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Accessibility laws for online stores

Which law applies depends on where your shoppers are and how many people you employ. US stores face ADA suits, and settlements usually ask for WCAG 2.1 AA. Ontario businesses with 50 or more employees must meet WCAG 2.0 AA. Stores selling to EU consumers fall under the European Accessibility Act, unless they are microenterprises.

Reviewed by Misha Gavura, founder of Inclusely. Last reviewed . Written by the Inclusely team at EVDEV, Toronto. Not legal advice.

Which law applies to you

Most stores answer to more than one law, because the rules follow your customers and your staff, not only your head office. Start with the lines that match you.

  • You sell to people in the US. The ADA applies, and state laws such as California's can add damages.
  • You have staff in Ontario. The AODA applies. The website rule starts at 50 employees in Ontario.
  • You have even one employee in Manitoba. Manitoba's WCAG 2.1 AA rule applies.
  • You sell to consumers in the EU. The European Accessibility Act can apply, unless you are a microenterprise.
  • You serve the public anywhere in Canada. Your province's human rights code applies, whatever your size.

United States

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses open to the public to give people with disabilities equal access. Courts apply it to online stores, and settlements usually ask for WCAG 2.1 AA (the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the W3C's technical standard).

There is no fine from a regulator for most stores. The risk is a lawsuit or a demand letter. Seyfarth Shaw counted 3,117 federal website accessibility suits in 2025, up 27% on 2024 (March 25, 2026). California, New York and two new state laws in Utah and Missouri change how much a claim can cost.

ADA website complianceWhat the law says, which WCAG version courts use, lawsuit numbers and state laws.ADA Title III and websitesWhat Title III says, the DOJ's 2022 guidance and the court split on online-only stores.ADA for small businessesNo size exemption and no deadline. The real risk, the tax credit and low-cost fixes.ADA website lawsuits in numbers2025 and 2026 counts, who gets sued and what settlements cost.New York ADA website lawsuitsFederal and state courts, and state law damages.California (Unruh Act)How the state law adds at least $4,000 per offence, and what courts said about online stores.Got an ADA demand letterCalm first steps, what to keep, and how to spot a scam.Do accessibility widgets helpWhat the 2025 FTC order and lawsuit data say about overlays.

Canada

Two provinces set website rules for ordinary online stores today. Ontario's AODA asks for WCAG 2.0 AA at 50 or more Ontario employees. Manitoba asks for WCAG 2.1 AA from your first Manitoba employee. The federal Accessible Canada Act covers only federally regulated businesses.

The next Ontario compliance report is due December 31, 2026 for businesses with 20 or more employees. Our guide shows how to file your AODA compliance report. Other provinces have no web standard for private stores yet, but every human rights code applies.

OntarioAODA compliance guideThe WCAG 2.0 AA rule and the 2026 report.Federal and provincesCanadian lawsACA, Manitoba, BC, Nova Scotia, Quebec.Free toolAODA checklistThe duties that apply to your size.

European Union

Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) covers online stores that sell to consumers in the EU. It looks at who you sell to, so a US, Canadian or UK store that ships to EU shoppers can be in scope.

Microenterprises (fewer than 10 staff and no more than €2 million turnover) are exempt. The benchmark is EN 301 549, which uses WCAG 2.1 AA today. Each EU country sets its own fines: Germany allows up to €100,000.

EU, for stores anywhereThe European Accessibility Act for online storesWho is covered, the microenterprise exemption, the accessibility statement and what a store outside the EU should do.Read the EAA guideEAA checklist

All the rules on one page

Checked October 16, 2026. Each row links to the details.

What every law has in common

The laws point to three versions of WCAG: 2.0 AA in Ontario, and 2.1 AA in US practice, Manitoba, the federal rules and the EU. Working toward WCAG 2.2 AA covers the success criteria of all three, apart from 4.1.1 Parsing, which WCAG 2.2 dropped as obsolete. Our WCAG 2.2 AA guide explains each level in plain words.

Beyond the standard, the same three things help everywhere: an accessibility statement that says what you have done and what is still open, an easy way for customers to reach you, and a dated record of every fix. Our statement generator drafts the first one.

Human rights laws have no size limit

Every Canadian province has a human rights code that bars disability discrimination in services offered to the public, whatever the size of the business. In practice, a complaint from a customer who could not buy is more likely than a regulator's fine.

Questions about accessibility laws

Do small online stores have to follow accessibility laws?

Usually, yes. ADA Title III has no size cut-off. AODA duties start at one Ontario employee, and so does Manitoba's website rule. The European Accessibility Act exempts microenterprises (fewer than 10 staff and no more than €2 million turnover) from its service rules.

Is there one WCAG version that covers every law?

In practice, yes. A store that meets WCAG 2.2 AA also meets almost all of WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 AA. The one difference is 4.1.1 Parsing, which WCAG 2.2 removed and which the W3C now treats as always met for HTML.

What are the next deadlines?

December 31, 2026: Ontario's AODA compliance report, for businesses with 20 or more employees. December 5, 2028: Accessible Canada Act web rules for federally regulated businesses with 100 or more employees. The European Accessibility Act has applied since June 28, 2025.

Is a widget or a badge enough?

No. Laws and courts look at the website itself. In 2025, 24.9% of ADA website suits named sites that already had an accessibility widget (EcomBack).

Does Europe have something similar to ADA?

Yes. The European Accessibility Act is the closest match for online stores. The ADA is a civil rights law enforced mostly through private lawsuits. The EAA lists specific services, including e-commerce, and each EU country enforces it through its own authorities, with fines and orders.

What are the main pieces of accessibility legislation in Canada?

The federal Accessible Canada Act covers federally regulated organizations. Provincial acts, such as Ontario's AODA and the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, cover businesses in those provinces. Human rights codes in every province apply to any business that serves the public, whatever its size.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, March 18, 2022, checked October 2026
  2. Seyfarth Shaw, federal website accessibility lawsuit filings in 2025, March 25, 2026
  3. California Civil Code § 52(a) (Unruh Act damages), text checked October 16, 2026
  4. Government of Ontario, How to make websites accessible, updated September 21, 2026
  5. Government of Ontario, How to complete your accessibility compliance report, updated February 19, 2026
  6. Blakes, 2025 outlook on Canadian web accessibility regulations (Manitoba, Quebec), January 14, 2025
  7. Employment and Social Development Canada, Digital technologies Phase 1 guidance, SOR/2025-255, registered December 5, 2025
  8. Directive (EU) 2019/882, European Accessibility Act, applies from June 28, 2025
  9. Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) § 37, Germany, checked October 16, 2026
  10. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C Recommendation

This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice. For advice about your business, speak with a lawyer.

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