The European Accessibility Act, the landmark EU directive placed into national law on June 28, 2022, is fully enforceable as of today, June 28, 2025. It creates a harmonized framework across all EU member states, aimed at improving accessibility to products and services for persons with disabilities, covering both the private and public sectors.
By standardizing rules that varied greatly between member states, it boosts market efficiency, broadens access, and strengthens the rights of over 110–135 million people in the EU.
What the EAA Covers
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) imposes unified accessibility requirements on five categories of products and six categories of services:
Products
- General‑purpose computers and operating systems (incl. PCs, tablets)
- Mobile devices & telecommunications equipment (e.g. smartphones, routers)
- Audio‑visual media devices and consumer TV equipment
- E-readers
- Self‑service terminals (e.g. ATMs, ticket/check-in kiosks)
Services
- Electronic communications (not just machine‑to‑machine)
- Audio‑visual media services
- Passenger transport (air, bus, rail, water), including ticketing systems and apps
- Consumer banking services (ATMs, e‑banking, contracts, call centre support)
- E‑books & related software
- E‑commerce (online stores, apps, checkout processes)
Standards
- Compliance expectations are built on harmonized standards, primarily EN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA (soon WCAG 2.2).
- Also mandates accessible packaging, user documentation, labelling, support services, and accessibility statements.
Who It Impacts
- Any “economic operator,” manufacturers, importers, distributors, service providers, who place covered goods or services on the EU market, including those outside the EU targeting EU customers.
- Exemptions for microenterprises (under 10 employees and <€2 million turnover) and cases of “undue burden.”
- Financial institutions face specific obligations: accessible digital banking, ATMs/payment terminals, accessible communications/contracts and relay services.
Why It Matters, and Why Act Now
- Immediate penalties are live as of today: fines reaching millions of euros, market withdrawals, bans, turnover-based penalties, even criminal liability in certain countries.
- Enforcement is already in place: national surveillance bodies, consumer complaint systems, and legal recourse via courts or consumer associations.
- Competitive risk: websites/apps not meeting WCAG AA levels will face lawsuits, reputation loss, limited market access.
- Business upside: compliance unlocks a market of approximately 135 million people with disabilities, and improves usability for everyone.
- Time has run out: With the deadline here, any project not yet initiated is already late, many obligations require months of testing, staff training, auditing, stakeholder alignment.
Urgent Action Plan for Organizations
- Scope your in-scope products/services across hardware, software, digital platforms, and service touchpoints.
- Conduct a gap analysis against EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA, include packaging, documentation, kiosk design, customer support, etc.
- Build cross-functional teams (IT, UX, legal, compliance, product, supply chain, support).
- Embed accessibility in internal policies, design processes, procurement, training, and contracts.
- Develop accessibility statements for each digital asset, linking to support process and compliance info.
- Engage market‑surveillance bodies: proactively manage complaints and remediation to avoid sanctions.
- Document meticulously: demands for exemptions or disproportionate-burden claims must be justified and filed with regulators.
Final Call – Act Now
As of today, June 28, 2025, the EAA is enforceable, and non-compliant products or services risk immediate and serious consequences. If your organization hasn’t even started planning for accessibility, the clock has officially struck zero, with no more grace period.
Every day spent inactive amplifies risk: financial, legal, reputational, and competitive. And with consumer and regulatory focus already high, the urgency isn’t a future warning, it’s right now.
Take action today to transform compliance into opportunity: reach out to accessibility experts, begin scoping and audits, assemble teams, and safeguard your access to the single EU market.
Shameless plug: I happen to work for a leading accessibility organization that can assist you with your digital accessibility journey.