The plain-English explainer
The European Accessibility Act (EAA)
The EAA is an EU law that requires a defined set of products and services to be accessible to people with disabilities. Its requirements apply from 28 June 2025, and conformance is shown through the harmonised standard EN 301 549, which builds on WCAG. Directive (EU) 2019/882 sets it out; this page explains it plainly.
Reviewed by the EAA Navigator team
TL;DR
- What: the European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882.
- When: transposed by 28 Jun 2022, applies from 28 Jun 2025. Service-contract transition to 28 Jun 2030.
- Who: businesses placing covered products on the EU market or providing covered services.
- Exemption: micro-enterprises providing services only (fewer than 10 staff and no more than 2m euro).
- How: conform to EN 301 549, which builds on WCAG 2.1 AA.
Key dates
28 June 2025
EAA requirements apply. Covered products and services placed on the market must be accessible.
28 June 2030
Service contracts in force before 28 Jun 2025 may continue until this date.
Member states had to transpose the directive by 28 June 2022. Directive (EU) 2019/882. See the full deadline tracker.
What the EAA is, and what it is for
The European Accessibility Act, EAA for short, is Directive (EU) 2019/882, adopted on 17 April 2019. Its purpose is to harmonise accessibility requirements across the EU for a defined set of products and services, so that people with disabilities can buy and use them on an equal footing, and so that businesses face one common set of rules rather than 27 different ones. European Commission
Because it is a directive, the EAA had to be transposed into national law in each member state by 28 June 2022, and its requirements apply from 28 June 2025. From that date, covered products and services placed on the EU market must meet the accessibility requirements.
The dates and transition periods
- 28 June 2022: member states had to transpose the EAA into national law.
- 28 June 2025: the accessibility requirements apply.
- 28 June 2030: service contracts already in force before 28 June 2025 may continue until this date.
- Up to 20 years: self-service terminals lawfully in use before 28 June 2025 may continue to be used until the end of their economic life, capped at 20 years.
For the full timeline, including the related public-sector dates, see our accessibility deadlines page. Directive (EU) 2019/882
What the EAA covers
The EAA applies to a specific list of products and services, not to everything sold in the EU.
Covered products
- Computers and operating systems
- Smartphones and other communication devices
- TV equipment for digital television
- ATMs and payment terminals
- Ticketing and check-in machines
- E-readers
Covered services
- E-commerce
- Consumer banking
- E-books
- Electronic communications
- Access to audiovisual media services
- Air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport
E-commerce is in scope
The micro-enterprise exemption
The EAA includes an exemption for the smallest businesses, but it is narrower than many people assume. It applies only to micro-enterprises that provide services. A micro-enterprise is one with fewer than 10 staff and an annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than 2 million euro.
The key limit: the exemption covers services only. Micro-enterprises that deal in products are not exempt. And even exempt service providers are encouraged to make their offerings accessible. If you are unsure whether the EAA applies to you, our guide on who the EAA applies to walks through it. Directive (EU) 2019/882
How conformance works: EN 301 549 and WCAG
The EAA sets functional accessibility requirements but does not, on its own, spell out the technical detail. That comes from the harmonised standard EN 301 549. For websites and mobile applications, EN 301 549 (Chapter 9) incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA. EN 301 549 v3.2.1
In practice this means: meet WCAG 2.1 AA (with WCAG 2.2 AA as current best practice) and you get a presumption of conformity for the web and mobile parts of your obligations. That is why almost everything on this site comes back to WCAG AA.
Audit
Test your digital products and services against WCAG 2.2 AA with automated, manual and assistive-technology testing. The WCAG 2.2 AA checklist sets out what to check.
Fix and document
Work through the issues, then document conformance and make accessibility information available, as the EAA requires of service providers. The guides cover the common fixes.
Maintain
Keep testing as products and services change, so conformance does not slip after the first push.
Penalties and enforcement
The EAA leaves penalties to each member state. National rules must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, but there is no single EU-wide figure, and the amounts and enforcement bodies differ from country to country. Market-surveillance authorities can require non-compliant products and services to be brought into conformity or withdrawn. Directive (EU) 2019/882
Because enforcement is national, check the rules in the member states where you sell. Beyond fines, there is reputational and commercial risk, and complaints can come from users and consumer bodies as well as regulators.
What a business should do
- Confirm whether you are in scope. Identify whether your products or services are on the covered list, and whether the narrow micro-enterprise exemption could apply. See who the EAA applies to.
- Audit against WCAG 2.2 AA. Work through the WCAG 2.2 AA checklist with manual and assistive-technology testing, not just an automated scan, since automated tools catch only part of the issues. For complex products, an independent manual audit is worth commissioning.
- Fix and document. Remediate, keep evidence of conformance, and make accessibility information available.
- Maintain. Build accessibility into your processes so you stay compliant as things change.
Beware the overlay shortcut
By the numbers
The EAA in a few figures
The date the EAA requirements apply.
End of the transition for existing service contracts.
Micro-enterprise threshold, for the services-only exemption.
The standard EN 301 549 incorporates for web and mobile.
Penalties are set by each member state and must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Directive (EU) 2019/882
FAQ
People also ask
- What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?
- The EAA is Directive (EU) 2019/882. It harmonises accessibility requirements across the EU for a defined set of products and services, so that people with disabilities can use them on an equal footing. It was adopted in April 2019, member states had to transpose it into national law by 28 June 2022, and its requirements apply from 28 June 2025.
- When does the EAA apply?
- The requirements apply from 28 June 2025. There are transitional rules: existing service contracts can continue until 28 June 2030, and self-service terminals already in use before 28 June 2025 may run until the end of their economic life, up to a maximum of 20 years.
- What products and services does the EAA cover?
- Covered products include computers and operating systems, smartphones, TV equipment for digital television, ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines, e-readers and payment terminals. Covered services include e-commerce, consumer banking, e-books, electronic communications, access to audiovisual media services, and air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport services.
- Are small businesses exempt from the EAA?
- There is a micro-enterprise exemption, but it is narrow. It applies only to micro-enterprises that provide services, defined as fewer than 10 staff and an annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than 2 million euro. Micro-enterprises that deal in products are not exempt.
- How do I comply with the EAA?
- Conformance is shown via the harmonised standard EN 301 549, which for web and mobile incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA. In practice that means building your digital products and services to WCAG 2.1 AA (WCAG 2.2 AA as best practice), and making accessibility information available. Audit, fix, document, and maintain.
- What are the penalties under the EAA?
- The EAA leaves penalties to each member state, which must make them effective, proportionate and dissuasive. There is no single EU-wide figure; the amounts and enforcement mechanisms vary by country. Non-compliant products and services can also be ordered withdrawn from the market.
- How is the EAA different from the Web Accessibility Directive?
- The Web Accessibility Directive (2016/2102) covers public-sector websites and mobile apps. The EAA (2019/882) covers private-sector products and services. Both use EN 301 549 (and therefore WCAG AA) as the technical benchmark, so the underlying standard is the same.
This is guidance, not legal advice
Sources
- [1]Directive (EU) 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act), EUR-Lexretrieved 9 Jun 2026
- [2]European Commission: European Accessibility Actretrieved 9 Jun 2026
- [3]EN 301 549 v3.2.1, the EU harmonised ICT accessibility standard (ETSI)retrieved 9 Jun 2026
- [4]Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (W3C Recommendation)retrieved 9 Jun 2026
- [5]EUR-Lex summary: Web Accessibility Directive (2016/2102)retrieved 9 Jun 2026
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