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Apply for an export certificate accessibility statement

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Accessibility statement for Apply for an export certificate

This accessibility statement applies to the service Apply for an export certificate or import licence.

This website is run by the Department for Business and Trade.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We have also made the content as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. These include:

  • content reflow and zoom - some content does not reflow properly when viewed on smaller screens or at high zoom levels. For example, at 200% or 400%. This can result in horizontal scrolling or overlapping content, making it difficult for users with low vision or those using mobile devices to access all information
  • text spacing and customisation - users cannot fully adjust text spacing, line height, or letter spacing without loss of content or functionality
  • PDF accessibility - many older and some current PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen readers. Issues include, missing tags, missing titles, and undefined document language, which prevent assistive technologies from conveying the content properly
  • keyboard navigation - some interactive elements and forms are difficult to navigate using only a keyboard. Issues include missing or unclear focus indicators, incorrect focus order, and elements that are not accessible via keyboard commands or voice activation software
  • skip to main content - the skip link structure and positioning may cause confusion for screen reader users, and in some cases, the skip link bypasses unique content or is not clearly labelled as a skip link
  • line height and spacing - users cannot modify the line height or spacing of text without some content becoming obscured or overlapping
  • colour contrast - some text and interactive elements do not meet minimum colour contrast requirements, making them difficult to read for users with low vision or colour blindness
  • descriptive labels and headings - some links, buttons, and headings are not descriptive or unique, making navigation and understanding of page structure difficult for screen reader users
  • form error handling - error messages are not always associated with form fields, and status messages are not always relayed to screen readers.

Feedback and contact information

Let us know if you find any other problems that are not listed on this page or if you believe we are not meeting accessibility standards.

You can also request the information on this website in a different format, including:

  • an accessible PDF
  • large print
  • easy read
  • audio recording braille.

Email digital.accesibility@businessandtrade.gov.uk

We will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).

If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Phone

0808 800 0082

Email

eass@mailgb.custhelp.com

Monday - Friday - 9am - 7pm

Saturday - 10am - 2pm

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Department for Business and Trade is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard has been found to be partially compliant due to the non-compliance issues listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:

  • Some images providing useful information to the page have not relayed effectively to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
  • Some nested interactive elements are present which cause issues for a variety of assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) and 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
  • The structure of some skip links may cause issues for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • A duplicate page title has been used throughout the service. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
  • Some error text is not written as such and is not relayed to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.3 (Status Messages).
  • Some information, structure and relationships conveyed through presentation could not be programmatically determined or was not available in text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • Some links were not descriptive of their purpose. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 (Lin Purpose (In Context)) and 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only)).
  • Some links styled visually as selective have not been programmatically relayed as such to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • Some expandable content has been programmatically structured in a way that has negatively affected information and navigation for a variety of assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) and 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
  • Some focus moves unexpectedly when navigating content on the page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
  • A mechanism to skip to the main content is present however it bypasses unique content on the page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass blocks).
  • Some links within the navigation menu do not function as such, resulting in confusing information being relayed when interacting with content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.4.3 (Focus Order), 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)) and 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only)).
  • Some links within the navigation menu do not function as such, resulting in confusing information being relayed when interacting with content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • The structure of a customised combobox has resulted in accessibility issues for a variety of user groups. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.5.3 (Label in Name) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • Colour alone distinguished the state of an interactive element. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Colour).
  • Some pseudo content has not been programmatically hidden, which has resulted in the content being encountered by screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
  • An ARIA attribute has been added to an incompatible element. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • Some content grouped visually has not been programmatically written as such, resulting in non-descriptive information being relayed. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • A checkbox has been programmatically structured in a way that causes issues for a variety of assistive technology user groups. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • Some Modal Content has been programmatically structured in a way that has causes issues for a variety of assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.4.3 (Focus Order), 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) and 2.4.12 (Focus Not Obscured (Minimum)).
  • The structure of some of the tabs and the tab panel has caused issues for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • Some scrollable content was not interactable via keyboard input. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard) and 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
  • A customised text area has not been programmatically written as such which has affected navigation and information for a variety of assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.1.1 (Keyboard), 2.4.3 (Focus Order), 2.5.3 (Label in Name) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • A button has not been structured in the expected manner, affecting the information and interaction for assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.1.1 (Keyboard), 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) and 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
  • Changing the setting of a user interface component automatically caused a change of context without advising the user of the behaviour prior to use. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.2.2 (On Input).
  • A custom calendar picker has been structured in a way that causes issues for a variety of user groups. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions) and 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
  • The programmatic structure of a tooltip feature has caused issues for a variety of assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value), 2.1.1 (Keyboard) and 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
  • Some image links have not been programmatically relayed to screen reader users in the expected manner, making their purpose unclear. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)) and 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only)).
  • Some visually hidden links are encountered by screen reader users and users navigating via keyboard input. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order), 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)), 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only)) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • Some pagination links have been structured in a way that causes issues for users navigating via screen reader software. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)), 2.4.9 (Link Purpose (Link Only)) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  • A PDF has not been provided any tags, affecting navigation and the information relayed to assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • A PDF has not been provided a title. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 Page (Titled).
  • The language of a PDF document was not defined. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page).
  • Some interactive elements fail the minimum non-text contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast.
  • Some text fails to meet the minimum contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)) and 1.4.6 (Contrast (Enhanced)).
  • Some content was negatively affected when viewed in a smaller viewport. This fails 1.4.10 (Reflow).
  • Some non-descriptive headings and/or labels are present when navigating the service. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
  • The error message presented for some inputs is duplicated and non-descriptive. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion).
  • The menu that appears on a reflow does not provide all the information presented on a full screen page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow), 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)) and 1.4.6 (Contrast (Enhanced)).
  • Some content becomes visually obscured when viewing the page at 200% zoom. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.4 (Resize text).
  • A visible focus indicator was not present when navigating certain pages. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible).
  • Some content that appears on hover/focus does not have a mechanism to dismiss the content when other content is obscured. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus).
  • Some content updating on the page does not get relayed to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.3 (Status Messages).

Disproportionate burden

DBT assessed the costs of fixing the accessibility issues in the current system and decided that doing so would be a disproportionate burden. We are building a new service which will meet GOV.UK and WCAG accessibility criteria. This will be launched in 2026.

In the meantime, if any users have accessibility needs, the DBT team will work with you to find another way of submitting an application. Regular updates will be provided.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 04 September 2024. It was last reviewed on 26 November 2025.

This website was last tested on 13 October 2025. The test was carried out by DAC (Digital Accessibility Centre).