When companies think about the BFSG, they think about websites, online shops and apps. That the law defines a separate category for e-books tends to get lost. Yet the rules there do not overlap with the general catalogue: the ordinance accompanying the act sets out ten additional duties for e-books alone (BFSG ordinance, Section 18), from synchronising text and audio to an explicit ban on using copy protection to block accessibility features. Publishers, retail platforms and shops have been in scope since 28 June 2025 (BFSG, Section 1(3) no. 4). This article sorts out the legal position, the roles and the technical target state, and describes how an existing backlist can be migrated in a planned sequence.
E-books in the BFSG: a separate category with its own logic
The BFSG distinguishes two regimes: products under Section 1(2) and services under Section 1(3). E-books sit on the services side. In scope are "e-books and dedicated software" (BFSG, Section 1(3) no. 4). The legal definition is broader than the name suggests: it covers the service that supplies digital files conveying an electronic version of a book, together with the software specifically designed for accessing, navigating, reading and using those files, including mobile applications (BFSG, Section 2 no. 37).
The reading device is a separate matter. It is a product within the meaning of the act (BFSG, Section 2 no. 38) and therefore follows product logic: conformity assessment, CE marking and manufacturer duties. For this device class the ordinance contains a single, very clear requirement: e-book reading devices must be equipped with text-to-speech (BFSG ordinance, Section 8). Anyone who produces or sells e-books is usually not affected by that provision, but needs to understand the split, because it drives duties, evidence and deadlines.
- The file itself, meaning the EPUB or a comparable format that carries the text of the book.
- The reading software built specifically for accessing, navigating and reading those files, including mobile apps and browser-based readers.
- The reading device as a product in its own right, with a text-to-speech obligation (BFSG ordinance, Section 8).
- The sales channel, meaning shop, catalogue and download flow, as an e-commerce service (BFSG, Section 1(3) no. 5).
A service means no CE mark, but an information duty
How the services side works in general is covered in our overview of BFSG duties for companies. This article concentrates on what is specific to e-books, and on the interface with the shop, where most projects stop short.
The ten requirements in Section 18 of the ordinance
The ordinance accompanying the German accessibility act turns the abstract statutory goals into concrete duties. Section 18 of the ordinance applies exclusively to e-books and adds to the general service requirements in Section 12 of the same ordinance. Ten items, each with its own testing consequence.
- Synchronised delivery of text and audio, where the e-book contains audio alongside text. Technically this means media overlays, not a separately supplied audiobook track.
- Assistive technologies must not be obstructed. The files must not prevent screen readers, braille displays and read-aloud functions from working properly.
- Access to the content: text must be present as text, not as an image of a typeset page.
- Navigation through content and layout, expressly including dynamic layouts.
- Provision of structure: heading levels, lists, tables and sections marked up semantically.
- Flexibility and choice in rendering: font size, line spacing, colours and column width must be adjustable by the reader.
- Alternative renderings of the content in a perceivable, understandable, operable and robust manner.
- Interoperability with assistive technologies, again along the four familiar principles.
- Discoverability of the accessibility features through information supplied as metadata.
- No DRM lock-out: accessibility features must not be blocked by technical protection measures, subject to Sections 95a to 96 of the German Copyright Act.
Item 10 is the underestimated provision
It is striking how closely items 3 to 8 track the WCAG principles. Perceivable, operable, understandable and robust appear verbatim in the ordinance. That is precisely why the road to conformity does not run through an e-book parallel universe but through the same family of standards that applies to websites. The harmonised European standard EN 301 549 currently references WCAG 2.1 Level AA in version V3.2.1; version V4.1.1, planned for 2026, raises that reference to WCAG 2.2 Level AA (ETSI EN 301 549). What that means for evidence is unpacked in our article on EN 301 549 as the standard behind the BFSG.
Roles: publisher, retailer, and why the author is not liable
Who exactly is addressed by the law is a recurring debate inside publishing houses. The European basis is unambiguous: the concept of service provider may cover "publishers and other economic operators involved in the distribution of e-books" (Directive (EU) 2019/882, recital 41). The BFSG translates that into Section 2 no. 4: a service provider is anyone who provides or offers a service to consumers on the Union market.
The result is shared responsibility, not delegated responsibility. The publisher owns the file it commissions and offers. The shop owns whether that file is discoverable, correctly described, orderable and downloadable. Both are service providers, each for their own part. A publisher hoping the platform will sort it out overlooks that the platform cannot repair the file. A platform pointing at publishers overlooks that discoverability and the ordering flow were never in the publisher's hands.
| Party | Classification under the BFSG | What to do in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher producing and offering e-books | Service provider (Section 2 no. 4) | Produce files per Section 18 of the ordinance, set metadata, publish the Annex 3 information |
| Shop or retail platform | Service provider (Section 2 no. 4) | Accessible search, product page, ordering and download flow, display of accessibility data |
| Production or conversion supplier | Not an addressee in its own right | Anchor requirements contractually, make test reports part of the deliverable |
| Author under a publishing contract | Not an addressee of the BFSG | No duty of their own; clean manuscript structure eases production |
| Self-publishing author selling directly | Service provider, unless a microenterprise | Check whether the Section 3 BFSG exemption applies, otherwise the full duty set |
| Manufacturer of an e-book reading device | Manufacturer of a product (Section 2 no. 11) | Conformity assessment, CE marking, text-to-speech per Section 8 of the ordinance |
An author as such is not an addressee because they do not offer the service on the market. That changes as soon as distribution runs in their own name. Then the usual sequence applies: is there a service within the meaning of the act, and does the microenterprise exemption apply? For services, only undertakings with fewer than 10 employees and at most 2 million euros in annual turnover or balance sheet total are exempt (BFSG, Section 3). Both thresholds apply cumulatively, and the exemption does not extend to products. The detail is in our article on the microenterprise exemption under the BFSG.
