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Accessibility testing · Netherlands

WCAG Audits and Accessibility Testing in Heerlen, Netherlands

Audits for Heerlen against the standard that actually binds you in Netherlands.

Where Heerlen stands right now

Roughly 198,000 people live in Heerlen. Which accessibility rule reaches your website here is not decided by the city, though, and no council in the Netherlands sets its own web standard. The Netherlands applies one national rule, and the European Accessibility Act has carried the duty into consumer services since June 2025. It does not vary by province.

The municipality sits in this twice over. Its own website is a covered body in its own right, and the province above it supervises how well it does. For a business, none of that moves the answer. One national rule, one standard, nothing local to hunt for.

So here is what we do about it. We work your Heerlen site against all 55 WCAG 2.2 A and AA rules by hand, then a professional blind screen-reader user runs your real journeys while we record where they stop. WCAG 2.2 covers everything the standard above asks for and more, so one audit answers it with room to spare. Every finding arrives with its screenshot and the fix that closes it.

The law that reaches you in Heerlen

Netherlands: Digital Accessibility Decree and the EAA

Standard
EN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA
Where it stands
Public sector in force, EAA applies since Jun 28, 2025
Who it binds
Public and private sectors
Reaches sellers based abroad
Yes, wherever you are established
What non-compliance costs
Mandatory published status, supervision, and EAA duties
WCAG version named
2.1 AA
Statement register
Public
EAA application date
Jun 2025
Technical standard
EN 301549
The Netherlands dates, 4 of them
  1. Sep 23, 2019New public sector websites in scope
  2. Sep 23, 2020All public sector websites in scope
  3. Jun 23, 2021Public sector mobile apps in scope
  4. Jun 28, 2025European Accessibility Act applies to covered private services

Read the full Netherlands page

European Accessibility Act (EAA)

Standard
Annex I, EN 301 549 (includes WCAG 2.1 AA)
Where it stands
Applies since Jun 28, 2025
Who it binds
The private sector
Reaches sellers based abroad
Yes, wherever you are established
What non-compliance costs
National fines, orders to fix, market restrictions
Main application date
Jun 2025
EU member states
27
Web standard in EN 301 549
2.1 AA
Employee cap for the exemption
<10
The EAA dates, 3 of them
  1. Jun 28, 2025The main application date: covered products placed on the market and covered services provided to consumers are in scope from this date. Exceptions and transition rules can change the picture for specific cases
  2. Jun 28, 2030The end of two transition arrangements. Products lawfully in use to provide a similar service before June 28, 2025 can continue until this date, and pre-existing service contracts can run until they expire, but no later than June 28, 2030
  3. 20 years maxSelf-service terminals have a separate allowance: a member state can let terminals lawfully in use before June 28, 2025 serve out their economic life, up to a maximum of 20 years after entry into use

Read the full EAA page

What accessibility testing in Heerlen covers

Start with the honest part. The audit is the same in Heerlen as it is anywhere, because WCAG does not change at a border. What changes is which law is watching and what it costs to fail, and the section above settles that.

The work itself runs in three passes. A machine finds the failures a machine can prove. A human works every one of the 55 A and AA rules by hand. Then a professional blind screen-reader user opens your real journeys and tries to finish them, the way your customers would. Every finding arrives with its screenshot and the fix that closes it, drawn from our free library of 432 guides.

None of the reference sits behind a form, either. Every number below counts pages you can go and read right now, free, whether you ever buy an audit or not.

A and AA rules we check
55
Techniques and failures
432
ACT test rules
90
ARIA roles documented
94
Terms in the glossary
131
Checklists to work from
9

The honest limit

And an audit is evidence, not a legal opinion. We tell you what fails, who it stops, and what closes it. Whether that satisfies a regulator or a court in Heerlen is a question for your lawyer, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.

Questions owners in Heerlen ask us

Does the audit change because my site is in Heerlen?

No. WCAG is the same standard everywhere, so the testing is identical wherever you are. What changes is which law is watching and what failing it costs, and that is what the law section on this page settles.

Which law applies to my site in Heerlen?

Netherlands and EAA are the ones that reach Heerlen first, and each has its own page here covering what it asks for, who it lands on, and how it gets enforced. Sell into more than one market and more than one of them can reach you at the same time.

Do I have to publish an accessibility statement in Heerlen?

At least one of the laws that reaches Heerlen names an accessibility statement, so plan on publishing one. Our free generator writes it from what the audit found, so the page says what actually works today rather than what you hope works.

What does the audit cost, and how fast is the report?

A Rapid Audit is $499 for 10 pages, with the report in 5 business days. A Standard Audit is $1,499 for 25 pages in 10 business days. Once your team has fixed things, the re-audit is half price within 3 months.

Do you actually test with a blind user?

Yes, on every audit. A professional blind screen-reader user opens your real journeys and tries to finish them, and we write down where they stop. That is the pass no scanner can run.

Find out where your site stands in Heerlen

Run the free scan. Read the sample report. Order the audit when you want the humans on it, and what lands is a report your developers, your lawyer or a regulator in Heerlen can act on.

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