Date: 2025-09-25Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
Compliance Guidelines for Digital Accessibility Circular ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and rules made thereunder- mandatory compliance by all Regulated Entities’ dated July 31, 2025 (Circular No. SEBI/HO/ITD-1/ITD_VIAP/P/CIR/2025/111)
**Executive Summary**
This circular, issued by SEBI on September 25, 2025, outlines compliance guidelines for digital accessibility according to the 'Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016'. It mandates compliance by all Regulated Entities (REs) and includes specific deadlines for submissions and reporting. The compliance guidelines are enclosed as Annexure-A.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Compliance Guidelines:**
* REs must comply with guidelines for digital accessibility based on the 'Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016'.
* Compliance Guidelines are listed in Annexure A of the circular
* **Compliance Requirements & Timelines (Table A):**
* Submit a list of digital platforms for investors: September 30, 2025
* Appoint IAAP-certified accessibility professionals as Auditors: December 14, 2025
* Conduct accessibility audit for digital platforms: April 30, 2026
* Remediate audit findings and ensure compliance: July 31, 2026
* Annually conduct accessibility audits and submit a final report: April 30, 2027 (and annually thereafter within 30 days of each Financial Year)
* **Mechanism of Submission (Table B):**
* Stock Brokers/ Depository Participants: Submit via Stock Exchanges/Depositories
* Investment Advisors (IAs) and Research Analysts (RAs): Submit via BSE Ltd.
* MIIs and rest of the REs: Submit directly to SEBI
* **Submission Details:**
* Submissions to SEBI should be emailed to digital_acc@sebi.gov.in in specified formats.
* REs with multiple digital platforms must consolidate audit reports into a single submission.
* **Formats for Compliance Submission (Part C):**
* REs must use specified formats for:
* Information about Digital Platforms (Table C1)
* Appointment of IAAP certified accessibility professionals as Auditor for digital platforms for REs (Table C2)
* Initial Accessibility audit report for digital platforms (Table C3)
* Final accessibility audit report for digital platforms (Table C4)
* **List of REs submitting compliance directly to SEBI (Part D):**
* REs include: Alternative Investment Funds(AIFs), Bankers to an Issue (BTI) and Self Certified Syndicate Banks (SCSBs), Clearing Corporations, Collective Investment Schemes(CIS), Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs), Custodians, Debenture Trustees (DTs), Depositories, KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs), Merchant Bankers (MBs), Mutual Funds (MFs)/ Asset Management Companies (AMCs), Portfolio Managers, Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents (RTAS), Stock Exchanges, Venture Capital Funds (VCFs)
**Impact Analysis**
**All Regulated Entities (REs) listed in the circular:**
**Impact:**
REs must comply with the new digital accessibility guidelines outlined in Annexure-A. This involves appointing IAAP-certified accessibility professionals, conducting accessibility audits of digital platforms, and remediating any identified issues.
**Action Required:**
REs must take the following actions:
* Submit a list of digital platforms by September 30, 2025.
* Appoint IAAP-certified accessibility professionals by December 14, 2025.
* Conduct initial accessibility audits by April 30, 2026.
* Remediate audit findings and ensure compliance by July 31, 2026.
* Submit annual compliance reports by April 30 of each subsequent year.
* Report compliance through the appropriate channels (Stock Exchanges/Depositories, BSE Ltd., or directly to SEBI) based on their entity type.
* Use the specified formats (Part C) for all submissions to SEBI.
Key Entities Referenced
Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992: This circular is issued under powers conferred by Section 11 (1) of this Act, to protect investors and regulate the securities market.
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016: This circular pertains to compliance with this Act and related rules regarding digital accessibility by regulated entities.
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India, the regulator issuing the circular.
Regulated Entities (REs): Entities regulated by SEBI, required to comply with the digital accessibility guidelines outlined in the circular. They are listed in Part D.
Compliance Guidelines for Digital Accessibility Circular: The main subject of the circular, outlining digital accessibility requirements and compliance procedures for regulated entities.
