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World desk7 min

SEBI Digital Accessibility Requirements for Websites: Rules, Deadlines and Compliance

SEBI’s accessibility directions apply across regulated entities’ digital platforms, published content and KYC processes. Here are the standards, governance duties, audit requirements and current timeline qualifications.
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SEBI’s digital accessibility requirements cover more than websites: regulated entities must make their digital platforms and published content accessible, including mobile apps, portals, investor documents and KYC processes. The July 31, 2025 circular sets the core directions and names WCAG 2.1 or latest, the latest Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW), and IS 17802 as baseline references. Later circulars changed reporting and implementation dates; as of October 4, 2026, a secondary legal update reports October 31, 2026 for audit and remediation, but that date should be checked against SEBI’s official July 2026 notice before an entity relies on it.

Who and what the SEBI directions cover

SEBI’s July 31, 2025 circular (Circular 2025/111) applies to SEBI-registered or recognised intermediaries and market infrastructure institutions regulated by SEBI. Examples include stockbrokers, mutual funds, KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs), registrars and transfer agents (RTAs), stock exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations. The circular says their digital platforms must comply; it is not a homepage-only requirement.

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The scope expressly reaches websites, mobile applications and portals, as well as content published on those platforms. The directions also address investor-facing notices and documents, KYC, digital solutions developed or procured for an entity, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. The regulated entity remains responsible when a vendor supplies or operates the technology.

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Legal and technical baselines

The circular cites sections 40, 42 and 46 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and Rule 15(1)(c) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017. Its named baseline references are WCAG 2.1 or latest, the latest GIGW guidance, and IS 17802, the Indian Standard on Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services. These are reference points for digital initiatives; the circular does not itself list every technical success criterion. Entities should consult the applicable standards and their latest versions when assessing conformance.

What accessible digital services need to provide

Accessible content, media and documents

Investor-facing content should be usable by people with different disabilities and assistive technologies. The circular specifically names Indian Sign Language (ISL) videos, closed captions, descriptive audio and alternative text for images. For example, a KYC explainer video should include captions and ISL interpretation.

PDFs and other investor documents also need accessible structure, not merely readable-looking pages. The circular points to tagged PDFs, logical reading order, proper headings and image alt text, and its annexure refers to W3C PDF techniques. Follow any revised accessibility standard for text documents that applies when the material is prepared.

Accessible KYC, e-KYC and registration

Provide workable alternatives for people who cannot complete a standard digital flow independently. The circular gives examples including human-assisted video KYC, scanned-document uploads and voice-assisted KYC for blind and low-vision users. Registration forms must include a disability-status field and allow an applicant to indicate needed accommodation, such as requesting a helpdesk callback.

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An automated system should not make the final rejection decision for an applicant with a disability. The circular requires designated human review and an authorised person who can override the automated outcome and approve an application case by case.

Staff and third-party training

Accessibility training must be incorporated into internal training for staff and third-party service providers who develop or publish digital content. The circular states: “The Digital Platform shall be ‘accessible by design’.” That direction appears in the training and awareness section and calls for an inclusive experience that accounts for assistive tools.

Governance, complaints and accountability

Compliance should be reviewed and approved by the managing director, managing partner or proprietor, as applicable. Each entity should designate a senior officer as the nodal officer. If no one is formally designated, the compliance officer or proprietor is deemed to serve in that role.

The nodal officer coordinates accessibility audits, remediation, guidelines and grievance redressal, and acts as the SEBI contact. The entity must establish a grievance process specifically for accessibility, with usable email, helpline or web-form channels and an escalation route to senior officers.

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SEBI’s December 8, 2025 clarification also provides for investors to lodge digital-platform accessibility complaints against regulated entities through SCORES, where an “Accessibility” complaint category is provisioned. The entity must remediate the issue for the complaint to be closed.

Audits, remediation and procurement

Audit and user testing

The July 2025 circular calls for a comprehensive accessibility audit of websites, mobile apps and portals through IAAP, with the audit following the latest WCAG, GIGW, the RPwD Act and Rules, and SEBI directions. It also calls for usability testing by persons with disabilities. This matters because an automated scan can find some technical defects but cannot establish that a real person can complete an investor task using assistive technology.

Regulated entities must prepare and implement a remediation plan, upgrade existing platforms within the applicable transition timeline, and conduct annual audits through IAAP-certified professionals. Treat findings as work items with an owner, priority, remediation date and retest, rather than as a one-time audit report.