Contractual clarity beats hope
EPUB Accessibility 1.1 as the practical conformity target
The ordinance describes goals, not file formats. The technical target state comes from the EPUB Accessibility 1.1 specification, published as a W3C Recommendation in October 2024 (W3C, EPUB Accessibility 1.1). It requires conformance with WCAG 2.0 as a minimum and strongly recommends the latest WCAG version at Level AA. For the European legal framework that gives a workable target: WCAG 2.2 Level AA at the core, documented inside the file itself.
The specification requires an explicit conformance statement in the package document. The dcterms:conformsTo property carries a string in a fixed pattern, such as "EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.2 Level AA", complemented by the evaluating party in a11y:certifiedBy (W3C, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, section 3.5). That makes the claim traceable and testable instead of letting it disappear into a marketing statement.
Reflowable instead of fixed layout
Fixed layout freezes line breaks and font size and collides with the freedom of rendering required by Section 18 no. 6 of the ordinance. For running text a reflowable layout is the norm and fixed layout the justified exception.
Semantic headings
An unbroken hierarchy from h1 to h6 replaces visual formatting with structure. Readers using text-to-speech jump through the book with it instead of listening linearly.
Alt text that carries information
Every informative illustration needs a description, decorative elements are hidden from assistive technology. On the web, 16.2 percent of all home page images lack alternative text (WebAIM Million, 2026); in e-book backlists the rate is rarely better.
Language markup
The main document carries the language, while foreign-language quotations and technical terms carry their own markup. Without it, text-to-speech reads French quotations with German pronunciation.
MathML instead of formula images
Formulas as graphics are silent for assistive technology. MathML makes expressions speakable, navigable and transferable to braille. Alt text is a stopgap, not a substitute.
Navigation and page list
The navigation document carries the table of contents. Where a print edition circulates in parallel, page break markers and a page list belong with it, including a statement of the pagination source (W3C, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, section 3.4).
The single most expensive defect
For tables and complex illustrations the same rules apply as on the web. Header cells need an association, multi-level tables need an explanatory summary. The underlying method is described in our article on accessible data tables and complex content, and the criteria for good image descriptions in the article on alternative text for images.
Metadata: without it, accessibility stays invisible
The most frequently overlooked part sits in item 9 of the ordinance: discoverability of the accessibility features is a requirement in its own right (BFSG ordinance, Section 18). A technically flawless file without metadata does not satisfy it. From a user perspective that is entirely logical: someone who depends on text-to-speech needs to know before buying whether the title is usable.
EPUB Accessibility 1.1 makes three properties mandatory and recommends two more (W3C, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, section 2.2). They live in the package document and are evaluated by reading systems and catalogues.
- accessMode (required): which sensory or cognitive faculties are needed to process the content, for example textual or visual.
- accessibilityFeature (required): which features support accessibility, such as structural navigation, alternative text, MathML or page break markers.
- accessibilityHazard (required): whether flashing, motion or sound present a hazard, expressly including a statement that no hazard exists.
- accessibilitySummary (recommended): a short human-readable summary naming both strengths and remaining limitations.
- accessModeSufficient (recommended): which combination of access modes is sufficient on its own to consume the content without substantial loss of information.
- dcterms:conformsTo and a11y:certifiedBy: the conformance claim and the party that evaluated it.
That is still not the whole job. Metadata inside the file serves the reading system, not the catalogue. For the information to reach the shop, the library and the wholesale layer, it also has to travel in the book trade's distribution data. The German Publishers and Booksellers Association provides dedicated guidance for this, among other things on EPUB3 e-books and on representing accessibility in metadata (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels). EPUB Accessibility 1.1 likewise notes in its distribution section that the information should be carried over into the industry exchange formats (W3C, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, section 5).
Two data streams, one version of the truth
Testing: automated validation plus manual review
The testing path has two stages, and neither replaces the other. Stage one is automated validation. The DAISY Consortium provides Ace, an open-source tool that checks EPUB files against the accessibility specification and produces a report covering violations, metadata status, document outlines and an image inventory (DAISY Consortium). A format validation additionally establishes whether the file is built to specification at all.