CIRCULAR
SEBI/HO/ITD-1/ITD_VIAP/P/CIR/2025/131 September 25, 2025
To,
All Recognised Stock Exchanges
All Recognised Clearing Corporations
All Registered Depositories
All Registered Intermediaries
Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI)
Association of Portfolio Managers in India (APMI)
BSE Limited (Investment Adviser Administration and supervisory body-IAASB)
BSE Limited (Research Analysts Administration and supervisory body-RAASB)
Sir/Madam,
Subject: Compliance Guidelines for Digital Accessibility Circular ‘Rights of
Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and rules made thereunder-
mandatory compliance by all Regulated Entities’ dated July 31, 2025
(Circular No. SEBI/HO/ITD-1/ITD_VIAP/P/CIR/2025/111)
1. SEBI issued circular on ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and
rules made thereunder-mandatory compliance by all Regulated Entities’ on July
31, 2025.
2. The Compliance Guidelines are enclosed at Annexure-A of this circular.
3. This circular is being issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11
(1) of the Securities and Exchange of India Act, 1992, to protect the interests of
investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the
securities market.
4. This circular is issued with the approval of Competent Authority.
Page 1 of 95. This circular is available on SEBI website at www.sebi.gov.in under the
category “Legal” and drop “Circulars”.
Yours faithfully,
Deepankar Chatterjee
Deputy General Manager
Phone: 022-26449643
Email: deepankarc@sebi.gov.in
Page 2 of 9Annexure-A
Compliance Guidelines for Digital Accessibility
(For SEBI Circular No. SEBI/HO/ITD-1/ITD_VIAP/P/CIR/2025/111)
These compliance guidelines are applicable to all the Regulated Entities (REs) that are
required to directly submit the compliance of the said circular to SEBI
Part A: Summary of Compliance Requirements
Table A
S/N Compliance required Date of
submission
of
compliance
1 REs shall submit a list of digital platforms provided Sept 30, 2025
by them for the investors (Table-C1)
2 Appointment of IAAP certified accessibility professionals Dec 14, 2025
as Auditor. (Table-C2)
3 Conduct of Accessibility Audit for the digital platforms. April 30, 2026
(Table-C3)
4 Remediation of findings from the audit and ensuring July 31, 2026
compliance with this circular. (Table-C4)
5 Annually give compliance to conducting annual *April 30, 2027
accessibility audits of all the digital platforms and submit
final report of such audit to SEBI
*Annual compliance is to be submitted within 30 days of each Financial Year, effective April
30, 2027
Part B: Mechanism of Submission of Compliance
(latest updated as per SEBI circular no. SEBI/HO/ITD-1/ITD_VIAP/P/CIR/2025/121
dated August 29, 2025)
Table B
S/N Regulated Entity Reporting Authority
1 Stock Brokers/ Depository Stock
Participants Exchanges/Depositories
2 Investment Advisor (“IAs”) and Research BSE Ltd.
Analysts (“RAs”)
3 MIIs and rest of the REs SEBI
This mechanism of compliance is applicable for all REs mentioned in row 3 of
the table immediately above.
It may be noted that the submission to SEBI in this regards shall be through email on
digital_acc@sebi.gov.in in the formats specified in Part C. For the REs having
multiple Digital Platforms, the audit reports for the digital platforms shall be
consolidated and submitted through email as per guidelines laid down in points 4 and
5 of Part C.
Page 3 of 9Illustration: An RE has listed 5 Digital Platforms. It should submit the consolidated
initial audit reports of all the digital platforms by April 30, 2026 and consolidated final
audit reports by July 31, 2026.
Page 4 of 9Part C: Formats for Compliance Submission
REs shall submit compliance to the respective reporting authorities in the formats
mentioned below:
1. Format for Information about Digital Platforms of the RE.
Email Subject: [RE Registration No.] Information About Digital Platforms of the
RE.
