European Accessibility Act
The European Accessibility Act and your website
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) has applied since 28 June 2025. Here's what that concretely means and whether it affects your organisation.
What is the European Accessibility Act?
The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) is EU legislation requiring certain products and services to be accessible to people with disabilities. Each EU member state transposed it into national law.
The obligations have applied since 28 June 2025, for products placed on the market and services provided to consumers after that date.
Who may this affect?
The EAA targets specific categories: e-commerce, electronic communications services, access to audiovisual media, consumer banking services, passenger transport (with exceptions, notably for urban and regional transport), e-books, and self-service terminals such as payment terminals and check-in kiosks.
In practice: if your website or app falls into one of these categories and serves consumers, the EAA may apply to you. Purely B2B services outside these categories generally fall outside scope — that follows from the categories themselves, not a blanket B2B exemption.
Exemptions and transition periods
Micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million) that provide services are exempt from the accessibility requirements. This exemption does not apply the same way to micro-enterprises placing products on the market.
Transition periods apply to products and services already in use before 28 June 2025 — the exact timelines vary by situation. If you're unsure whether an exemption applies to you, that's exactly the kind of question worth a conversation rather than an assumption.
EAA and WCAG: how they relate
The EAA itself doesn't prescribe a specific technical standard, but the harmonised European standard EN 301 549 gives it practical shape: meeting EN 301 549 is treated as presumption of conformity with the legal requirements. EN 301 549 in turn incorporates WCAG 2.1 at level AA.
In practice, this means a WCAG audit of your website is the practical way to assess where you stand against what the EAA expects.
Automated testing is not the same as legal compliance
An automated scan gives you a first indication, but it does not prove EAA compliance. Compliance is a legal and organisational question; a technical accessibility assessment — ideally including manual testing — is one part of that, not a substitute for legal advice.
We don't provide legal advice and we don't certify legal compliance. For a legal assessment of your specific situation, we recommend a qualified lawyer.
What can you practically do?
Start with an honest picture of where your website stands: a free automated check gives a first impression, and a WCAG audit gives a full, prioritised picture — including what only manual testing can find.
From there you can work on the issues that actually matter, instead of guessing at what may or may not be enough.
FAQ
European Accessibility Act — frequently asked questions
EU legislation (Directive (EU) 2019/882) setting accessibility requirements for specific consumer-facing products and services, such as e-commerce, banking services and self-service terminals. Each member state has transposed it into national law.
Not sure whether this applies to your organisation?
Talk to us about your situation. We give you an honest picture and help you work out the practical next step.