If your business sells products or services to consumers in the European Union, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) almost certainly affects you, even if your company is based outside the EU. The law has applied since 28 June 2025, so this is no longer a future deadline: it is the current rulebook.
Here is a plain-language look at what the EAA covers, who it applies to, and what to do next.
What is the European Accessibility Act?
The EAA (Directive (EU) 2019/882) sets common accessibility requirements for a wide range of everyday products and services, so that people with disabilities can use them on an equal basis. Every EU member state has written it into national law, which means the requirements, and the penalties for ignoring them, apply across the entire EU market.
Who does it apply to?
The EAA applies to businesses of any size that sell covered products or provide covered services to EU consumers, wherever the business itself is based. Covered categories include:
- E-commerce: any website or app selling to EU consumers
- Consumer banking and financial services
- Smartphones, computers, and operating systems
- E-books and e-readers
- Audiovisual media services, such as streaming platforms and their apps
- ATMs, payment terminals, ticketing machines, and other self-service terminals
- Telephone, messaging, and emergency communication services
- Consumer-facing parts of air, bus, rail, and waterborne transport: websites, apps, and e-ticketing
There is one significant carve-out: microenterprises that provide services (fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million in annual turnover) are exempt. The exemption only covers service providers, though. If you manufacture, import, or distribute covered products, size does not take you out of scope.
The deadlines that matter
- 28 June 2025: the EAA applies to all new products placed on the EU market and all services provided to EU consumers from this date.
- 28 June 2030: service contracts signed before June 2025 may run unchanged until they expire, but no later than this date.
- Self-service terminals deployed before June 2025 may stay in service until the end of their economically useful life, up to a maximum of 20 years.
In practice: if your website or app is in scope and not yet accessible, you are already late. The transition periods cover pre-existing contracts and hardware, not websites and apps serving customers today.
What does compliance look like?
For websites and apps, conformity is judged against EN 301 549, the European standard harmonized for the EAA, which for web content maps to WCAG 2.1 Level AA (with WCAG 2.2 the sensible target for new work). The EAA also expects documentation: accessibility information in your terms and conditions, conformity documentation for products, and processes that keep things accessible as they change. A workable plan looks like this:
- Audit your product, website, or app against WCAG 2.1 AA and EN 301 549.
- Fix what the audit finds, prioritizing blockers for keyboard and screen reader users.
- Publish the required accessibility documentation.
- Build accessibility checks into your release process so you stay compliant.
Each member state sets its own enforcement and penalties, and several allow substantial fines. Consumers and disability organizations can also file complaints directly with national authorities.
Not sure where you stand?
An accessibility audit will tell you exactly how your product or site measures up against the EAA’s requirements, and our consulting team can turn the findings into a remediation plan that fits your roadmap. If you need formal documentation for procurement, we prepareVPATs and ACRs as well.