New and procured digital services

Newly developed or procured digital solutions must conform to the named baselines. Put accessibility requirements in requests for proposals, vendor evaluations and procurement contracts, and make testing and remediation responsibilities explicit. SaaS procurement does not transfer the regulated entity’s accountability for its investor-facing service.

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A practical implementation sequence

  1. Inventory every investor-facing platform and content type. Include websites, apps, portals, KYC journeys, forms, PDFs, notices, video and third-party-hosted services.
  2. Assign accountable owners. Confirm management approval, name the nodal officer, and establish accessibility grievance intake and escalation.
  3. Assess against the current applicable baselines. Use the latest WCAG and GIGW guidance, IS 17802, applicable law and SEBI directions; include testing with disabled users and assistive technologies.
  4. Fix barriers in order of user impact. Prioritise access to essential investor tasks such as registration, KYC, account information and complaints. Assign an owner and due date to each issue.
  5. Retest and maintain. Verify fixes, include accessibility in release and vendor acceptance processes, train relevant staff and third parties, and schedule annual audits.
  6. Submit the required report to the correct authority. Use the applicable circular annexure to confirm the reporting destination for the entity’s category and the platform-wise information required.

SEBI circular timeline and current deadlines

The dates below reflect the circulars and updates described here. The July 2026 extension is qualified because its official attachment was not text-extractable in the available source record; regulated entities should verify the date and terms in SEBI’s notice before treating them as definitive.

Date Update Practical effect
July 31, 2025 Circular 2025/111 Issued the core digital accessibility directions, applicable to regulated entities from issue, and set initial milestones for platform inventory, compliance/action reporting, auditor appointment, audit, remediation and annual reporting.
August 29, 2025 Circular 2025/121 Extended early reporting dates to September 30, 2025; auditor appointment to December 14, 2025; accessibility audit to April 30, 2026; and remediation to July 31, 2026.
September 25, 2025 Circular 2025/131 Issued compliance guidelines linked to the July 31 circular.
December 8, 2025 Clarification Required platform-wise readiness and compliance status reporting by March 31, 2026, instead of the earlier auditor-appointment compliance milestone. The reporting format asks whether each platform meets minimum AA-level accessibility as per the latest WCAG. That reporting field should not be mistaken for a list of every detailed criterion in the July circular.
July 31, 2026 Further extension notice SEBI’s notice confirms that audit and remediation timelines were extended. A secondary legal update reports October 31, 2026 as the revised date; confirm that specific date and the exact terms in the official notice before relying on it.

Where to report

Reporting destinations depend on the regulated-entity category. The circulars assign stock exchanges or depositories for brokers and depository participants, BSE Ltd. for investment advisers and research analysts, and SEBI for market infrastructure institutions and other specified categories. The December circular’s table assigns relevant SEBI departments for entities reporting directly to SEBI, including AIFs, clearing corporations, credit rating agencies, custodians, KRAs, merchant bankers, mutual funds and AMCs, portfolio managers, RTAs and venture capital funds. Check the relevant circular annexure for the entity’s exact category rather than inferring the destination from a broad grouping.

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How to check a platform without mistaking screenshots for compliance

A useful review pairs technical checks with task-based testing by people with disabilities. Test representative journeys, including login or registration, KYC, document reading and complaint submission, using keyboard navigation and relevant screen readers or other assistive technology. Check that captions, ISL interpretation, descriptive audio, headings, focus order, form labels and error recovery work in context. Record the platform, tested journey, assistive setup, observed barrier and retest outcome so findings can be prioritised and tracked.

A screenshot can help preserve a visual record of a page state, but it cannot establish WCAG conformance, keyboard usability, screen-reader output or whether a KYC task can be completed. Use visual captures as supporting evidence only; do not substitute them for an accessibility audit or disabled-user testing.

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Or skip the browser setup

For an additional visual record of a public page, ScreenshotNeo can return a screenshot from one GET request. For example, cURL:

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://www.sebi.gov.in -o shot.webp

Python:

import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://www.sebi.gov.in"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js:

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://www.sebi.gov.in' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server from Yorker Media. It accepts cookie or consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups and chat widgets before capture; those steps can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads and cache hits are not billed, and response headers identify the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server offers screenshot and page-information tools for AI agents. These captures remain visual records, not accessibility certification. The Free plan includes 1,000 shots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. See ScreenshotNeo for product details. Sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month with no card.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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