EAA enforcement in Germany: BFSG fines, Abmahnungen and complaints

Which law applies

The BFSG was adopted in July 2021 and its duties for private businesses apply from 28 June 2025. Online shops fall under the rules for services. Section 14 says a service provider may only offer a service that meets the accessibility requirements, must publish information on how it meets them in an accessible format, and must keep that information for as long as the service runs.

The Directive exempts microenterprises that provide services: fewer than 10 staff and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of EUR 2 million or less (Article 4(5)). Both conditions have to hold. Everyone above that line who sells to consumers online is in scope from 28 June 2025. In Germany a microenterprise that relies on the exemption may be asked by the authority to show that it really qualifies.

The Act itself describes outcomes (perceivable, operable, understandable, robust) rather than naming WCAG. In practice authorities and courts measure websites against the harmonised European standard EN 301 549, whose web chapter in version 3.2.1 maps to WCAG 2.1 level AA. Working to WCAG 2.2 AA covers those criteria plus the six new level A and AA criteria WCAG 2.2 added.

Who enforces it for online shops

The Länder set up a single body for this: the Marktüberwachungsstelle der Länder für die Barrierefreiheit von Produkten und Dienstleistungen (MLBF), a public law institution in Magdeburg. It handles consumer services such as e-commerce. Banking and telecoms services keep their sector regulators.

The MLBF can ask for documents, order a shop to fix defects within a deadline, and as a last step restrict or stop the service. Fines come on top of those powers, not instead of them.

How a complaint reaches a shop

There are three routes, and only the first two involve the authority.

• A barrier report to the MLBF. Anyone can use the Meldung von Barrieren form. It is informal and the authority decides what to do with it.
• A formal application under Section 32 BFSG. A consumer, or a recognised disability association or qualified entity acting for them, can apply for the authority to take action. Under Section 32 this obliges the MLBF to open a procedure and issue a decision.
• Conciliation or a competitor letter. The Schlichtungsstelle BGG offers free conciliation for individual consumers. Separately, competitors and qualified associations can send an Abmahnung and sue under competition law (UWG), on the view that BFSG rules govern market conduct (IHK München).

That third route is the one that has actually produced letters so far.

Fines and other sanctions

Section 37 BFSG sets two fine levels for intentional or negligent breaches:

• Up to EUR 100,000 for, among other things, offering or providing a service that does not meet the accessibility requirements (item 8, the one that applies to online shops).
• Up to EUR 10,000 for most other breaches, such as procedural and documentation failures.

The authority can also order corrective measures and, in the end, restrict or stop the service. An Abmahnung is a separate, civil matter: the cost claim comes from the sender's lawyer, not from the state.

What has actually happened so far

• August 2025, first Abmahnung wave. About six weeks after the deadline, CLAIMS Rechtsanwalts GmbH began sending BFSG Abmahnungen to online shops for a competitor client. Documented letters claimed EUR 1,032.44 in costs, with a reduced offer of EUR 595 (IT-Recht Kanzlei, Trusted Shops, 14 August 2025, Föhlisch).
• September 2025, the regulator starts. The MLBF took up its work in autumn 2025 and runs the complaint and Section 32 channels above.
• From February 2026, a second wave. Press releases from compliance vendors describe a more professional wave of letters citing formal test reports, with demands around EUR 2,700 (press release). We could not confirm these figures independently, so treat them as reported, not verified.
• No court ruling yet on the key question. We found no published German court decision, as of 1 October 2026, on whether a BFSG breach can be pursued under competition law. Until one exists, Abmahnungen rest on a prevailing legal opinion, not on case law.
• No published fine. We found no MLBF fine or published enforcement decision against a named shop as of 1 October 2026.

What to do if you sell into Germany

If you sell to consumers in Germany and you are above the microenterprise line, the defensible position is the same as everywhere else in the EU: fix the barriers in your own code, keep dated evidence of what you tested and changed, and publish the accessibility information the law asks for.

1. Scan your key templates (home, category, product, cart, checkout, account) for the failures a script can verify. Our free scan does this for up to 10 pages.
2. Test the purchase journey with a keyboard only and with a screen reader. A script cannot judge whether alt text makes sense or a checkout error is announced.
3. Fix the issues in the theme or codebase, not with an overlay widget. Overlays vs code fixes explains why.
4. Publish the service information the Act requires, in an accessible format. See what an EAA accessibility statement must contain.
5. Re-test after every redesign, theme update or new app, and keep the reports.

A Fix Sprint covers steps 1, 2, 3 and 5 for a fixed price. None of this is legal advice, and no audit can promise that a regulator or court will agree with it. It is the work that makes a complaint easy to answer.