Act now: audit, statement, remediation for UK website accessibility law
Yes, UK websites can carry legal accessibility obligations. Private businesses owe disabled customers “reasonable adjustments” under the Equality Act 2010, while public bodies face a stricter statutory duty under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (PSBAR). WCAG 2.2 AA is the practical benchmark either way. If you haven’t audited your site or published an accessibility statement, that’s the immediate gap to close.
TL;DR:
- Public sector websites must meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards and publish accessible statements, with deadlines having already passed for new and existing sites.
- Private businesses are subject to the Equality Act 2010, which requires making reasonable adjustments to avoid disadvantaging disabled users, regardless of site size or resources.
- Exemptions based on disproportionate burden exist but require documented assessments, with low-cost fixes like alt text and labels being almost always expected.
- Conducting regular audits, fixing priority issues, and updating accessibility statements are essential steps to maintain compliance and reduce legal risks.
- Most legal claims are resolved through early remediation, but in serious cases, individuals can sue for damages in county court under the Equality Act.
Table of Contents
What UK website accessibility law actually says
Two separate laws do the heavy lifting, and mixing them up is where most website owners trip up.
The Equality Act 2010 applies to almost every organisation providing goods, services, or facilities to the public, including your website. It doesn’t list technical requirements. Instead, it creates a legal test: if a disabled person is put at a substantial disadvantage because your site is hard to use, you’re expected to make “reasonable adjustments” to remove that disadvantage. What counts as reasonable depends on your size, resources, and the cost of the fix, but low-cost changes like adding alt text or labelling form fields are rarely excused, even for small organisations.
PSBAR 2018 works differently. It names WCAG 2.2 AA directly and applies specifically to public sector bodies, requiring their websites and apps to meet that standard and publish an accessibility statement.
There’s a Brexit wrinkle worth clearing up. PSBAR originated from an EU directive, but it remains standalone UK law regardless of what happens in Brussels. Separately, the EU’s own Accessibility Act can catch UK businesses trading into the EU market, but that’s a distinct obligation from the domestic rules this article covers.
Who has to comply, and by when
PSBAR’s WCAG duty applies to public sector bodies: government departments, local councils, NHS trusts, schools, and similar organisations. It covers public-facing websites and, since 2021, mobile apps too. Intranets and extranets get a lighter touch unless they were substantially revised after September 2019.
The original deadlines have already passed: new public sector websites from September 2018, existing sites from September 2020, and apps from June 2021. If you run a public sector site launched after those dates, you should already be compliant.
Private businesses don’t have a PSBAR deadline because it doesn’t apply to them, but the Equality Act’s duty is ongoing and has no start date to hide behind.
Exemptions exist through the “disproportionate burden” test, weighing the cost of fixing an issue against your organisation’s size and resources. If you rely on this, you must document the assessment and disclose it in your accessibility statement, not simply skip the fix quietly.
Reasonable adjustments and WCAG 2.2 AA in practice
Here’s the part that catches people out: the Equality Act’s duty is anticipatory. You’re expected to anticipate the needs of disabled visitors and fix barriers before anyone complains, not wait for a complaint and react.
The Equality Act never mentions WCAG by name, but courts, regulators, and the GOV.UK guidance for public bodies all point to it as the working benchmark for what “accessible enough” looks like. In practice, that means fixing issues like:
- Missing or poor alt text on meaningful images
- Form fields without proper labels, so screen readers can’t identify them
- Videos without captions or transcripts
- Content that can’t be operated using a keyboard alone
- Text and background colours with insufficient contrast
Pro Tip: Run your homepage and your busiest conversion page (contact form, booking page, checkout) through a free automated scanner first. It won’t catch everything, but it flags the low-cost fixes fastest, and those are exactly the ones a tribunal expects you to have sorted.
What your accessibility statement needs to include
Public bodies must publish a model accessibility statement, and it’s good practice for any organisation to have one. It should name the specific content that isn’t accessible yet, explain why (technical limitation, third-party content, or a disproportionate-burden decision), and offer an alternative way to get that information or service.
Include a contact route for reporting problems and a link to the enforcement process if someone remains unhappy with your response. Publish the statement somewhere findable, usually the footer, and review it at least annually, or whenever you make major site changes. If you’re claiming disproportionate burden anywhere, keep the written reasoning on file. It’s the first thing you’ll be asked for if a complaint escalates.
Can you actually be sued over an inaccessible website?
Yes, though it happens less dramatically than most owners fear. Two enforcement routes exist side by side.
Public sector accessibility is monitored through sampling carried out under GDS and CDDO, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission able to step in for serious or repeated non-compliance. For everyone else, and for public bodies too, the real exposure sits with individuals bringing private claims.
