When did the EAA take effect?

Its requirements apply to covered products placed on the market and services provided to consumers after June 28, 2025.

What are the penalties?

Each EU country sets its own penalties and enforcement. Check the national law for the countries where you sell.

Is the EAA the same as the Web Accessibility Directive?

No. The Web Accessibility Directive covers public sector bodies. The EAA covers specific private-sector products and services.

European Accessibility Act: does it apply to your website?

By WCAGCLEAR Nerds. Published October 22, 2026, updated October 28, 2026.

Short answer: since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act requires covered services offered to consumers in the EU, including e-commerce, consumer banking and parts of passenger transport, to be accessible. Microenterprises providing services are exempt. US companies selling to EU consumers can be covered.

Which websites does the EAA cover?

The EAA covers specific consumer services provided after June 28, 2025: e-commerce, consumer banking, electronic communications, access to audiovisual media, e-books, and the websites, apps and ticketing of air, bus, rail and water passenger transport. A brochure site that sells nothing online is not an e-commerce service.

The Directive also covers products such as computers, smartphones, payment terminals, ATMs and e-readers. Each EU country writes the Directive into its own national law, so details and enforcement vary by country.

Who is exempt from the EAA?

Microenterprises that provide services are exempt from the service requirements. The Directive defines a microenterprise as having fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or a balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros. Some content is also excluded, such as archives not updated after June 28, 2025.

Pre-recorded video and office files published before June 28, 2025.
Third-party content the business does not fund, develop or control.
Online maps, if the essential information is provided accessibly.

Does the EAA apply to US companies?

It can. The EAA applies to covered services provided to consumers in the EU, regardless of where the company is based. A US online store that sells to EU consumers should assume the e-commerce requirements may apply and check the law of each country it sells into with counsel.

The EAA does not name WCAG directly. In practice, many teams use WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA as the working target. EN 301 549, the European standard for ICT accessibility, incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA for web content.

Frequently asked questions

When did the EAA take effect?: Its requirements apply to covered products placed on the market and services provided to consumers after June 28, 2025.
What are the penalties?: Each EU country sets its own penalties and enforcement. Check the national law for the countries where you sell.
Is the EAA the same as the Web Accessibility Directive?: No. The Web Accessibility Directive covers public sector bodies. The EAA covers specific private-sector products and services.

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This guide is educational and is not legal advice. Talk to an attorney about your legal obligations.