Are you exempt from the BFSG? If you sell exclusively to businesses, probably yes. If you are a microenterprise with fewer than 10 employees and under 2 million euros in revenue, probably yes for services. But the word probably matters. The Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz creates exemptions that look straightforward on paper but generate confusion in practice. This guide maps the boundaries — and the traps that catch businesses who assume they are safe.
The B2B Exemption: Clearer Than You Think
The BFSG applies to services provided to consumers. The law uses the term Verbraucher — natural persons acting outside their trade, business, or profession. If your customers are exclusively businesses (B2B), the BFSG does not apply to your digital services.
This exemption is genuinely broad. A SaaS platform sold only to enterprises, a wholesale supplier with no consumer sales channel, an industrial equipment manufacturer selling through distributors — all are out of scope for the service requirements.
The exemption does not require registration or documentation. If you are B2B-only, there is nothing to file. But you should document your business model clearly, because if a competitor or enforcement authority questions your exemption, the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that you do not serve consumers.
The B2B Trap: When Consumer Access Creeps In
Here is where it gets complicated. The exemption covers businesses that serve only other businesses. The moment a consumer can access your service — even if that is not your target market — the exemption weakens.
Consider these scenarios. A B2B software company has a public pricing page and a "Start free trial" button with no business verification. A consumer could sign up. Is this B2C? Under strict interpretation, yes — you are offering a service to whoever visits your website, including consumers.
A wholesale distributor operates an online shop that requires a business registration number to create an account. Consumers cannot buy. This is genuinely B2B and exempt.
A SaaS company sells to businesses but also offers a free tier with no business verification. The free tier is accessible to consumers. The consumer-facing parts of the service must comply with the BFSG, even if zero consumers actually use it.
The principle is functional, not intentional. The question is not "who do you intend to serve?" but "who can access your service?" If a consumer can reach it, the BFSG applies to what they can reach.
Marketplaces and Platforms: Both Sides of the Equation
Marketplaces create a double compliance situation. The platform itself is a service provider under the BFSG — it must be accessible to consumer users. But the individual sellers on the platform are also economic operators whose product listings and shop pages must comply.
Amazon, eBay, Etsy: the platform bears responsibility for platform-level accessibility (navigation, search, checkout infrastructure). Individual sellers bear responsibility for their content (product descriptions, images, alt text).
A B2B marketplace (like Alibaba's B2B platform) that genuinely restricts access to verified businesses may be exempt. A marketplace that serves both businesses and consumers (like Amazon) is fully in scope, and both the platform and its sellers must comply.
If you sell on a marketplace, do not assume the platform handles BFSG compliance for you. Your product content — images without alt text, descriptions with poor heading structure — is your responsibility.
The Microenterprise Exemption: Two Conditions, Both Required
The BFSG exempts Kleinstunternehmen from the service requirements. To qualify, you must meet both conditions simultaneously: fewer than 10 employees AND annual turnover or annual balance sheet total under 2 million euros. Both. Not either.
A nine-person agency generating 3 million euros: not exempt. A three-person startup with 500,000 euros in revenue: exempt. A twelve-person company with 1.5 million euros revenue: not exempt (too many employees).
Employee count includes part-time workers calculated as full-time equivalents (FTE). Two half-time employees count as one FTE. Freelancers and contractors do not count toward the employee threshold unless they are economically dependent on your company (Scheinselbständigkeit considerations apply).
The turnover threshold uses the most recent completed fiscal year. If you crossed 2 million euros in 2025, you are not exempt for 2026 — even if your 2026 revenue drops below the threshold.
The Growth Trap: Losing Your Exemption Overnight
The microenterprise exemption has no transition period. The moment you cross either threshold — hire your tenth employee or exceed 2 million euros in turnover — the BFSG applies immediately. Not next quarter, not next year: now.
This creates a practical problem. A growing startup that qualified as a microenterprise in January might lose the exemption in March when it hires its tenth person. The entire digital service must then comply with EN 301 549 and WCAG 2.1 AA — a process that typically takes weeks or months of remediation work.
Smart companies build accessibility into their products from the start, regardless of exemption status. The cost of accessible development from day one is minimal compared to the cost of retrofitting an entire platform under legal pressure after losing an exemption.
If you are approaching either threshold, start your accessibility audit before you cross it. A three-month head start makes the difference between a smooth transition and a compliance emergency.
Products vs. Services: The Exemption Does Not Cover Everything
A critical distinction that many businesses miss: the microenterprise exemption only covers services. If you manufacture, import, or distribute covered products — computers, smartphones, tablets, self-service terminals, e-book readers, communication equipment — the BFSG product requirements apply regardless of your company size.
A three-person hardware startup making an e-reader: must comply with BFSG product requirements. A two-person web agency running an online shop: exempt from service requirements (microenterprise), but if they sell covered products, those products must still be accessible.
The product requirements cover design, manufacturing, CE marking, technical documentation, and EU declaration of conformity. They are more prescriptive than the service requirements and leave less room for interpretation.
The Disproportionate Burden Defense
Even if you are in scope, the BFSG allows a disproportionate burden (unverhältnismäßige Belastung) defense under Section 17. You can claim that specific accessibility measures would impose a burden disproportionate to the benefit — but only for individual requirements, not as a blanket exemption.
To invoke this defense, you must conduct a formal assessment documenting the estimated costs, the financial impact on your business, and the benefits that the accessibility measure would provide to persons with disabilities. This assessment must be documented and available for inspection by the enforcement authority (MLBF).
Courts and enforcement authorities interpret disproportionate burden narrowly. The cost of implementing WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for a standard online shop is well-established (5,000 to 30,000 euros for initial remediation). For a business generating hundreds of thousands in revenue, that is unlikely to qualify as disproportionate.
Do not rely on this defense as a primary compliance strategy. It is a safety valve for genuinely exceptional circumstances — a legacy system that would require complete rebuilding, or a one-time event website with a three-day lifespan — not a general opt-out.
Practical Decision Tree: Are You Exempt?
Follow this sequence to determine your BFSG obligations:
Question 1: Do you sell products or services to consumers in Germany? If no (pure B2B with verified business-only access), you are exempt. If yes, continue.
Question 2: Do you manufacture, import, or distribute covered products? If yes, product requirements apply regardless of company size. No exemption.
Question 3: Do you provide covered services (e-commerce, banking, communications, transport, audiovisual)? If yes, continue. If no, you may be out of scope entirely.
Question 4: Are you a microenterprise (fewer than 10 employees AND under 2 million euros turnover)? If yes, you are exempt from service requirements only. Products still must comply. If no, full BFSG compliance required.
When in doubt, run a free accessibility scan. Even if you believe you are exempt, knowing your accessibility status costs nothing and protects you against future scope changes.