Saudi Web Accessibility Standards and the Disability Rights Law

What the law is

The Disability Rights Law dates from 2000 and creates the general duty. The Saudi Web Accessibility Standards sit alongside it and carry the technical content, which is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

The pairing is the same shape as Israel's, a rights statute plus a national web standard, and it produces the same practical answer: the standard is the thing your developers work to.

This applies to you if…

• You run a Saudi government digital service.
• You run a private business serving the Saudi public. Our source records the standards as reaching public and private sectors alike, which is the fact most readers get wrong.
• You are bidding into a Saudi procurement, where evidence of conformance is routinely asked for rather than assumed.

What it technically requires

• WCAG 2.1 Level AA. An audit against WCAG 2.2 A and AA covers every 2.1 criterion and adds the newer ones.
• No penalty figure appears on this page. Our source names the standard and the sectors it reaches, and does not give an enforcement schedule we could quote responsibly.

All roads lead to WCAG. Start with Level AA, the legal standard or the full 55-rule library. Unfamiliar term along the way? The A to Z glossary decodes it.

How it is enforced

Through the Saudi digital government authorities and procurement, rather than through a litigation route of the kind the ADA produces.

Key dates

1. 2000Disability Rights Law
2. —Saudi Web Accessibility Standards issued alongside it, naming WCAG 2.1 AA

Primary sources

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, Web Accessibility Laws and Policies

Other laws

• United StatesADAWCAG 2.1 AA (Title II rule, de facto standard in Title III cases)
• European UnionEAAAnnex I, EN 301 549 (includes WCAG 2.1 AA)
• United States (federal)Section 508WCAG 2.0 AA (incorporated by the 2017 refresh)
• United States (aviation)ACAAWCAG 2.0 AA, named in 14 CFR 382.43
• United States (telecoms)Section 255WCAG 2.0 A and AA, through the Revised 255 Guidelines
• European UnionWeb Accessibility DirectiveEN 301 549 V3.2.1, which carries WCAG 2.1 AA
• California, USUnruh ActWCAG 2.1 AA (what courts and settlements expect)
• Manitoba, CanadaManitoba AMAWCAG 2.1 AA (Accessible Information and Communication Standard)
• ArgentinaArgentina Ley 26.653WCAG 2.0, referenced by the law
• ChinaChina PPD LawNo WCAG version named in the law itself
• ColombiaColombia guidelinesWCAG 2.1
• Hong KongHong Kong guidelinesWCAG 2.0
• TaiwanTaiwan 110.07WCAG 2.1 derivative
• QatarQatar Law No. 2WCAG 2.1 AA
• United Arab EmiratesUAE requirementsWCAG 2.1 AA
• Ontario, CanadaAODAWCAG 2.0 AA (excl. 1.2.4 & 1.2.5)
• United KingdomUK Equality ActWCAG A and AA, named in PSBAR regulation 9 as amended from time to time
• United States (healthcare)HHS Section 504WCAG 2.1 AA (2024 final rule)
• New York, USNew York HRLWCAG 2.1 AA (what complaints and settlements cite)
• Colorado, USColorado HB21-1110WCAG 2.1 AA (written into state standards)
• Canada (federal)Accessible Canada ActCAN/ASC-EN 301 549 → WCAG 2.1 AA
• NorwayNorway (Universal Design)WCAG 2.0 AA private / 2.1 AA public
• IsraelIsrael IS 5568WCAG 2.0 AA (via IS 5568)
• AustraliaAustralia DDAWCAG 2.2 AA (AHRC 2025 guidance)
• GermanyGermany BFSGEN 301 549 → WCAG 2.1 AA
• FranceFrance RGAARGAA (WCAG-based) / EN 301 549
• ItalyItaly Stanca ActWCAG 2.1 AA (AgID guidelines)
• JapanJapan JIS X 8341-3JIS X 8341-3:2016 = WCAG 2.0 AA
• SpainSpain RD 1112/2018UNE-EN 301549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA
• NetherlandsNetherlandsEN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA
• IrelandIrelandEN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA
• BrazilBrazil LBIeMAG, aligned with WCAG, plus ABNT NBR 17225 for web content
• IndiaIndia RPwDGIGW 3.0, which references WCAG 2.1
• New ZealandNew ZealandWCAG 2.2 Level AA
• South KoreaSouth KoreaKWCAG 2.2, a national standard aligned with WCAG
• SwitzerlandSwitzerland BehiGeCH-0059, which references WCAG 2.1 AA
• DenmarkDenmarkEN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA