Web Accessibility Directive vs European Accessibility Act: Two EU Laws, One Compliance Programme
Many compliance teams assume the EU has one digital-accessibility law. It has two - and they are not interchangeable.
Directive (EU) 2016/2102, the Web Accessibility Directive (WAD), governs the websites and mobile apps of public sector bodies. Directive (EU) 2019/882, the European Accessibility Act (EAA), governs private-sector products and services sold to consumers. Both reference the same technical standard. Both are already in force. And a single organisation - a bank with government contracts, a govtech SaaS vendor, a public-private transport operator, a university - can be subject to both at the same time.
This post maps the two frameworks precisely, identifies the organisations that sit in the overlap, and explains how to build one conformance programme that satisfies both.
The two laws at a glance
| Dimension | Web Accessibility Directive (WAD) | European Accessibility Act (EAA) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Directive (EU) 2016/2102 | Directive (EU) 2019/882 |
| Sector | Public sector bodies only | Private-sector economic operators |
| In-scope digital assets | Websites and mobile apps of public sector bodies | E-commerce, banking, telecoms, transport ticketing, e-books, self-service terminals, and more |
| Technical standard | EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (WCAG 2.1 AA) | EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (WCAG 2.1 AA) — same standard |
| Key obligations | Accessibility statement + feedback mechanism per site/app; disproportionate burden assessment | Accessibility statement; technical documentation; conformance with Annex I functional requirements; market surveillance cooperation |
| Compliance deadlines | Websites: Sept 2020 / Mobile apps: June 2021 (already passed) | New products/services: 28 June 2025 (already in force); legacy services: 28 June 2030; some terminals: 28 June 2030 |
| Monitoring model | National monitoring bodies; member states report to European Commission every three years | Market surveillance authorities per member state; enforcement is active now |
| Enforcement mechanism | Complaint-handling and non-judicial enforcement procedure; court action possible | Fines, corrective orders, market withdrawal/restriction; civil litigation already active |
| Micro-enterprise carve-out | No explicit carve-out (disproportionate burden applies) | Services: exempt if < 10 employees AND ≤ €2 million turnover; products: no exemption |
| Penalties | Varies by member state; primarily reputational and procedural | Varies by member state — e.g. up to €900,000 or 10% of revenue in the Netherlands; daily accruing penalties in France |
The Web Accessibility Directive: what it actually requires
The WAD - formally Directive (EU) 2016/2102, adopted on 26 October 2016 - requires all public sector bodies across EU member states to make their websites and mobile apps accessible to people with disabilities. The compliance deadlines have long passed: public sector websites needed to comply from September 2020, and mobile applications from June 2021.
"Public sector body" is defined broadly. It covers national, regional, and local government departments, public hospitals, public universities, libraries, and any organisation established under public law and funded mainly by public money. Private companies are not directly covered - but there is an important procurement wrinkle: if a private company is hired by a public sector body, the final digital products it delivers must also be accessible.
The WAD's core obligations are three:
- An accessibility statement for every website and mobile app, stating non-accessible content, alternatives, and contact details.
- A feedback mechanism so users can flag accessibility problems or request information published in non-accessible formats.
- Regular monitoring and reporting - member states must monitor public sector websites and apps and report results to the European Commission every three years.
Enforcement under the WAD is primarily non-judicial. Each member state designates a national monitoring body and must provide a complaint-handling procedure. The European Commission's evaluation of the directive's first three years found that progress was uneven: national-level government websites improved, but local and regional bodies lagged behind.
The WAD's enforcement model is complaint-driven and procedural — it does not lead directly to fines. But non-compliance still creates legal exposure: individuals can bring court proceedings, and persistent failures attract political and reputational risk for public bodies and their suppliers.
The European Accessibility Act: what it actually requires
The EAA - formally Directive (EU) 2019/882 - became enforceable across all 27 EU member states on 28 June 2025. It is the EU's first horizontal accessibility law for the private sector, replacing a patchwork of inconsistent national rules with a single set of requirements.
The EAA covers a defined list of products and services: e-commerce platforms, banking and payment services, electronic communications, transport ticketing and check-in services, e-books and dedicated reading software, self-service terminals (ATMs, ticketing machines, check-in kiosks), and audiovisual media services. If your organisation sells any of these to consumers in any EU member state, the EAA applies - regardless of where you are headquartered.
Microenterprises providing services - defined as organisations with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million - are exempt from the EAA's service-related requirements. Both conditions must be met simultaneously; the exemption applies to services only, not to products. Any organisation above these thresholds is in scope.
Enforcement is already real. On 4 June 2026, the Tribunal judiciaire de Caen ordered Carrefour France to make its online commerce services and mobile app fully accessible within six months, with a penalty of €500 per day accruing for every day of delay after that deadline. The court explicitly rejected Carrefour's argument that 71% conformance with the French accessibility framework was sufficient, holding that accessibility is an obligation of result, not an obligation of means.
The shared technical standard - and what's changing
Both directives point to the same harmonised standard: EN 301 549. The current version, v3.2.1 (published March 2021), incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA in full. Conforming to EN 301 549 creates a presumption of conformity with both the WAD and the EAA for digital content.
EN 301 549 v4.1.1, expected to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union around October 2026, will incorporate WCAG 2.2 and include significant updates to Real-Time Text requirements. Once published, it will become the binding technical standard for both directives. WCAG 2.2 is backwards-compatible with WCAG 2.1 - all existing success criteria remain - but it adds nine new criteria with a focus on cognitive disabilities and mobile/touch interactions.
The practical implication: organisations building to WCAG 2.2 AA now will not need to re-audit when EN 301 549 updates. Those building only to WCAG 2.1 AA will face a gap-fill exercise in late 2026 or early 2027.
Which law applies to you? A decision framework
The question is not always "WAD or EAA?" - it is often "WAD and EAA?"
The overlap zone: organisations subject to both
The WAD and EAA are not mutually exclusive. Several common organisational types sit squarely in both regimes simultaneously:
Govtech and SaaS vendors selling to public bodies and consumers A vendor whose platform is procured by a local authority (WAD flows through the procurement contract) and also sold directly to consumers as a subscription service (EAA applies to the consumer-facing product) must satisfy both. The accessibility statement required under each law differs in structure and content.
Banks and financial institutions with public-sector contracts A bank that holds government accounts or processes public payroll is not thereby a public sector body - but its consumer-facing digital banking services are squarely in scope under the EAA. If the bank also operates any public-sector-facing digital infrastructure under a public contract, WAD obligations may flow through procurement.
Public-private transport operators A transport operator that is majority publicly owned but sells tickets to consumers through an app or website faces WAD obligations on its public-sector digital properties and EAA obligations on its consumer-facing ticketing service. These may be the same app.
Universities and higher education institutions Public universities are public sector bodies under the WAD. Many also operate commercial services - online course marketplaces, alumni platforms, commercial research portals - that may bring them within EAA scope as well.
Public broadcasters Public broadcasters are explicitly excluded from the WAD's scope. However, if they operate commercial streaming or e-commerce services, those consumer-facing products may fall under the EAA.
One programme, two obligations
The good news: because both directives reference EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard, a single conformance programme largely satisfies both. The technical work - auditing against EN 301 549, remediating barriers, testing with assistive technologies, and building accessibility into your development pipeline - is the same regardless of which law triggered the obligation.
What differs is the documentation layer:
| Requirement | WAD | EAA |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility statement | Required per website/app; must follow the model template set by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523 | Required per service; must describe conformance with Annex I functional requirements; no single EU template |
| Feedback mechanism | Mandatory; must allow users to request accessible alternatives | Required contact mechanism for users to report barriers |
| Technical documentation | Not required | Required; must demonstrate how the service meets accessibility requirements |
| Monitoring cooperation | Report to national monitoring body | Cooperate with market surveillance authority on request |
| Disproportionate burden | Available; must be documented and reviewed | Available under Article 14; must be documented using Annex VI criteria |
The practical recommendation for organisations in the overlap zone:
A single conformance audit against the current harmonised standard satisfies the technical requirement under both the WAD and the EAA. Prioritise manual testing with assistive technologies alongside automated scanning — automated tools catch roughly 30–40% of barriers.
The WAD statement must follow the Commission's model template (Implementing Decision 2018/1523) and be published on each public-sector website and app. The EAA statement must describe how the specific service meets the Annex I functional requirements — it is a different document with a different structure, even if the underlying conformance data is the same.
Identify which of your digital properties are public-sector-facing (WAD) and which are consumer-facing (EAA). Some — like a transport app used by both citizens accessing a public service and consumers buying tickets — may need to satisfy both simultaneously.
EN 301 549 v4.1.1, incorporating WCAG 2.2, is expected in the Official Journal around October 2026. Building to WCAG 2.2 today means no re-audit when the standard updates. WCAG 2.2 is backwards-compatible, so you are not discarding WCAG 2.1 work.
WAD compliance typically sits with the public-sector IT or digital team. EAA compliance often sits with legal, product, or commercial teams. In organisations subject to both, these tracks need a shared owner — or at minimum a shared audit baseline and a coordination mechanism to prevent divergence.
Enforcement momentum in 2026
The WAD's enforcement model has always been procedural and complaint-driven. National monitoring bodies continue to publish reports, and member states report to the Commission every three years. The pressure is real but slow-moving.
The EAA is moving faster. France issued formal legal notices to major retailers in July 2025, and the first EAA-related lawsuits were filed in French courts in November 2025. Sweden launched market surveillance in October 2025. The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is actively enforcing EAA requirements for e-commerce and electronic communications. Penalty frameworks vary significantly by member state - the Netherlands allows fines of up to €900,000 or 10% of annual revenue.
The Carrefour ruling is the clearest signal yet that the EAA is not a paper obligation. The court's reasoning - that accessibility is an obligation of result, not of means, and that a partial conformance score is not a defence - applies equally to any organisation in scope.
For organisations subject to both the WAD and the EAA, the risk calculus is straightforward: the technical work is the same, the documentation differs, and the cost of non-compliance under the EAA is now demonstrably real.
Frequently asked questions
Does the WAD apply to private companies that build websites for public sector clients?
Indirectly, yes. The WAD places the obligation on the public sector body, not the vendor. But in practice, public procurement contracts increasingly require suppliers to deliver accessible digital products. If the final product delivered to the public body is inaccessible, the public body is non-compliant — and the contract terms typically make the vendor liable for remediation.
Can a single accessibility statement cover both WAD and EAA obligations?
No. The WAD statement must follow the model template established by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523 and is published per website or app. The EAA statement must describe how the specific service meets the Annex I functional requirements of Directive 2019/882 — it has a different structure and different required content. You need separate documents, even if the underlying audit data is shared.
Our organisation is a public university. Does the EAA apply to us?
The WAD applies to your public-sector websites and apps. The EAA may also apply if you operate consumer-facing commercial services — for example, a paid online course platform, a commercial alumni network, or a research data marketplace. The key question is whether the specific service is offered to consumers in a commercial context. Your core academic and administrative digital services are WAD territory; commercial spin-offs may be EAA territory.
We already comply with the WAD. Are we automatically compliant with the EAA?
Technically, no — but you are well positioned. Both laws reference EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard, so your conformance work transfers. What you will need to add for EAA compliance: a separate EAA-format accessibility statement, technical documentation demonstrating how your service meets Annex I functional requirements, and a process for cooperating with market surveillance authorities. The audit baseline is shared; the documentation layer is not.
When will EN 301 549 v4.1.1 become mandatory?
EN 301 549 v4.1.1, incorporating WCAG 2.2, is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union around October 2026. Once published as a harmonised standard, conformance with it creates a presumption of conformity with both the WAD and the EAA. Until then, v3.2.1 (WCAG 2.1 AA) remains the current reference. Building to WCAG 2.2 now is advisable — it is backwards-compatible and will avoid a re-audit when the standard updates.
The EU's two-track accessibility framework is not going to simplify. The WAD is an established regime with monitoring infrastructure in place. The EAA is a newer, broader, and more aggressively enforced law whose first court orders are already landing. Organisations that operate across both sectors - or that sell to both public bodies and consumers - need to understand precisely which obligations apply to which digital properties, and build a programme that satisfies both without duplicating effort.
The technical standard is shared. The documentation is not. Getting that distinction right is the difference between a coherent compliance programme and two parallel tracks that drift apart.
Related reading
Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACR/VPAT): The EU Procurement Guide for Vendors and Buyers
What a VPAT is, how it becomes an ACR, which edition to use for EU procurement under EN 301 549, and how to write one that survives scrutiny - plus a buyer-side checklist.
Cognitive Accessibility and the EAA: Why WCAG Compliance Isn't Enough
WCAG 2.1 AA is the EAA's legal floor - but it only partially covers people with cognitive and learning disabilities. Here's what teams must do beyond the standard.
Accessible Forms: The Developer's Fix-First Guide to WCAG 2.2 Compliance
Forms are where accessibility fails most and where the EAA bites hardest. A technique-level guide to labels, errors, grouping, autocomplete, redundant entry, focus, and keyboard - with code examples.