Individuals can bring civil claims under the Equality Act 2010 in county court where inaccessible digital services disadvantage them, and claimants may recover damages for both financial loss and injury to feelings.
The reassuring part: most disputes never reach a courtroom. Citizens Advice notes that early engagement and remediation tend to resolve complaints well before trial. An audit trail showing you tested your site, logged issues, and worked through a remediation plan is your best evidence that you took the duty seriously, whatever the outcome.
Practical compliance checklist and next steps for UK website owners
Compliance isn’t a one-off project. It’s a cycle: audit, fix, document, repeat.
- Run a triage audit. Combine an automated scan with manual testing using a keyboard and a screen reader, prioritising anything that blocks a task entirely (checkout, sign-up, contact forms).
- Build a remediation plan. Rank fixes by legal risk and effort. Quick wins (alt text, labels, contrast) go first; structural rebuilds get scheduled realistically.
- Validate the fixes. Retest with assistive technology, not just automated tools, since scanners miss a large share of real-world barriers.
- Assign ownership. Someone specific should own accessibility, not “the whole team” by default.
- Publish and revisit your statement. Update it whenever the site changes, and keep dated records of every audit and fix.
Pro Tip: Keep screenshots and dates for every fix you make. If a complaint ever lands, that paper trail is worth more than any last-minute scramble to patch things retroactively.
Our own website accessibility checklist for UK businesses walks through the audit stage in more depth, and our practical UK roadmap covers how we sequence remediation work for clients.
MB Web’s practical approach to accessibility for UK clients
We’ve spent many years working with Sussex and South East businesses on their websites, and accessibility comes up in nearly every conversation now, not as an afterthought but as a genuine build requirement. For new clients, we start the same way every time: a proper audit, a plain-English accessibility statement, and a staged remediation plan that tackles the highest-risk barriers first rather than everything at once. Our why accessibility matters for Sussex businesses piece goes into why this pays off beyond compliance.
— James Golding
How MB Web can help with audits, fixes and ongoing accessibility
There are other ways to tackle this. You can run automated scanners yourself, hire a specialist accessibility auditor for a one-off report, or ask your existing developer to patch issues as they’re found. All of those work to a point, but a scanner alone misses real-world barriers, and a one-off report without a build team behind it just leaves you with a list of problems nobody fixes.
MB Web offers a different route: audit, accessibility-statement drafting, and remediation carried out by the same team, followed by ongoing maintenance so fixes don’t quietly decay as your site grows.
An initial consultation covers a review of your current site against WCAG 2.2 AA, a straight-talking summary of what’s genuinely urgent versus what can wait, and a quote with no obligation attached. We’d rather tell you honestly what needs doing than pad out a report to justify a bigger invoice.
| Service | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Accessibility audit | Automated + manual testing against WCAG 2.2 AA |
| Statement drafting | Plain-English accessibility statement, ready to publish |
| Remediation | Prioritised fixes built into your site, not just flagged |
| Ongoing maintenance | Periodic re-checks so compliance doesn’t slip |
If you’re planning a rebuild rather than a patch job, our web design and website development teams build accessibility in from the first wireframe. Charities and sports clubs often have their own funding and volunteer constraints around this, and our charity website design and sports club website design work reflects that. For a broader look at why accessibility and search performance tend to move together, this partner guide is worth a read. Get in touch and we’ll tell you plainly where you stand.
Authoritative primary sources to read next
For the statutory text itself: the Equality Act 2010 and PSBAR 2018. For official guidance: GOV.UK’s public sector requirements and the WCAG 2.1 technical standard. For your rights: Citizens Advice on taking legal action.
Sources
FAQ
Can you be sued in the UK for an inaccessible website?
Yes. Individuals can bring a civil claim under the Equality Act 2010 in county court if an inaccessible website disadvantages them, though most disputes settle through early engagement rather than a full hearing.
What are the legal requirements for websites in the UK?
Private businesses must make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010; public sector bodies must additionally meet WCAG 2.2 AA and publish an accessibility statement under PSBAR 2018.
Is WCAG 2.2 AA a legal requirement in the UK?
It’s a named legal requirement for public sector bodies under PSBAR, and it’s the practical benchmark regulators and courts use to judge “reasonable adjustments” for everyone else.
What happens if I ignore an accessibility complaint?
Ignoring it raises your risk of a formal county court claim; responding early with a remediation plan is what typically keeps disputes out of court, according to Citizens Advice.
Does the Equality Act apply to small businesses too?
Yes, the duty applies regardless of size, though what counts as a “reasonable” adjustment is judged against your resources, meaning low-cost fixes like alt text are still expected.