Free UK Accessibility Statement Template 2026 (WCAG 2.2 AA)

UK private sector businesses are not legally required to publish an accessibility statement. PSBAR 2018 applies to public sector bodies only. But publishing one is good practice with direct legal relevance under the Equality Act 2010: it is evidence that your organisation took its reasonable adjustments duty seriously and it provides a structured route for disabled users to report issues before they instruct a solicitor.

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To find accessibility issues on your site before writing the statement, run a free scan at /uk/en/scan.

Required elements: what your statement must include

A useful private sector accessibility statement covers six areas. Based on the GDS public sector format, adapted for private sector use:

• Scope: which website or service the statement covers, including the domain and any subdomains or separate applications.
• Conformance level: the standard you are working towards (typically WCAG 2.2 Level AA), with an honest statement of current conformance.
• Known accessibility issues: a list of specific known issues, each including the WCAG success criterion failed, the impact on users and the planned fix date.
• Contact mechanism: an email address or form for disabled users to report barriers. State the response time (14 working days is the standard).
• Enforcement body: for private sector businesses, the relevant route is a civil claim in the county court and, for systemic issues, the EHRC.
• Review date: when the statement was last updated and when it will next be reviewed.

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Accessibility statement template (copy-paste ready)

Replace items in brackets with your own details. The template assumes WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Change to your actual target if different.

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Accessibility statement for [Organisation Name]: [website domain]

Last reviewed: [date]

[Organisation Name] is committed to making [website domain] accessible in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

Compliance status

This website is [fully conformant with / partially conformant with / non-conformant with] the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA standard. [For partially conformant: the non-accessible parts are listed below. For non-conformant: this means content does not conform to the accessibility standard in a number of ways, as described below.]

Non-accessible content

The following known issues are being addressed:

• [Issue 1]: [Brief description. Example: Product images on the shop page are missing alternative text (WCAG 1.1.1). This affects screen-reader users. Fix scheduled for [date].]
• [Issue 2]: [Brief description. Example: Several form fields on the contact page lack correctly associated labels (WCAG 1.3.1). This affects screen-reader users and users with cognitive disabilities. Fix in progress, expected [date].]

If you have identified an issue not listed here, please contact us using the details below.

Contacting us about accessibility

If you cannot access any part of this site or need content in a different format, contact us:

Email: [accessibility@yourorganisation.co.uk] Response time: We aim to respond within 14 working days.

We will consider your request and get back to you with options for accessing the content.

Enforcement

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission (England, Scotland, Wales) or the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. You may also bring a civil claim under the Equality Act 2010 in the county court.

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Why publish an accessibility statement under the Equality Act 2010

Under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010, the reasonable adjustments duty is anticipatory. An organisation does not wait for a disabled user to complain before making its website accessible. It anticipates that disabled users will attempt to access the service and removes barriers in advance.

Publishing an accessibility statement demonstrates that this anticipatory thinking has occurred. A statement that accurately records known failures, names the standard the organisation is working towards and commits to a remediation timeline is evidence that the organisation has assessed its position and is taking steps. This does not guarantee no Equality Act claim, but it substantially improves the organisation's evidential position if one is brought.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission recommends that private businesses publish accessibility statements as part of their reasonable adjustments compliance. For systemic accessibility failings, the EHRC has formal investigation powers under section 20 of the Equality Act 2006. See our EHRC investigations of websites guide for how those investigations trigger and proceed.

Common statement failures to avoid

Publishing a statement does not automatically create evidential benefit. The quality and accuracy of the statement matter more than its existence.

How to handle third-party content in your statement

Most websites include content or functionality from third parties: embedded YouTube videos, Google Maps, payment widgets, live chat tools, social media embeds. These third-party components may not be accessible and the organisation publishing the website does not control their source code.

PSBAR 2018 guidance from GDS addresses this for public sector bodies and the approach is reasonable practice for private sector too: where a third-party component is inaccessible and outside the organisation's control, the statement should name it, explain why it is not accessible and describe any alternative route the user can take to access the same information or service.

For example, if an embedded Google Maps widget is not keyboard-accessible, the statement can note this and provide a text address with directions as an alternative. The Equality Act 2010 framework accepts that some barriers cannot be removed at the source, provided the organisation takes other reasonable steps to achieve the same outcome by different means.

Where a third-party component is provided under a commercial contract, the statement should note this and indicate whether accessibility improvements are being sought from the supplier. Contracts entered after WCAG 2.2 AA became the de facto standard are unlikely to exclude accessibility obligations, but older contracts may not address it directly.

Update cadence and review process

An accessibility statement that is never updated records the site's state at one point in time. As the site changes, the statement becomes inaccurate. Inaccuracy creates evidential risk.

A practical review cadence balances thoroughness against the cost of repeated full audits:

• Annual full review coinciding with a new accessibility audit. The audit finds issues, the statement is updated to reflect them with fix dates and existing known issues from the previous year are either closed or updated with revised dates.
• Triggered review after major site changes. A new checkout flow, redesigned navigation, new CMS or a new third-party integration all introduce potential new accessibility issues. A targeted audit of the changed components, followed by a statement update, covers this.
• Triggered review after a complaint. If a disabled user reports a barrier through the statement's contact mechanism, the statement should be updated to acknowledge the reported issue once verified, along with the planned fix timeline.

A statement updated at least annually with honest, specific content achieves its purpose: it creates a documented record that the organisation engaged with the reasonable adjustments question, knew its current position and was taking active steps to improve it.

For the broader legal framework, see website accessibility under the Equality Act 2010. For the technical standard the statement references, see WCAG 2.2 AA in UK law. For how damages are calculated under the Equality Act, see Vento bands and Equality Act fines.

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Frequently asked questions

Are UK private sector businesses required to publish an accessibility statement?

No. The legal requirement to publish an accessibility statement under PSBAR 2018 applies to public sector bodies only. Private sector businesses are not legally required to publish one. However, publishing an accessibility statement is strongly recommended because it documents the organisation's reasonable adjustments effort, provides a mechanism for disabled users to report issues and demonstrates good faith that is relevant in any Equality Act claim.

What should a private sector UK accessibility statement include?

A private sector accessibility statement should cover: the accessibility standard you are working towards (WCAG 2.2 AA), the date your last accessibility audit was conducted, known accessibility issues and your plan to fix them, a contact mechanism for users to report new barriers, the timeframe within which you will respond to reports and who has responsibility for accessibility within the organisation.

How often should an accessibility statement be updated?

At minimum, review and update the statement annually. Update it also after significant changes to the website (new design, new features, new third-party integrations), after a new accessibility audit produces findings and after fixing known issues. A statement with a two-year-old audit date and unresolved issues from 2022 creates evidential risk in any Equality Act claim.

Can a generic accessibility statement reduce legal risk?

A generic statement with no specific audit findings, no commitment dates and no contact mechanism provides little evidential protection. A statement that accurately reflects your current position, with documented known issues and realistic remediation timelines, is what creates a defensible paper trail. Vague statements are less useful than accurate ones, even where the accurate statement reveals significant non-conformance. Specificity matters more than the presence of a statement.

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This is technical analysis, not legal advice. Consult a solicitor for specific guidance on your Equality Act compliance position.