AgID Guidelines on digital accessibility: what changes with Determination No. 38 of March 4, 2026

Note: this article describes the Italian regulatory framework (Legislative Decree 82/2022, AgID). The rules that apply in your country may differ: in the United States, for example, the main references are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, while the European Accessibility Act applies only to products and services offered in the European Union.

The operational framework for the European Accessibility Act is more complete: AgID has published the technical rules, verification criteria, and control tools that were missing until now. Further obligations remain possible depending on the country, the sector, and the service. Here's what companies need to know.

The EAA had obligations. Now it also has instructions.

The European Accessibility Act has been in effect in Italy since June 28, 2025. From that date, companies offering digital services to consumers—from e-commerce to banking services, from transportation to electronic communications—are required to ensure the accessibility of their digital products and services.

What was missing until a few weeks ago was the operational piece: how is compliance verified? What criteria does AgID use in inspections? How can a company prove it is in compliance?

On March 4, 2026, with the Determination No. 38/2026, the Agency for Digital Italy has published the new Digital Service Accessibility Guidelines, in implementation of art. 21 of Legislative Decree 82/2022. The document is available in the Transparent Administration section of the AgID website.

What do the new Guidelines provide?

Scope of application

The Guidelines are addressed to both Public Administrations and private entities operating in the sectors covered by the EAA:

• E-commerce
• Banking and financial services
• Transportation
• Electronic communications
• Audiovisual media
• E-books and digital publishing

The exemption for microenterprises that provide services (fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or annual balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros) is confirmed. Any limits to this exemption should be checked against the text of the Determination and with your own advisors.

Reference standard: WCAG 2.1, not (yet) 2.2

The Guidelines refer to the standard EN 301 549 and all WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The decision not to include WCAG 2.2, which has already been available in Italian since 2023, is due to the fact that the harmonized European standard has not yet been formally updated by the European Commission. AgID has adhered to the current regulatory reference, but it is reasonable to expect an update as soon as the EU adopts the new version of EN 301 549.

Structured Control Cards

Among the most relevant tools introduced by the Guidelines are the Control cards specifications for:

• Websites
• Digital documents
• Mobile apps

These sheets constitute the practical tool that AgID will use for verification and which companies can adopt to document and demonstrate their compliance.

Digital signature with timestamp

According to the Guidelines, attestations and documents related to the accessibility verification are to be digitally signed with time stamping. This is an organizational requirement that the companies concerned will have to integrate into their internal processes: check the text of the Determination to see which documents this covers in your case.

Mixed B2B/B2C services: a point still under discussion

A particularly significant clarification concerns services aimed simultaneously at professionals and end consumers. On AgID's reading, in these cases the requirements concern the service as a whole and not only the consumer-facing component. This reading is debated: how an individual service qualifies has to be checked case by case with your own advisors.

Enforcement becomes operational

On March 11, 2026, one week after the publication of the Guidelines, AgID activated the whistleblower platform. Users can now report digital services that do not comply with the accessibility requirements set forth by Legislative Decree 82/2022 directly to the Agency.

The platform is designed to evolve over time into a direct communication channel between companies and AgID, through which operators will also be able to communicate the corrective measures adopted.

With the Guidelines and the reporting platform, the digital accessibility oversight system in Italy is now fully operational. Audits can start either ex officio or upon user reports.

What to do now

For companies covered by the EAA, the time to act is now. The AgID Guidelines are not an announcement of principle-they are the concrete tool by which compliance will be measured.

Steps to consider:

1. Assess the current state Of its digital services with respect to WCAG 2.1 AA and EN 301 549
2. Prepare the control sheets according to the format given in the Guidelines
3. Implementing a process For digital signature with time stamping of attestations
4. Planning remediation Of identified nonconformities, with priority given to the most critical barriers
5. Document everything: in case of verification, compliance is demonstrated with structured evidence

The normative frame of reference

This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice: check the obligations that apply to you with your own advisors.