The DGCCRF is also investigating accessibility auditors

What the bilan says

In its bilan published in June 2026 (opens in new tab), one year after the European directive took effect, the DGCCRF (France's consumer-protection and fraud-control authority) reports three investigations opened since January 2026. The first is the one sector professionals should note: it covers both the accessibility of online-commerce sites and applications and the fairness of the practices of the organisations that carry out accessibility audits on behalf of businesses.

The same bilan states that around one hundred establishments will be inspected in 2026, and that a dedicated reporting path has been open on SignalConso since December 2025, letting a consumer report an accessibility defect in a good or a service.

Why it is notable

The auditor is no longer only the party that measures: it becomes an object of control in turn. The fairness of an audit engagement — what it actually measures, what it asserts, what it lets a client believe — enters the administration's field of view. For the audit buyer, that shifts the question: it is no longer only about having a report, but about having a report whose method holds.

Three questions to ask your provider

Before signing, three questions are enough to separate an audit that holds from a decorative one. First: which referential, and which version, is applied? (In France, the expected answer is RGAA 4.1.2, France's accessibility referential.) Second: what is the template-sampling method — which templates are retained, and why? Third: who signs the déclaration d'accessibilité (accessibility statement)? The answer to the last is never the auditor alone: the statement is signed by the publisher, on the DINUM (French state digital-services agency) template.

These three answers do not characterise your conformity — they only tell you whether the engagement rests on a named, verifiable method. The characterisation itself is for your counsel.