BITV

BITV stands for Barrierefreie Informationstechnik-Verordnung, a German regulation governing the accessibility of information technology used by the federal government. It is designed to ensure that public ICT services, including websites, intranets, mobile applications, and other digital government services, can be used by people with disabilities.

The current framework is commonly referred to as BITV 2.0, which builds on the original BITV and aligns its requirements with established accessibility guidelines. Its provisions draw on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and related national standards, translating them into concrete, legally binding criteria for federal online and software services. The goal is to make digital government offerings perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Key requirements cover a range of accessibility aspects. These include keyboard operability, text alternatives for images and multimedia, a logical and semantic content structure, sufficient color contrast, accessible forms and errors handling, and the accessibility of documents such as PDFs. The regulation also emphasizes predictable navigation, clear labeling, and support for assistive technologies.

Compliance and oversight involve testing and documentation by the responsible authorities, with agencies typically required to publish accessibility statements and appoint an accessibility officer or equivalent liaison. BITV forms part of Germany’s broader e-government accessibility framework and interacts with EU accessibility directives and international standards to promote consistent, government-wide accessibility across digital public services.