EN 301 549 V4.1.1 is published, not cited

EN 301 549 V4.1.1 is the new European accessibility standard. It was published on 2 September 2026. It is not the legal reference yet.

When you hear "published" you might think it's changed overnight. But in reality it's not. The European Commission has not put this version in the Official Journal. Until that happens, quoting the new number on a PDF does not make a site meet the law.

What changed for a normal website

Websites, documents, and software move up a step in the new text. AccessibleEU, the Commission’s accessibility centre, said on 7 September 2026 that six requirements were added. An old parsing rule was dropped. The step itself is from WCAG 2.1 to WCAG 2.2.

You do not need to memorize the six. The shift that shows up on a marketing site is simple: a sticky cookie banner can hide the button someone just reached with the Tab key. That check is written up separately, in when a cookie banner covers the button you just tabbed to.

If a client asks whether they are “on the new European standard,” say this. The published text for web pages now points at WCAG 2.2. The version officials still cite is the older one.

What you do not have to pretend

The reference in force is still the 2021 edition, until the Commission cites the new version. That edition is EN 301 549 V3.2.1, built on WCAG 2.1. It stays in place for now. Ireland’s National Disability Authority says citation is expected on 16 December 2026. Treat that as a planning date. It has already slipped once. It is not a fresh deadline.

The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025. Citing a standard later does not start the law, and a scan does not finish it. AccessibleEU is clear that there is no immediate legal requirement to meet the new version, and that meeting it later can support a presumption of conformity only after citation.

What to tell the client this week

Send three sentences, not a standards briefing.

The new text is out, dated 2 September 2026. It is not the cited version yet, so do not reprint the website as “updated for V4.1.1” on the strength of a blog post. Keep testing against WCAG 2.2 anyway, because that is where the published standard already points, and because the older WCAG 2.1 bar sits inside it.

A checker is still useful while you wait. It shows machine-visible failures on the pages you ran. It does not certify the Act. The EAA checker is that pass. For the difference between a US cover letter and an EU one, see EAA vs ADA for agencies.