The European Accessibility Act Is Here. Is Your Business Ready?

Koen Van Looveren

28/6/2025

Starting June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will go into effect. This means many digital products and services in the EU must be accessible to people with disabilities. But beyond compliance, this is an opportunity to build better, more inclusive experiences, for everyone.

What is the European Accessibility Act?

The EAA (Directive 2019/882) is EU legislation that aims to ensure equal access to digital and physical services for people with disabilities. It applies to a wide range of products and services, including:

Websites and mobile apps
E-commerce platforms
Banking services and ATMs
Ticket machines and check-in kiosks
Streaming services, e-books, and telecom

This legislation goes beyond the public sector and will affect private businesses operating in or selling to the EU market.

Who Needs to Comply?

If your business provides digital services or electronic devices in the EU, there’s a good chance the EAA applies to you. Only micro enterprises, businesses with fewer than 10 employees and under €2M annual turnover, are fully exempt. That said, even exempt companies may benefit from applying accessibility best practices.

Key Standards You Need to Meet

To be compliant with the EAA, your digital products must meet the EN 301 549 standard. This includes the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines (and soon WCAG 2.2), built around the principles of:

Perceivable – content must be available to all senses.
Operable – users must be able to navigate and interact.
Understandable – the interface must be easy to comprehend.
Robust – content must work reliably with assistive technologies.

Not Everything Needs to Be Compliant (Yet)

There are a few exceptions:

Products launched before June 28, 2025, have until 2030.
Self-service terminals are exempt until 2045.
Archived content and videos published before 2025 are also exempt.
You can request exceptions in cases of disproportionate burden, but you must document these.

Your EAA Compliance Checklist

Here’s a practical guide to help your organization get started:

✅ Audit your digital platforms – Compare them against EN 301 549 and WCAG 2.1/2.2.
✅ Train your team – Designers, developers, and content creators need to understand accessibility fundamentals.
✅ Update your workflows – Integrate accessibility checks in your QA, testing, and release processes.
✅ Write an accessibility statement – Be transparent about your efforts and create a plan for improvement.
✅ Monitor and improve – Set up ongoing testing (ideally with users who use assistive tech), and respond to feedback.
✅ Ensure supplier compliance – Your tools and vendors must also meet accessibility standards.