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Publication duties
UK public sector bodies must publish an accessibility statement on the website, in the model statement format. Regulation 4 excludes broadcasters, most non-governmental organisations, and schools except for essential admin functions. The statement names what is not accessible, why, the alternatives, and where to report problems. Review it after major changes, and at least once a year.
A reference note from Dan Malone, who builds software products.
The rule
“A public sector body must provide an accessibility statement in accordance with the model accessibility statement, and keep that statement under regular review.”
The facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| The duty | Regulation 8(1) says the body must provide an accessibility statement in the model statement format. It must keep that statement under regular review. Source |
| Who is out of scope | Regulation 4(1) excludes public service broadcasters and their subsidiaries. It excludes non-governmental organisations, unless they provide services essential to the public, or for disabled people. It excludes schools and nurseries, except content for essential online administrative functions. Source |
| Dates the duty started | Regulation 5 applies Part 2 in three stages. Websites published on or after 23 September 2018 are in scope after 22 September 2019. All other websites are in scope after 22 September 2020, and mobile apps after 22 June 2021. Source |
| Where it must sit | Regulation 8(2) says a website statement must be in an accessible format, and published on the body's website. GOV.UK guidance says to publish it as an HTML page. It calls a link from every page, such as the footer, good practice. Source |
| Required contents | Regulation 8(4) requires an explanation of the content that is not accessible, and why. It requires a description of accessible alternatives, where appropriate. It requires a description of, and a link to, a contact form for reports and requests. It requires a link to the Part 5 enforcement procedure. Source |
| Compliance wording and review cadence | GOV.UK guidance says to use the words fully compliant, partially compliant or not compliant. Fully compliant means the standards are met in full. Not compliant means most requirements are not met. The guidance says to review and update the statement on major changes, and at least once a year. Source |
| Technical standard | GDS monitors against level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2. Source |
| Disproportionate burden | Regulation 7 requires an assessment of the burden. It weighs the size, resources and nature of the body, and the costs, against the benefit to disabled users. The body must then explain in the statement which parts it did not meet. Source |
| Deadlines after a GDS report | A body that receives a GDS accessibility report must email GDS within 7 days. It must send any disproportionate burden evidence within 7 days. It must fix the issues within 12 weeks. Source |
| Statement enforcement notice | Under regulation 14 the Secretary of State can require information to show compliance with regulation 8. The body has 28 days to answer. No answer, or a weak answer, leads to a determination of failure. A review request must arrive within 28 days. SI 2025/557 moved this function from the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 3 June 2025. Source |
| Public naming | GDS publishes, for the Minister for the Cabinet Office, a list of websites with non-compliant accessibility statements. Source |
| Escalation route | Regulation 12 treats a failure to meet the accessibility requirement as a failure to make a reasonable adjustment. That failure counts under the Equality Act 2010, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland. Source |
The artefact
What goes wrong
/01
The statement freezes at its first publication date and misses the yearly review
/02
The statement is published as a PDF, so it fails the accessible format duty
/03
The statement sits on a buried URL with no footer link, so users and monitors cannot find it
/04
Sample wording ships with placeholders left in, or with the legally required wording cut
/05
Fully compliant is claimed while an audit report still lists open issues
/06
Disproportionate burden is claimed with no assessment of costs and benefits behind it
/07
The reporting contact is a dead mailbox, or the enforcement link is missing
/08
A site rebuild or CMS migration lands and the statement still describes the old site
/09
Sub-domains, microsites and mobile apps carry no statement of their own, so part of the estate sits uncovered.
/10
The 7 day acknowledgement or the 12 week fix window after a GDS report is missed
Who supplies this
UK audit house. Tests with disabled testers and issues WCAG 2.2 AA audit reports that feed the statement.
https://www.digitalaccessibilitycentre.org/
Charity offering accessibility audits, statement reviews and training for public sector teams.
https://www.abilitynet.org.uk/accessibility-services
Accessibility consultancy. Audits, remediation guidance and support for writing the statement.
https://tetralogical.com/
Accessibility strategy, audits and supplier procurement support for large organisations.
https://hassellinclusion.com/
Automated monitoring platform used to track accessibility across large public sector estates between audits.
https://silktide.com/
Free template from the Government Digital Service, based on the model accessibility statement.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sample-accessibility-statement
Free practitioner guidance written by UK public sector accessibility specialists.
https://www.makethingsaccessible.com/guides/what-are-the-public-sector-bodies-accessibility-regulations/
Send the duty, the deadline and where it has to sit. What comes back is a written scope for the page, or a straight answer that you do not need one.
Send the briefLast checked 2026-09-01 · Published 2026-09-01
This page is reference material, not legal advice. Your advisor owns what applies to you.