The verdict in three sentences
The European Accessibility Act, transposed into national law and applicable since 28 June 2025, extends digital accessibility obligations to many private services: e-commerce, banking, transport, online services, with an exemption for microenterprises. An affected SME should budget for an accessibility audit (2,500 to 7,000 EUR excl. VAT, using France's RGAA method or WCAG 2.1 AA), fixes (5,000 to 25,000 EUR excl. VAT) and a published accessibility statement, or face fines that reach 50,000 EUR in France. With average SME compliance around 30%, waiting costs more than fixing.
Are you in scope? The 2026 thresholds
The RGAA (France's general accessibility improvement framework, version 4.1.2, 106 criteria) is the measurement method in France, aligned with WCAG and the EN 301 549 standard used across the EU. Obligations depend on your size and activity. The simplified rule below does not replace legal advice, but it covers most cases.
| Company profile | 2026 obligation | Required elements |
|---|---|---|
| Microenterprise (under 10 staff and under 2M EUR turnover) offering services | Exempt for EAA services | Recommended good practice |
| SME with 10+ employees selling online | In scope | Compliance, statement, clear information |
| Company with turnover above 250M EUR (France) | In scope since the 2016 law | Statement, multi-year plan, annual plan |
| Bank, insurer, passenger transport | In scope under the EAA | Compliant digital services |
| Pure brochure site with no online service | Grey area, often outside the EAA | Strongly advised for public tenders |
| Supplier bidding on public tenders | Frequent contractual requirement | Certificate or recent audit |
A brochure site for a firm or manufacturer may fall outside the EAA, but public buyers and large accounts increasingly include an accessibility criterion in their scoring grids.
What compliance costs in 2026
| Item (2026 order of magnitude) | 20-page brochure site | E-commerce site, 200 products |
|---|---|---|
| Audit on a page sample | 2,500 to 4,000 EUR | 4,500 to 7,000 EUR |
| Technical fixes (contrast, keyboard navigation, forms) | 5,000 to 10,000 EUR | 12,000 to 25,000 EUR |
| Content rework (alt text, PDFs, captioned videos) | 1,000 to 3,000 EUR | 3,000 to 8,000 EUR |
| Accessibility statement and plan | 500 to 1,000 EUR | 800 to 1,500 EUR |
| Editor training (1 day) | 900 to 1,500 EUR | 900 to 1,500 EUR |
| Verification re-audit | 1,200 to 2,000 EUR | 2,000 to 3,500 EUR |
| Indicative total | 11,100 to 21,500 EUR | 23,200 to 46,500 EUR |
All figures excl. VAT. When a site is more than five years old with an unmaintained theme, fixes can exceed 60% of the price of a new site. In that case an accessible-by-design rebuild often costs barely more and clears the technical debt too.
The most frequent failures
On SME sites, four defects show up in most audits: insufficient colour contrast, images without meaningful alt text, form fields without associated labels, and menus that cannot be navigated by keyboard. Cookie consent pop-ups and auto-rotating carousels also block screen reader users. Fixing these four points often moves a site from 30% to 60% compliance in a few days of development.
Mini case study
Julien runs a 35-employee medical equipment rental company in Montpellier, France, with online booking and payment. His site falls within the EAA. The 4,200 EUR audit finds a 28% compliance rate. Fix quote: 14,500 EUR excl. VAT, plus 2,000 EUR for content and 800 EUR for the statement, i.e. 21,500 EUR excl. VAT in total. Meanwhile he wins a contract with a hospital group that required an accessibility certificate, worth 95,000 EUR a year. The work pays for itself in under three months from that contract alone, and the 50,000 EUR fine risk disappears.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
FAQ
Is my 12-employee company in scope?
If you sell products or services online to consumers, very likely yes since June 2025. A purely informational site is often out of scope, but accessibility is still required in many public tenders.
How large is the fine?
In France, a missing accessibility statement can be fined up to 50,000 EUR, renewable every six months while the breach continues. Formal notices may come before a penalty; amounts vary by member state.
How long does compliance take?
Allow 2 to 3 weeks for the audit, then 4 to 10 weeks of fixes depending on site size. A final re-audit takes 1 to 2 weeks.
Do we need 100% compliance?
The law requires compliance and a declaration of justified exemptions. In practice, aiming for at least 75% with a dated action plan is a realistic first-year target.
Is an accessibility plugin or overlay enough?
No, overlays sold at 300 to 1,000 EUR a year do not fix the source code and do not amount to RGAA or WCAG compliance. They can even hinder screen reader users.
Let's scope your project. We run your accessibility audit, price the fixes or an accessible rebuild, and prepare your statement with a clear budget and timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
