Public sector

WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit for Public websites

Public websites have had a legal obligation for accessibility since 2012 (law of February 11, 2005, reinforced by the decree of July 24, 2019). Despite this, the majority of local authority and government service websites are not WCAG compliant. Sanctions are increasing and regulatory checks are multiplying.

Why Public websites must be WCAG compliant

Legal obligation since 2012

The decree of July 24, 2019 requires 100% WCAG compliance for public websites. The absence of an accessibility statement is sanctioned at EUR 20,000/year.

Universal service

Public services must be accessible to all citizens. Administrative procedures, legal information, forms: no user should be excluded.

Expected exemplarity

Public websites are expected to lead by example in digital accessibility. The DSFR (Government Design System) provides components, but implementation often remains flawed.

Common accessibility issues on Public websites

Non-compliant navigation menus

Dropdown menus on local authority websites do not follow ARIA patterns (menu, menuitem) and are not keyboard navigable.

Inaccessible PDF documents

Deliberations, decrees and administrative documents published as PDF are not tagged (missing structure, text alternatives, declared language).

Inaccessible procedure forms

Contact forms, document request or registration forms lack explicit labels, associated error messages and field descriptions.

Missing or incomplete accessibility statement

The obligation to publish a WCAG compliance statement is rarely met. When it exists, it is often outdated or generic.

What Scrutia detects on your Public websites website

Verification of compliance with all 106 RGAA 4.1.2 criteria

Full keyboard navigation testing (menus, tabs, modals)

Analysis of online procedure forms

Verification of heading structure and semantic markup

Detection of missing accessibility statement

Testing of DSFR components (if used): real ARIA compliance

Frequently asked questions — Public websites

Does this pre-audit replace the official WCAG compliance audit?

No. Scrutia performs an automated pre-audit covering 106 RGAA criteria on technical aspects (keyboard, ARIA, contrasts, structure). An official compliance audit requires an expert for relevance criteria. Our report provides a solid foundation to prepare that audit.

Can the report be used for the accessibility statement?

The Scrutia report identifies technical non-conformities and provides code fixes. It can feed your accessibility statement by listing non-compliant criteria and planned corrective actions, but it does not constitute an official compliance audit on its own.

Can a DSFR-based site be audited?

Yes, and it is particularly relevant. The DSFR provides theoretically accessible components, but implementation on your site can introduce issues (misconfigured components, incorrect page structure, non-compliant content). Scrutia tests the actual rendering.

Test your Public websites website

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