Email Body:
Name of RE
Category for which submission is
made (from the list provided in Part D)
Table C1
S/N Name of URL Purpose Remarks on current
digital accessibility status of the
platform platform
(add or remove rows as applicable)
Page 5 of 92. Format for Information about appointment of IAAP certified accessibility
professionals as Auditor for digital platforms for REs.
Email Subject: [RE Registration No.] Information about appointment of IAAP
certified accessibility professionals as Auditor for digital platforms for REs.
Email Body:
Name of RE
Category for which submission is
made (from the list provided in Part D)
Table C2
Sl. Particulars Details to be
No. filled by RE
1 Name of IAAP Certified Accessibility Professional
2 Certification Details (IAAP ID/Certificate No.)
3 Date of Appointment
4 Scope of Audit (Websites, Mobile Apps, Portals, etc.)
Note: Make sure to cover details of all digital
platforms as applicable
5 Is the SEBI circular notified to the appointed auditor
for compliance verification (Yes/No)
6 Contact Details of Auditor
Page 6 of 93. Format for Submission of Initial Accessibility audit report for digital
platforms.
Email Subject: [RE Registration No.] Submission of Initial Accessibility audit
report for digital platforms
Email Body:
Name of RE
Category for which submission is
made (from the list provided in Part D)
Table C3
Sl. Particulars Details to be filled by
No. RE
1 Name of IAAP Certified Accessibility
Professional / Firm
2 Date of Completion of Audit
3 Digital Platforms Covered (Websites, Terms of Reference
Mobile Apps, Portals, etc.) and Scope of audit to be
attached
4 Key Findings / Observations Consolidated PDF copy
of the report(s) to be
attached. The
consolidated audit
report is to be attached
under the file name
[Department]_Table-
C3_[SEBI Reg
No.]_DDMMYYYY.pdf*
5 Action Plan / Timelines for Remediation
*Here, Department will be the concerned department corresponding to the RE
category in Part D. DDMMYYYY is the date of the report where DD is 2-digit
date of month, MM is 2-digit month of year and YYYY is 4-digit year.
Page 7 of 94. Format for submission of final accessibility audit report for digital
platforms.
Email Subject: [RE Registration No.] submission of final accessibility audit
report for digital platforms
Email Body:
Name of RE
Category for which submission is
made (from the list provided in Part D)
Table C4
Sl. Particulars Details to be filled by
No. RE
1 Name of IAAP Certified Accessibility
Professional / Firm
2 Date of Completion of Final Audit
3 Digital Platforms Covered (Websites, Mobile Terms of reference
Apps, Portals, etc.) and Scope of audit to
be attached
4 Key Findings / Observations from Final Audit Consolidated PDF
copy of the report(s)
to be attached. The
consolidated audit
report is to be
attached under the file
name
[Department]_Table-
C4_[SEBI Reg No.]
_DDMMYYYY.pdf*
5 Remediation Measures Undertaken
6 Status of Compliance (Fully Complied /
Partially Complied / Pending)
7 Supporting Evidence (Screenshots, URLs,
Certificates, Reports)
*Here, Department will be the “concerned department” corresponding to the RE
category in Part D. DDMMYYYY is the date of the report where DD is 2-digit
date of month, MM is 2-digit month of year and YYYY is 4-digit year.
Page 8 of 9Part D: List of REs submitting compliance directly to SEBI
Table D
S/N REs submitting compliance directly to SEBI Concerned
Departments
1 Alternative Investment Funds(AIFs) AFD
2 Bankers to an Issue (BTI) and Self Certified CFD
Syndicate Banks (SCSBs)
3 Clearing Corporations MRD
4 Collective Investment Schemes(CIS) IMD
5 Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) DDHS
6 Custodians AFD
7 Debenture Trustees (DTs) DDHS
8 Depositories MRD
9 KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) MIRSD
10 Merchant Bankers (MBs) CFD
11 Mutual Funds (MFs)/ Asset Management IMD
Companies (AMCs)
12 Portfolio Managers IMD
13 Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents MIRSD
(RTAs)
14 Stock Exchanges MRD
15 Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) AFD
-------x x x-------
Page 9 of 9