Stage two is manual review, and it is not optional. Automated tests detect the presence of alternative text, not its correctness. They detect a table, not whether its logic survives being read out linearly. And they detect a reading order, not whether it matches the intended path through the book. The same limit applies on the web, where automated tools cover only part of the criteria; our article on accessibility testing tools describes it in more detail.
| Aspect | Detectable automatically | Requires manual review |
|---|---|---|
| Missing alternative text | included | Quality and information value |
| Heading hierarchy | Skipped levels | Whether the outline makes sense |
| Accessibility metadata | Presence of the fields | Whether the statement is true |
| Reading order | not included | Screen reader run-through on the device |
| Table logic | Header cell markup | Comprehensibility when read linearly |
| Media overlays | Technical validity | Synchronisation and skippability |
A report without findings proves that the tool found nothing. Whether the book is readable is decided only when someone listens through it from beginning to end with text-to-speech.
In practice that means one automated pass across the entire catalogue, followed by a manual sample per title group. A novel behaves differently from a textbook full of formulas, tables and marginal notes. For the manual stage we use the same approach as in screen reader testing of web interfaces: real speech output, a real reading system, defined tasks rather than free browsing.
Backlist migration: sequence instead of blanket effort
New productions can be switched over. The real effort sits in the backlist, and there the instinct to touch everything at once is the most expensive route. A better approach prioritises along two criteria that can both be derived from data publishers already hold: commercial weight and work that is due anyway.
- High-revenue titles first. In many publishing programmes a small share of titles carries the bulk of e-book revenue. That group is also the most visible in retail.
- Titles with a new edition or update. If the file is being touched anyway, lift it to the target state in the same pass. Marginal effort is lowest there.
- Titles with high accessibility value, such as guidebooks, non-fiction and study or exam literature, where demand for speech output is particularly likely.
- Titles with a systematic defect, for example whole series produced from the same template. One corrected conversion profile benefits every volume in the series.
- The remainder by effort class, separated into reflowable and fixed layout, with a realistic decision on rework, reproduction or withdrawal from sale.
That sequence produces a plan with dates and owners, which doubles as the basis for documentation. Anyone who cannot finish everything at once should record the state verifiably rather than keep quiet about it. Where measures fail against an economic limit, the route via the disproportionate burden exemption in Section 17 BFSG exists, but only with a documented case-by-case assessment and never as a blanket self-exemption.
What belongs in the documentation
The shop counts too: ordering, download, sample
An accessible e-book that can only be obtained through an unusable ordering flow does not solve the problem. The sale is a separate e-commerce service (BFSG, Section 1(3) no. 5) with its own requirements in Section 19 of the ordinance. The state of the open web shows how wide the starting gap is: 95.9 percent of the home pages surveyed had automatically detectable WCAG failures, averaging 56.1 per page (WebAIM Million, 2026). A shop rarely starts from a clean baseline.
- Search and filters must be operable by keyboard and with speech output, including a filter for accessible titles where the metadata supports it.
- Product page shows the accessibility information in plain language, not merely as a technical field.
- Ordering and payment without time pressure, with clear error messages and no purely visual status indication.
- Download and activation must not introduce a barrier that locks the file away from assistive technology again.
- Reading sample in the same format as the purchased title, so accessibility can be checked before buying.
- Contact and feedback on accessibility problems, reachable and with a defined handling process.
Two areas deserve particular attention because shops routinely treat them as secondary: embedded third-party components and product search. How responsibility for embedded building blocks is distributed is set out in our article on third-party widgets and BFSG responsibility. How search, facets and result lists stay operable is covered in the article on accessible product search and filters in online shops. For the final purchase steps it is worth reading our piece on the accessible checkout in e-commerce.
What to tackle now
The entry point is not an investment decision but an inventory. It establishes how wide the gap actually is and stops budget flowing into the wrong group of titles. In practice a manageable set of steps is enough.
- Inventory the catalogue: bring format, layout type, presence of audio, metadata status and revenue class per title into one list.
- Test automatically: validate the entire stock and group findings by error class rather than by title, because the causes usually sit in production profiles.
- Test a sample manually: work through one complete book per title group with speech output and on a reading device.
- Fix the production chain: change typesetting, export and conversion profiles so new titles reach the target state without rework.
- Synchronise metadata: bring the information in the file and in the delivery data to the same state and build the reconciliation into the production process.
- Review the shop side: test search, product page, ordering flow and download against WCAG 2.2 Level AA and prioritise the findings.
- Document: record test status, measures and timeline per title group, and derive the Annex 3 no. 1 BFSG information from it.
We support that path across the whole chain. It includes testing accessible documents and EPUB files, a WCAG 2.2 audit of the shop interface, the accessibility statement with its mandatory content, ongoing accessibility monitoring for regressions after releases, and training for production, editorial and content teams. For houses reworking their sales channel in parallel, the accessible shop is the second building block; the overall picture of what applies is summarised on our page about BFSG requirements. An overview of all building blocks is on the services page.
The commercial frame should not be overstated. Breaches of the BFSG can be penalised with fines of up to 100,000 euros (BFSG, Section 37), and around 87 million people in the European Union live with a disability (European Commission). The book market itself is under pressure: industry revenue recently fell by 2.7 percent (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, July 2026). That is precisely why a planned sequence matters more than a fast blanket effort.
A sequence that works
Sources and studies