Version 2 of the RAWeb & RAAM · Updates for the EN 301 549 v4.1.1

A new version of the EN 301 549 standard has just been approved. If you audit websites or apps, this concerns you. And if you use CheckFox, let me reassure you right away: updates will be included as soon as they are released, and if possible before.

Let's take it step by step.

What happened

On September 2, 2026, CEN and ETSI approved version 4.1.1 of EN 301 549. These are two European bodies that create and maintain technical standards. The Service information et presse (SIP) of the Luxembourg government, a CEN member, took an active part in drafting it.

The text still has to be published in the Official Journal of the EU before it comes into force. According to the SIP, this should happen by the end of the year.

The standard had not changed in five years. Its first purpose was to support the Web Accessibility Directive (WAD, 2016), which targets public sector websites and mobile apps. Since then, the European Accessibility Act (EAA, 2019) has introduced new requirements. Updating the standard was urgent.

What version 4.1.1 contains

The standard includes WCAG 2.2, and therefore its six new success criteria:

• focus not obscured;
• dragging movements;
• target size;
• consistent help;
• redundant entry;
• accessible authentication.

But it does not stop there. Other criteria, mostly designed for the EAA, are introduced or clarified. The SIP mentions for example:

• biometrics (offering an alternative will no longer be enough if that alternative is also biometric);
• real-time communication, extended to the notion of "total conversation" (voice, real-time text and video, including sign language);
• hardware aspects, such as ATMs or ticket machines;
• user preferences.

Web and non-web documents, as well as software (now considered non-web software), also receive cross-cutting updates.

The result: the standard becomes a complete tool to assess conformance to both the WAD and the EAA.

And what about the guidelines?

Picture the standard as the full blueprint of a building: around 300 pages, the result of a consensus between experts. It is precise, but hard to read in one go. Guidelines such as RAWeb or RAAM are closer to an assembly manual: criteria, tests, and a clear method to follow step by step.

The SIP plans to publish version 2 of RAWeb and RAAM in February 2027. The goal is twofold: to take in all the advances of the standard, and to bring the structure of the guidelines closer to that of the standard. This should make things easier for people who are not familiar with the RGAA or RAWeb culture, and reduce the gaps in conformance rates between RAWeb and the standard.

The SIP points out that this work remains a proposal made to experts, which can be reviewed by the end of the year. The schedule and content may therefore still change.

What it means for CheckFox

My promise is simple: CheckFox will include these changes as soon as they are officially published. When possible, I will prepare the ground beforehand, so you don't have to wait.

The SIP is the body that runs RAWeb and RAAM. I follow its work closely, and I would like to build a dialogue with it to anticipate these changes. I will keep you posted on how these exchanges go, without promising anything beyond what is actually agreed.

In practice, you don't have to do anything. Your ongoing audits remain valid on the version of the guideline you chose at the start. And when the new version is available, you can adopt it at your own pace.

Going further

• The SIP announcement: RAWeb and RAAM version 2 arrives in early 2027
• EN 301 549 v4.1.1 (ETSI, PDF)
• WCAG 2.2 (W3C)