Circular 2025/10 is the Turkish Presidential circular that requires the websites and mobile applications of public institutions and organizations serving the public, including banks, universities, hospitals and schools, to meet WCAG 2.2 Level A accessibility. For most organizations the compliance period ended on 21 June 2026 and the obligation is in force; e-commerce platforms have until 21 June 2027.
The circular is the first text in Türkiye to define digital accessibility this broadly with a concrete technical standard: the websites and mobile applications of the organizations in scope must meet the Level A criteria of WCAG 2.2. The scope goes beyond public institutions and includes organizations serving the public such as municipalities, banks, universities, hospitals and schools. The legal ground rests on Law No. 5378 on Persons with Disabilities, which regulates the right of access to information; the circular standardizes the digital counterpart of that right. Conformance is assessed through the responsible ministry's National Accessibility Checklist, which turns the requirement into 31 criteria and 126 questions. The timeline has two stages, and the first is behind us: for most organizations in scope the compliance period ended on 21 June 2026, and the obligation is now in force, while e-commerce platforms have until 21 June 2027.
The enforcement picture should be read in proportion: no directly applicable administrative fine schedule has yet been defined for websites. The risk is nonetheless real and runs through several channels: audit and reporting expectations on the public side, institutional reputation, and the growing weight of accessibility as a conformance criterion in public procurement. For an organization in scope, the reasonable path is clear: establish the current state through automated scanning and manual testing, fix issues in the source code in order of severity, track progress with regular scans and document the process with an accessibility statement. WCAG 2.2 Level A focuses on fundamentals such as alt text, keyboard access and form labels, a technically reachable starting target.
Frequently asked questions
Who does Circular 2025/10 cover?
The scope is not limited to public institutions: organizations serving the public, such as municipalities, banks, universities, hospitals and schools, are included, and the obligation covers both websites and mobile applications. The target standard is Level A of WCAG 2.2. For most organizations the compliance period ended on 21 June 2026; the period granted to e-commerce platforms runs until 21 June 2027.
Is there a penalty for websites that do not comply with the circular?
No directly applicable administrative fine schedule has yet been defined for websites, so the risk should be read without exaggeration but also without dismissal. The obligation rests on Law No. 5378 and is in force for most organizations; the practical risk runs through audit and reporting expectations, institutional reputation and the growing weight of accessibility as a conformance criterion in public procurement. The most solid safeguard is starting and documenting the compliance work.
This content is for information only and is not legal advice.