Accessibility

  1. Accessibility Statement – CARS23

    Version: October 2025
    Operator: free communication GmbH
    Address: Fritz-Vomfelde-Str. 34, 40547 Düsseldorf, Germany
    Email: service@cars23.io
  2. 1.Our commitment

    We want CARS23 to be usable by everyone who trades vehicles on it, including people who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, magnification, or who have reduced contrast sensitivity. Accessibility is treated as part of the design system rather than as a later correction, so the rules below apply to every screen by default.

  3. 2.Standard we apply

    We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA, as referenced by EN 301 549 and required in Germany by the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG).

    CARS23 is currently partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 AA: most of the platform meets the standard, and the exceptions we are aware of are listed below.

  4. 3.What we have done

    These are enforced by our design system rather than decided per screen:

    • Contrast. Text is designed for a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against the surface behind it, 3:1 for large text and for interface borders and focus rings. The platform is built for an audience over forty, where contrast sensitivity fades earlier than acuity, so contrast is treated as a requirement rather than a preference.
    • Text size. Anything written as a sentence is at least 15px. Smaller sizes are reserved for labels, which are set in capitals with letter spacing so they are recognised as a shape rather than read word by word.
    • Keyboard access. Interactive controls are reachable and operable by keyboard and show a visible focus indicator.
    • Consistent structure. Navigation, headers and controls keep the same position and the same meaning across screens, so a pattern learned once holds everywhere.
    • Labels, not colour alone. Status and verification marks are always accompanied by a text label; colour is never the only carrier of meaning.
  5. 4.Known limitations

    We are aware of the following and disclose them rather than leave them to be discovered:

    • Navigation group headings are set below the general contrast minimum. They separate groups rather than carry meaning, and every item beneath them meets the minimum in full.
    • Membership tier labels set in white on the green tier surface fall below 4.5:1. They are large bold text on a solid field, where the failure the ratio protects against does not occur.
    • Advertising and promotional blocks inside a visibly marked frame may fall below the minimum. They are never a path through the product and never the only place information appears.
    • Decorative marks and seals may use colour values that would fail as text. They are always accompanied by a legible label, and the mark alone never carries the meaning.
    • Some third-party content embedded in the platform, such as map tiles, is outside our control and may not meet the standard.
  6. 5.Feedback

    If you encounter a barrier on CARS23, please tell us — it is the fastest way for us to fix it. Write to service@cars23.io describing the page and what did not work. We aim to respond within one month, and to provide the information you were trying to reach in an accessible form in the meantime.

  7. 6.Enforcement procedure

    If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the market surveillance authority for the accessibility of products and services (Marktüberwachungsstelle der Länder für die Barrierefreiheit von Produkten und Dienstleistungen, MLBF), which supervises compliance with the BFSG in Germany.

  8. 7.Status of this statement

    This statement was prepared on the basis of a self-assessment carried out by free communication GmbH. It is reviewed when the platform changes materially, and at least once a year.