Are there transition periods for existing websites?
In short and in plain language
Only in part. There is a rule for the change. It covers products that were already in use before. It also covers old contracts as long as they stay the same.
There is no own transition period for websites. New contracts must be accessible right away.
So our advice is: do not wait. If you start early, you have less pressure.
Only to a limited extent: the BFSG provides a transition rule (Section 38 BFSG). Products that a service provider already lawfully used for its service before June 28, 2025 may continue to be used until June 27, 2030; service contracts concluded before June 28, 2025 may continue unchanged until they expire, but no later than June 27, 2030. This deadline is often misread: it is not a general reprieve for every existing website.
New service contracts concluded from the cut-off date onward must be conformant immediately, and existing contracts are only covered as long as they continue unchanged. The law provides no separate transition period for websites as such. Anyone reworking their website anyway should therefore implement the requirements at the same time.
In practice we recommend not waiting until 2030. Early accessibility optimization spreads the effort, avoids time pressure and gives you better legal protection.