
Which Laws Apply to Public Bodies?
Public sector entities have been legally obligated to provide digital accessibility for years. The basis is EU Directive 2016/2102 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies. At the national level, this directive is transposed into German law through the Disability Equal Act (BGG) and the Accessible Information Technology Ordinance (BITV 2.0).
BITV 2.0 governs federal public bodies. For regional authorities, municipalities, and state institutions, respective state equality laws and state ordinances apply. State governments transpose the same EU Directive into local law, ensuring legal requirements remain consistent nationwide—including social and healthcare institutions.
Responsible for professional oversight are the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) alongside the Federal Agency for Accessibility. The ministry actively advances accessible IT across the federal government. For citizens, this ensures access to administrative information and digital services is open to everyone, regardless of disability. Millions of people with disabilities benefit directly from accessible public portals.
Mandatory for federal, state, and local public bodies
Implementation of EU Directive 2016/2102 via BGG and BITV 2.0
Monitoring bodies regularly audit legal compliance
Digital inclusion for around 10 million citizens with disabilities
What Does Digital Accessibility Mean?
Digital accessibility means all citizens can use public sector online services. The foundation is WCAG 2.2 Level AA, built on four core principles.
1. Perceivable
Texts, images, and videos must be identifiable by everyone—using alt text, video captions, and sufficient visual contrast.
2. Operable
Full keyboard operability, large click targets, and predictable navigation enable mouse-free web navigation.
3. Understandable
Plain language, intuitive workflows, and clear forms, supplemented by Easy Read (Easy-to-Read) content where necessary.
4. Robust
Seamless compatibility with assistive tools like screen readers, backed by clean, standards-compliant code.
Who Is Affected: Federal, State, and Local Authorities
All public bodies offering digital services to citizens are affected. This includes town halls, public offices, ministries, social welfare offices, employment agencies, public utilities, libraries, universities, and state institutions. Beyond public websites, mobile apps, online application portals, intranets, and electronic administrative workflows fall under these rules.
Responsibilities range from auditing existing web software and implementing fixes to ongoing maintenance. Publishing an official accessibility statement and maintaining a feedback mechanism for users are also statutory requirements.
-
Federal public bodies: BGG and BITV 2.0
-
State bodies and municipalities: Regional equality laws and ordinances
-
Applies to websites, mobile applications, and internal specialized software
-
Mandatory accessibility statement and user feedback mechanism
Public service for every citizen
Make your public agency website accessible to everyone
Monitoring Bodies and Enforcement of Accessibility
Compliance is actively monitored. For federal public sector entities, the Federal Monitoring Body for Accessibility of Information Technology regularly audits public websites and mobile apps, reporting findings to the EU Commission. At the state level, regional monitoring bodies execute the same oversight for local authorities and municipalities.
-
Federal Monitoring Body audits federal agencies
-
State monitoring bodies audit regional offices and municipalities
-
Enforceable feedback mechanisms and conciliation bodies under BGG
-
Risks: Citizen complaints, brand damage, and mandatory legal remediation
If a monitoring body identifies non-compliance, affected institutions must remediate barriers promptly. Furthermore, citizens can report digital barriers via a mandatory feedback mechanism and escalate unresolved issues to the official BGG Conciliation Body. Inaccessible public services create legal, financial, and reputational risks for public bodies.
SiteCockpit helps you meet ongoing statutory obligations effortlessly. The platform runs automated software scans, prioritizes remediation tasks, and logs progress audit-proofly so you remain fully prepared for official monitoring checks.
Your Complete Solution
Five Steps to a Compliant Public Sector Website
1. Initial Audit: Scan your site using our free Livecheck tool to locate accessibility errors.
2. Enable Monitoring: Activate easyMonitoring for automated audits mapped against WCAG 2.2 AA and EN 301 549.
3. Implement Instant Fixes: Embed easyVision as an assistive widget and generate missing image descriptions using easyAlt.
4. Broaden Access: Provide multilingual support using easyTranslate.
5. Generate Statement: Create an official, compliant accessibility statement via easyStatement conforming to BGG and BITV 2.0 rules.
Digital Accessibility. Made Simple.
SiteCockpit makes your public institution accessible, compliant, and user-centric without hassle.
Greater Inclusion
Reach all citizens effectively, including users with disabilities or technical constraints.
Seamless Integration
Embeds into existing CMS environments via a simple code snippet—no complete website relaunch required.
Legally Compliant
Fulfills WCAG 2.2 requirements alongside BGG, BITV 2.0, and state-level directives.
Technical Requirements: WCAG 2.2 and EN 301 549
The technical benchmarks rely on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) at Level AA. BITV 2.0 references these criteria via the harmonized European standard EN 301 549. Compliance mandates adequate color contrast ratios, alt texts for visual media, keyboard-only controls, video captions, and full screen-reader support.
-
WCAG 2.2 AA as the core benchmark referenced through EN 301 549
-
BITV 2.0 enforces European accessibility directives technically
-
Automated auditing combined with audit-proof compliance documentation
SiteCockpit audits your public websites and applications automatically against WCAG 2.2 AA and provides prioritized remediation tasks. Audit logs are kept audit-proof, simplifying reporting to official monitoring bodies and internal dev teams.
SiteCockpit: Your Complete Digital Accessibility Platform
With SiteCockpit tools, fulfill all legal requirements simply, scalably, and independently of your underlying technology stack.
easyVision
Personalized accessibility controls like visual contrast modes, reading aids, and keyboard shortcuts right on your site.
easyMonitoring
Automated website auditing to uncover digital barriers alongside step-by-step remediation instructions.
easyStatement
Legally required accessibility statements, generated automatically and easy to customize.
easyAI
AI-driven assistance tailored for digital accessibility and automated content optimization.
easyAlt
Automated alternative text generation for images—fast, consistent, and WCAG-aligned.
easyTranslate
Accessible language variants and translations for public sector web content.
Workshops
Practical training empowering your internal team to implement accessibility seamlessly.
Webinars
Live sessions featuring actionable guides, best practices, and live Q&A on compliance.
Simple Integration with Your Existing Systems
Start your 7-day free trial today and make your agency website accessible without delay.
Flexible Packages and Pricing at a Glance
Unlock the full potential of digital accessibility with scalable packages tailored to your institution.
Starter
- Website Widget
- 1 Domain
- Accessibility Statement
- 2500 Credits per month
- 1 User
- easyMonitoring
- easyALT (aut. Alt attributes)
Pro
- Everything from Starter +
- 2 Domains
- 10,000 Credits per month
- easyMonitoring
- 3 Users
- easyTranslate (Live-Translation)
- Integration service
Premium
- Everything from PRO +
- 5 Domains
- 30,000 Credits per month
- easyLanguage
- 10 Users
- Key-Account & Personal Onboarding
- Assistance with inspections by the authorities
Enterprise
- Individual requirements
- Key account support
- Manual audits and training courses
- Support with audits by authorities and with content-related issues through warnings (no legal advice)
- 99.9% SLA
** Note: Vouchers are non-transferable, not combinable with other discounts and can only be redeemed online. A cash payment is excluded.
Have questions? We are here to help.
Whether you need an initial consultation or concrete technical roadmap planning, our experts are here. We support the accessible digital transformation of your public sector organization.
Frequently Asked Questions About Public Sector Accessibility
Federal public authorities must comply with the Disability Equal Act (BGG) and BITV 2.0. State-level and municipal offices follow respective state equality acts and regional ordinances. All these legal frameworks transpose EU Directive 2016/2102 regarding access to websites and mobile applications.