European Accessibility Act

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a European Union directive that
requires certain products and services sold or provided within the EU to
meet accessibility requirements. It came into force on 28 June 2025, making
it the most significant expansion of digital accessibility law in Europe
since the Web Accessibility Directive of 2016.
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Scope

Unlike the Web Accessibility Directive, which applied only to public sector
bodies, the EAA extends mandatory accessibility requirements to the private
sector. It applies to companies that place covered products on the EU market
or provide covered services within the EU, regardless of where the company
is headquartered.
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Covered products and services include:

• Computers and operating systems
• ATMs, ticketing machines, and check-in kiosks
• Smartphones and tablets
• Television equipment related to digital television services
• Telephony services and related equipment
• Audiovisual media services
• E-books and dedicated reading software
• E-commerce services — online shops selling to EU consumers
• Banking and financial services — consumer banking, payment services
• Transport services — passenger air, rail, bus, and waterborne transport
• Electronic communications services

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Technical requirements

The EAA does not define its own technical specification. Instead it references
the European standard EN 301 549, which incorporates the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as its web content requirements,
alongside additional requirements for non-web software, documents, and hardware.
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In practice, for websites and mobile applications this means:

• All four WCAG principles must be met: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust
• WCAG 2.1 AA is the minimum standard
• Equivalent user experience must be delivered to disabled customers

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Who is affected

EU-based businesses providing covered products or services must comply
regardless of size, with a limited microenterprise exemption for service
providers with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover under €2 million.

Non-EU businesses — including UK and US companies — that sell products
or provide services to customers in the EU are subject to the EAA for those
EU-facing activities. This has significant implications for e-commerce,
SaaS platforms, and financial services operating internationally.
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Enforcement

Each EU member state is responsible for designating national enforcement
authorities and establishing penalties for non-compliance. Penalties vary
by member state but the directive requires them to be effective, proportionate,
and dissuasive.

From 28 June 2025, customers in EU member states can file complaints before
national courts or authorities if products or services do not comply with
the EAA requirements.

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Relationship to other legislation

The EAA sits alongside but does not replace the Web Accessibility Directive,
which continues to apply to public sector websites and mobile applications.
For organisations subject to both, compliance with the EAA's EN 301 549
requirements will generally satisfy the Web Accessibility Directive's
requirements as well.
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References

1. European Commission. European Accessibility Act. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202 ↑
2. European Parliament. Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32019L0882 ↑
3. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. EU Web Accessibility Directive and the EAA. https://www.w3.org/WAI/policies/european-union/ ↑