RGAA Accessibility Compliance Checker
The Référentiel Général d'Amélioration de l'Accessibilité (RGAA) is France's national accessibility framework, mapping 106 test criteria to WCAG 2.1 AA. All French public sector and many private sector websites must comply.
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What Is the RGAA?
The Référentiel Général d'Amélioration de l'Accessibilité (RGAA) is France's official methodology for evaluating web accessibility compliance. Currently at version 4.1 (published February 2021), the RGAA translates WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria into 106 specific test criteria organized across 13 thematic areas: images, frames, colors, multimedia, tables, links, scripts, mandatory elements, page structure, information presentation, forms, navigation, and consultation. The RGAA is maintained by the Direction interministérielle du numérique (DINUM) and serves as the official compliance framework under France's Article 47 of Law No. 2005-102 on equal rights and opportunities for disabled persons. Unlike generic WCAG testing, the RGAA provides prescriptive test procedures for each criterion, making audits more consistent and reproducible across different assessors.
Who Must Comply with the RGAA?
France's accessibility obligations extend broadly:
- State services and public bodies — all government websites, intranets, and mobile apps at national, regional, and local level
- Public establishments — hospitals, universities, public research institutions, social security organizations
- Private companies with annual revenue exceeding €250 million — France uniquely extends web accessibility requirements to large private enterprises, covering their public-facing websites and mobile apps
- Organizations performing public service missions — entities delegated to provide public services regardless of their legal status
The European Accessibility Act, transposed into French law, has further expanded private sector obligations since June 2025. France's Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique (ARCOM) oversees enforcement. Non-compliant organizations must publish a multi-year accessibility plan (schéma pluriannuel) detailing their remediation timeline. Every page must display an accessibility compliance statement indicating full compliance, partial compliance, or non-compliance.
RGAA Technical Requirements
The RGAA 4.1 maps to WCAG 2.1 AA but provides French-specific testing methodology across 13 themes:
- Images (Thème 1): 8 criteria covering alt text, decorative image handling, CAPTCHA alternatives, and complex image descriptions
- Colors (Thème 3): 3 criteria including contrast ratios (4.5:1 normal text, 3:1 large text) and information not conveyed by color alone
- Scripts (Thème 7): 5 criteria for JavaScript accessibility — compatible with assistive technology, keyboard operable, and status changes communicated
- Forms (Thème 11): 13 criteria covering labels, grouping, required fields, input format, error handling, and autocomplete
- Navigation (Thème 12): 11 criteria for skip links, site map, navigation consistency, tab order, and keyboard shortcuts
Each criterion includes specific test procedures and pass/fail conditions. The RGAA compliance rate is calculated as the percentage of applicable criteria that pass. Full conformance requires 100%, while partial conformance means at least 50% of criteria pass — though organizations should aim for full compliance.
How CompliScan Tests for RGAA Compliance
CompliScan evaluates your website against WCAG 2.1 AA criteria, which directly correspond to the RGAA 4.1 test framework. Our scanner detects violations across all RGAA thematic areas that can be tested programmatically — missing alt attributes (Thème 1), contrast failures (Thème 3), unlabeled form fields (Thème 11), and heading structure issues (Thème 9). Each finding maps to both the WCAG criterion and the applicable RGAA theme, helping you prepare your accessibility declaration (déclaration d'accessibilité) and multi-year plan. Automated testing catches 30-40% of RGAA criteria — primarily those evaluating HTML structure, ARIA usage, and visual properties. Supplement CompliScan results with manual testing for criteria requiring human judgment, such as whether alt text is meaningful or multimedia has adequate audio descriptions. Start with a free scan to assess your baseline, then use Shield Pro ($149/mo) for daily monitoring across up to 10 sites.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the RGAA and WCAG?
The RGAA is France's national implementation of WCAG. While WCAG provides guidelines and success criteria, the RGAA translates these into 106 specific, testable criteria with detailed test procedures. Think of WCAG as the standard and the RGAA as the test methodology. Meeting WCAG 2.1 AA means you satisfy the RGAA's technical requirements, but the RGAA also mandates specific documentation (accessibility statement, multi-year plan) and applies to a defined scope of organizations under French law.
What are the penalties for RGAA non-compliance in France?
Organizations that fail to publish an accessibility statement face a fine of €20,000 per service per year. ARCOM can also impose penalties for non-compliance with the substantive accessibility requirements. Large private companies (>€250M revenue) that do not comply face the same €20,000 annual fine per service. Beyond fines, non-compliance must be publicly declared on the website, creating reputational pressure. The European Accessibility Act has added further enforcement mechanisms since June 2025.
Does the RGAA apply to private companies?
Yes, France is one of the few countries that already extends web accessibility requirements to private companies. Organizations with annual revenue exceeding €250 million must comply with the RGAA for their public-facing websites and mobile apps. The European Accessibility Act expands this further to cover all private companies in e-commerce, banking, telecom, and transport sectors regardless of size, with enforcement since June 2025.
What is a schéma pluriannuel d'accessibilité?
A schéma pluriannuel (multi-year accessibility plan) is a document that organizations must publish describing their strategy for achieving full accessibility over a maximum 3-year period. It must include an assessment of current compliance, a prioritized remediation roadmap, resource allocation, training plans, and annual action plans with specific milestones. The plan must be published on the organization's website and updated annually.
How is RGAA compliance calculated?
RGAA compliance is expressed as a percentage: the number of criteria that pass divided by the total number of applicable criteria, multiplied by 100. Full compliance is 100%. Partial compliance means 50% or more of criteria pass. Non-compliance is below 50%. An RGAA audit typically involves testing a representative sample of pages (at least the homepage, contact page, legal pages, and the most-used pages) against all 106 criteria. Only applicable criteria are counted — for example, multimedia criteria do not apply if there is no multimedia content.
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