European Accessibility Act

The European Accessibility Act is a directive of the European Union which took effect in April 2019. This directive aims to improve the trade between members of the EU for accessible products and services, by removing country-specific rules. Businesses benefit from having a common set of rules within the EU, which should facilitate easier cross-border trade. It should also allow a greater market for companies providing accessible products and services. Persons with disabilities and elderly people will benefit from having more accessible products and services in the market. An increased market size should produce more competitive prices. There should be fewer barriers within the EU and more job opportunities as well.
Originally proposed in 2011, this act was built to complement the EU's Web Accessibility Directive which targets the public sector and became law in 2016. It also reflects the obligations of the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It includes a wide range of systems including personal devices such as computers, smartphones, e-books, and TVs, as well as public services like television broadcast, automated teller machine, ticketing machines, public transport services, banking services, and e-commerce sites.
The laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive have to be adopted and published by the member states by 28 June 2022. Three years later, in 2025, the requirements of the European Accessibility Act must have been implemented.

Compliance deadline (2025)

Under the provisions of the European Accessibility Act , all relevant products and services made available on the EU market must now comply with accessibility requirements defined by the directive. The EAA aims to improve the functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services by removing barriers created by divergent rules in different member states. It is also intended to improve access for persons with disabilities and the elderly.
The requirements and obligations of this Directive do not apply to microenterprises providing services within the scope of this Directive – whereby ‘microenterprise’ means an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and which has an annual turnover not exceeding €2 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million.
The European policy of applying "Design for all" principles on digital technology led to the creation of the European Harmonized Accessibility Standards EN 301 549 which defines "Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe".

Key requirements

The EAA outlines general accessibility standards for all products and services within its scope with additional requirements for specific products and services.
For products, businesses must:

Design products to maximise usability for individuals with disabilities;
Provide accessible instructions for use and maintenance;
Ensure packaging and support services are accessible;

For services, requirements include:

Ensuring websites and mobile apps are accessible;
Providing information on service features in accessible formats;
Offering customer support systems that cater to people with disabilities;

These standards aim to improve usability and foster inclusivity across the EU.

Accessibility widgets

Accessibility widgets are generally not sufficient on their own to address all requirements of the European Accessibility Act or the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Such widgets typically operate as user interface layers that provide optional adjustments to visual presentation, including changes to text size, color contrast, or font appearance. These features may improve usability for some users but do not alter the underlying structure or source code of a website.
Meeting WCAG success criteria and related accessibility legislation commonly involves changes to website markup, semantics, and interaction patterns, such as proper use of HTML elements, form labeling, keyboard navigation, and compatibility with assistive technologies. For this reason, accessibility widgets are often described as complementary tools rather than replacements for code-level accessibility remediation.

Country-specific requirements

This Directive, has been transposed into national laws by each Member State. Each nation has implemented it in their own way, producing a range of specific legal texts, enforcement authorities, and penalties. Each country may have their own legislation which will restrict the use of lawsuits.

Country	National Legislation	Enforcement Authority	Fines & Penalties
Austria	The Web Accessibility Act	Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions, and Tourism	Up to €80,000
Belgium	Belgian Accessibility Act amending the Belgian Code of Economic Law	Fragmented: FPS Economy, BIPT, and other federal, community, and regional agencies
Bulgaria	Accessibility Requirements for Products and Services Act	Various agencies	BGN 750 – 2 500
Croatia	NN 89/2025, Act on Accessibility Requirements for Products and Services	Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy
Cyprus	Official publication: Cyprus Gazette ; Number: 4996
Czech Republic	Act No 424/2023 on accessibility requirements for certain products and services
Denmark	Amendment of the Act on accessibility requirements for products and services
Estonia	Accessibility of Products and Services Act
Finland	Government Decree on accessibility requirements for certain digital services	Finnish Transport and Communications Agency	No fines or penalties.
France	Decree No 2023-931 of 9 October 2023 on the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities
Germany	Accessibility Strengthening Act -
Greece	Incorporation of Directive 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services and other urgent provisions to promote development.
Hungary	XII. Government Decree No XVII of 2022 implementing Act XVII of 2022 laying down general rules on compliance with accessibility requirements for products and services
Ireland	Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services
Italy	Legislative DECREE No 82 of 27 May 2022 Implementation of Directive 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services.
Latvia	Law on the accessibility of goods and services
Lithuania	Law No XIV-1633 of the Republic of Lithuania on accessibility requirements for products and services
Luxembourg	Law of March 8, 2023 relating to accessibility requirements applicable to products and services
Malta	Accessibility Measures Regulations
Netherlands	Decision on rules on the accessibility of products in relation to the implementation of Directive 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on accessibility requirements for products and services 2019/882 van het Europees Parlement en de Raad van 17 april 2019 inzake toegankelijkheidsvoorschriften voor producten en diensten )
Poland	Act of 26 April 2024 on ensuring compliance with accessibility requirements for certain products and services by economic operators
Portugal	Corrigendum to Decree-Law No 82/2022 of 6 December transposing Directive 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services
Romania	Law 232/2022 on accessibility requirements for products and services
Slovakia	Act No 351/2022 on the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and amending certain acts
Slovenia	Act on Access to Products and Services for Persons with Disabilities
Spain	Order TMA/851/2021 of 23 July 2013 laying down the technical document on basic conditions of accessibility and non-discrimination for access to and use of urbanised public spaces.
Sweden	Act on the Accessibility of Certain Products and Services