EN 301 549 : norme européenne relative à l'accessibilité numérique
EN 301 549 enables European organizations to measure the accessibility of websites, electronic documents, and non-web software such as native mobile apps, against documented success criteria for all people, including those with disabilities. The harmonized standard also specifies the minimum requirements of the European Web Accessibility Directive (WAD) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA).
Qu'est-ce que la norme EN 301 549 ?
EN 301 549 is the European standard for accessibility requirements for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) products and services in the European Union. It is developed jointly by the European Standardization Committees CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI.
Two versions of EN 301 549 matter right now.
- EN 301 549 v4.1.1 (PDF) was published by ETSI on September 2, 2026, and references WCAG 2.2 AA. This version adds Annex ZB and clause A.2, which map the standard to the European Accessibility Act. Earlier versions had no EAA mapping.
- EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (PDF) references WCAG 2.1 AA and is still the version cited in the Official Journal of the European Union.
In both versions, the WCAG requirements are organized the same way: Web (Chapter 9), Non-web documents (Chapter 10), and non-web software like mobile apps (Chapter 11). EN 301 549 also follows the same underlying WCAG principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust (P.O.U.R.)
All public sector websites in the European Union (EU) have been required to meet the standard since September 23, 2020. All mobile apps in the public sector have been required to meet the standard since June 23, 2021. This is set out in the Web Accessibility Directive 2016/2102, which is transposed into national legislation in all EU member states. Public sector bodies must comply and prove their level of accessibility through an accessibility statement against the standard. This report cannot be older than three years.
For the private sector, the EU adopted Directive 2019/882, known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA). This directive is applicable to specific sectors including e-commerce, banking, e-books, and consumer electronics. Member states transposed the EAA into national law by June 28, 2022 and the legal obligations have applied since June 28, 2025.
EN 301 549 is the standard the European Commission designated to support the EAA through standardization request M/587. Conforming to EN 301 549 remains the most practical route, and many national transpositions reference it directly.
If you sell into the EU and haven’t scoped your obligations yet, the deadline is behind you, not ahead of you. Start with an audit against the version that applies to your situation.
Considérations importantes relatives à la norme EN 301 549
Member states have implemented accessibility requirements in different ways. Some reference EN 301 549 directly in national law, as Germany does through BITV and BFSG. Others maintain their own national methodology with its own test criteria and reporting format, as France does with RGAA. Knowing which route applies to your organization determines what you are actually tested against.
EN 301 549 is unique in going beyond WCAG, extending, for example, to cover biometrics. The standard requires that where ICT uses biological characteristics such as facial recognition or fingerprints, it cannot rely on one particular characteristic as the only means of identifying a user. With biometric authentication now standard in banking and e-commerce apps, this is a live requirement, not a future one.
Which version of EN 301 549 applies to me today?
EN 301 549 v3.2.1 is currently cited in the Official Journal and remains the operative baseline for WAD and presumed conformance for EAA. However, because EN 301 549 v4.1.1 was published on September 2, 2026, we recommend moving to v4.1.1 now.
Comment agir et se conformer à la norme EN 301 549
Voici quelques mesures que vous pouvez prendre pour garantir l'accessibilité de vos sites web et de vos applications :
- Faites réaliser un audit complet d'accessibilitéde votre site et de vos applications afin de déterminer votre niveau actuel d'accessibilité. Utilisez le rapport d'audit pour apporter la preuve de la conformité en matière d'accessibilité ou pour justifier votre déclaration d'accessibilité conformément à la norme EN 301 549.
- Déterminez quelles parties de votre site ou de votre application doivent être traitées en priorité, en fonction de leur utilisation et de la gravité des obstacles à l'accessibilité. Il peut être utile de consulter des experts en accessibilité afin de vous assurer de mettre en place dès le départ unestratégie de correction solide.
- Formez vos développeurs, testeurs et créateurs de contenuaux concepts et techniques d'accessibilité,et apportez-leur votre soutien pour les aider à résoudre vos problèmes d'accessibilité.
- Dotez vos équipes de développementd'outils leur permettant d'intégrer les tests d'accessibilité à toutes les étapes du processus de développement à l'avenir.
Avantages de la conformité à la norme EN 301 549
S'adresser à un public plus large
Un contenu accessible vous permettra d'élargir votre public cible et d'ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives de revenus.
Réduction du risque juridique
The European Accessibility Act has applied to covered private-sector products and services since June 28, 2025. Public sector bodies have been required to comply with the Web Accessibility Directive since 2020. Regulatory enforcement is active.
Amélioration de la visibilité dans les moteurs de recherche
Providing page titles, semantic heading structure, alternative text for images, and transcripts for audio-visual files makes your content more discoverable by search engines. The same semantics that make content usable for people with disabilities also optimize your content for AI assistants and agents.
Une meilleure expérience utilisateur globale
Des études montrent que les améliorations apportées à l'interface utilisateur et à l'expérience utilisateur (UI/UX) en matière d'accessibilité profitent également aux personnes valides.
Ressources utiles
Ressources utiles
EN 301 549 v4.1.1 is final! What changed, what it means, and what you should do.
If you haven’t already moved your accessibility program toward WCAG 2.2 AA and the new EN 301 549 v4.1.1 requirements, now is the time to begin that process.
Extension gratuite Axe DevTools
Join 400,000+ active weekly users in practicing accessibility. Get instant results plus more interactive testing features right in your browser.
Présentation de la loi européenne sur l'accessibilité (EAA)
Ce qu'il faut savoir sur la loi européenne sur l'accessibilité (EAA).
Comment Deque vous aider
Deque accessibility experts have the knowledge and skills today to help you conform to EN 301 549. We have our own European office and years of experience with this digital accessibility standard. Deque experts helped define WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 and were actively involved in implementation testing.
Additionally, Deque services, training, and tools are continually updated with the latest accessibility requirements. The Axe suite already covers WCAG 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2, as well as EN 301 549 v3.2.1. Support for EN 301 549 v4.1.1 is ready to ship as soon as the standard is officially cited in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Your teams can test to the version that applies to them today.
Contact us if you’d like help with EN 301 549 and WCAG now.
Audit
La plupart des projets d'accessibilité commencent et se terminent par un audit : celui-ci évalue l'état actuel de l'accessibilité de votre site ou de votre application et aboutit à un rapport d'accessibilité clair.
Assainissement
En faisant appel à notre équipe d'experts, vous aurez la garantie que vos mesures d'accessibilité répondront à vos exigences de conformité aussi rapidement et efficacement que possible.
Outils d'essai pour haches
La plateforme Axe permet aux experts en accessibilité et aux développeurs de tester et d'assurer l'accessibilité de bout en bout.
