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Accessibility laws for online stores

What applies to a Shopify store depends on where your customers are and how many people you employ. Here is the short version for the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Last reviewed: . Not legal advice.

Which law applies to you

Most stores answer to more than one law, because the rules follow your customers and your staff, not only your head office. Start with the lines that match you.

  • You sell to people in the US. The ADA applies, and state laws such as California's can add damages.
  • You have staff in Ontario. The AODA applies. The website rule starts at 50 employees in Ontario.
  • You have even one employee in Manitoba. Manitoba's WCAG 2.1 AA rule applies.
  • You sell to consumers in the EU. The European Accessibility Act can apply, unless you are a microenterprise.
  • You serve the public anywhere in Canada. Your province's human rights code applies, whatever your size.

United States

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses open to the public to give people with disabilities equal access. Courts apply it to online stores, and they measure sites against WCAG 2.1 AA (the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the W3C's technical standard).

There is no fine from a regulator for most stores. The risk is a lawsuit or a demand letter. Seyfarth Shaw counted 3,117 federal website accessibility suits in 2025, up 27% on 2024 (March 25, 2026). California, New York and two new state laws in Utah and Missouri change how much a claim can cost.

ADA website complianceWhat the law says, which WCAG version courts use, lawsuit numbers and state laws.Got an ADA demand letterCalm first steps, what to keep, and how to spot a scam.Do accessibility widgets helpWhat the 2025 FTC order and lawsuit data say about overlays.

Canada

Two provinces set website rules for ordinary online stores today. Ontario's AODA asks for WCAG 2.0 AA at 50 or more Ontario employees. Manitoba asks for WCAG 2.1 AA from your first Manitoba employee. The federal Accessible Canada Act covers only federally regulated businesses.

The next Ontario compliance report is due December 31, 2026 for businesses with 20 or more employees. Other provinces have no web standard for private stores yet, but every human rights code applies.

OntarioAODA compliance guideThe WCAG 2.0 AA rule and the 2026 report.Federal and provincesCanadian lawsACA, Manitoba, BC, Nova Scotia, Quebec.Free toolAODA checklistThe duties that apply to your size.

European Union

Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) covers online stores that sell to consumers in the EU. It looks at who you sell to, so a US, Canadian or UK store that ships to EU shoppers can be in scope.

Microenterprises (fewer than 10 staff and no more than €2 million turnover) are exempt. The benchmark is EN 301 549, which uses WCAG 2.1 AA today. Each EU country sets its own fines: Germany allows up to €100,000.

EU, for stores anywhereThe European Accessibility Act for online storesWho is covered, the microenterprise exemption, the accessibility statement and what a store outside the EU should do.Read the EAA guideEAA checklist

All the rules on one page

Checked October 16, 2026. Each row links to the details.

What every law has in common

The laws point to three versions of WCAG: 2.0 AA in Ontario, and 2.1 AA in US practice, Manitoba, the federal rules and the EU. Working toward WCAG 2.2 AA covers the success criteria of all three, apart from 4.1.1 Parsing, which WCAG 2.2 dropped as obsolete.

Beyond the standard, the same three things help everywhere: an accessibility statement that says what you have done and what is still open, an easy way for customers to reach you, and a dated record of every fix. Our statement generator drafts the first one.

Human rights laws have no size limit

Every Canadian province has a human rights code that bars disability discrimination in services offered to the public, whatever the size of the business. In practice, a complaint from a customer who could not buy is more likely than a regulator's fine.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, March 18, 2022, checked October 2026
  2. Seyfarth Shaw, federal website accessibility lawsuit filings in 2025, March 25, 2026
  3. California Civil Code § 52(a) (Unruh Act damages), text checked October 16, 2026
  4. Government of Ontario, How to make websites accessible, updated September 21, 2026
  5. Government of Ontario, How to complete your accessibility compliance report, updated February 19, 2026
  6. Blakes, 2025 outlook on Canadian web accessibility regulations (Manitoba, Quebec), January 14, 2025
  7. Employment and Social Development Canada, Digital technologies Phase 1 guidance, SOR/2025-255, registered December 5, 2025
  8. Directive (EU) 2019/882, European Accessibility Act, applies from June 28, 2025
  9. Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) § 37, Germany, checked October 16, 2026
  10. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C Recommendation

This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice. For advice about your business, speak with a lawyer.

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