The Accessibility Act: A practical guide for associations and charities

When does your association or charity fall under this law?

The law applies to organizations that offer online services where three conditions apply: people can buy something or enter into a contract, money is paid, and the seller does this as work (not privately).

For associations and charities, this means that various activities may fall under the law. Online member registration where membership fees are paid, a webshop for merchandise or other products, and the sale of event tickets are examples of services that fall under the regulations. Donation pages, however, do not fall under the law, because there is no agreement where the donor receives a product or service in return.

However, there is an important exception for small organizations. Associations and charities with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover of maximum two million euros per year do not yet have to comply with the requirements. Volunteers do not count as active persons, only people with an employment contract or who have financial benefit from the organization.

What exactly does the Accessibility Act entail?

The Accessibility Act is about online stores and services where people buy something or sign up for a subscription on the internet. The law states that these services must be accessible according to four core principles:

• The first point is perceivability. This means that information must be visible and understandable for everyone, including people who have difficulty seeing or hearing. Think of sufficient color contrast between text and background, subtitles for videos, and alternative texts for images that can be read aloud by screen readers.
• Operability is the second point. The website must be usable with different assistive devices, not just with a mouse. People who depend on keyboard navigation must be able to reach and use all functions. Navigation must be logical and predictable.
• The third point is about understandability. Texts and buttons must be clear and predictable, even for people who have difficulty reading or understanding. This means that forms are logically structured, error messages are understandable, and the language is not unnecessarily complicated.
• Finally, a service must be robust. The website or application must work technically reliably with different devices and assistive technologies such as screen readers. This requires correct use of HTML, semantics, and web standards.

Why is accessibility so important?

The figures show why accessible digital services are essential. In the Netherlands, approximately two million people live with a disability, supplemented by 3.6 million people with milder disabilities (Source: Government, Allesoversport.nl). About twelve percent of all Dutch people aged twelve and older experience limitations with seeing, hearing, or mobility (Source: Allesoversport.nl). In Belgium too, a significant part of the population benefits from accessible services. According to official figures, nine percent of 15-64 year olds indicate having a disability or health problems that seriously limit their daily activities (Source: Statbel). In Flanders, in 2021, even 14.4 percent of the population between 15 and 64 years was hindered by a disability or chronic condition (Source: Socius.be).

However, accessibility goes beyond people who always have a disability. Many people have temporary problems that make websites difficult to use. A broken arm can hinder mouse use, bright sunlight makes reading a smartphone screen difficult, and distraction from the environment can disturb concentration. The adage 'not having a disability is temporary' underscores why accessible services are beneficial for everyone.

When do you need to be ready?

The timeline for compliance differs for new and existing services. From June 28, 2025, all new digital services that fall under the law must immediately comply with accessibility requirements. Existing services get more time: these may continue to exist without modification until June 28, 2030, unless they are replaced or substantially renewed.

Recognizing common accessibility problems

Various problems regularly occur on websites of associations and charities:

• Insufficient color contrast between text and background is the most common problem and is often caused by unfortunate brand colors or the use of light gray texts. This has direct impact on readability for people with visual impairments.
• Missing alternative texts for images cause screen reader users to miss important information. Every image that conveys information must be provided with descriptive alt-text that explains the content or function of the image.
• Forms without clear labels, logical structure, or understandable error messages are difficult to use for people with various disabilities. Limited keyboard navigation, where not all elements are accessible without a mouse, also forms an important stumbling block.
• Poor structure and semantics, such as the absence of a logical heading structure or incorrect use of HTML elements, hampers navigation and understanding. Unclear link texts like "click here" or "read more" give no context about where the link leads.
• Too difficult language use with jargon, long sentences and complex words excludes people with limited language skills or cognitive disabilities. Videos without subtitling or transcript also make audiovisual information inaccessible for deaf and hard of hearing people.

Practical steps to get started

Start with an inventory of your digital services. Which online services does your organization offer where people pay? This helps determine if your organization falls under the law and which services have priority.

Then test your website with freely available tools. The WAVE browser extension can identify various technical problems. For checking your language use, special tools exist that analyze the reading level of your texts. You could even use language models like ChatGPT, Claude or Google Gemini to rewrite your content.

Check the most common problems systematically:

• Is the color contrast between text and background sufficient?
• Do all informative images have descriptive alt-texts?
• Are forms provided with clear labels and explanation?
• Can you navigate through the entire website using only the keyboard?
• Is the heading structure logically structured?
• Are link texts descriptive and clear?
• Is your language use understandable for a broad audience?
• Do videos have subtitling or are transcripts available?

Make a plan based on your findings. Prioritize problems that have the greatest impact on user experience and plan improvements before the deadline of June 28, 2025. For complex technical issues, you can consider hiring professional help.

Legal responsibility and documentation

As an organization that offers digital services to consumers, you are legally responsible for compliance with accessibility requirements. This applies regardless of which platform or supplier you use for your website.

A formal accessibility statement like governments must publish is not mandatory, but you must provide information about how your service meets accessibility requirements. You can include this in your terms and conditions or in a separate document on your website. The information must contain a general description of the service, explain how the service works, and describe how accessibility requirements are met.

The benefits of accessibility: more than just compliance

Accessible websites offer benefits that extend beyond law compliance. They are more user-friendly for all visitors, which directly contributes to better conversion. When forms are clearer, navigation works more logically, and content is written more understandably, more visitors will complete their action - whether that's signing up for membership, buying a product, or making a donation.

Even for donation pages, which don't fall under the law, investing in accessibility pays off. An accessible donation page reaches a broader audience and increases the chance of successful donations. Additionally, good alt-texts and clear heading structures improve findability in search engines, bringing more potential supporters to your website.

Conclusion: starting now pays off

The Accessibility Act requires action, but with the right approach, compliance is well achievable. Start now by inventorying your services and testing your website. Many improvements cost little time and make your website immediately more usable for everyone.

By starting early, you prevent stress just before the deadline and can work step by step toward more accessible digital service delivery. This is not only good for law compliance, but especially for the people your organization wants to reach and help.

For organizations that use the Procurios platform, additional information and support are available via procurios.com/accessibilitystatement.