Does the European Accessibility Act apply to my online store?

What the Act covers

The European Accessibility Act sets accessibility requirements for a list of products and services sold to consumers in the EU. E-commerce is one of the listed services, and it reaches the online sale of any product or service, not only the shops of large retailers. If consumers in the EU can buy from your site, the Act is likely to apply to you, even if your business is outside the EU.

Who is exempt

Microenterprises are exempt for services. A microenterprise has fewer than 10 staff and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of EUR 2 million or less. The exemption is narrow: a business that also manufactures or sells covered products can still have duties for those products.

What your website must meet

The Act describes accessibility outcomes rather than a checklist. In practice, the harmonised standard EN 301 549 is used to show conformity, and for web content it maps to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Testing against WCAG 2.2 AA covers WCAG 2.1 AA and more. You also need to publish information on how your service meets the requirements.

Who enforces it, and how

Each member state wrote the Act into its own law and enforces it through its own authorities, so enforcement differs by country:

• Germany (BFSG): a joint market surveillance authority of the states can order fixes and fine up to EUR 100,000, and competitors and associations can send formal warnings under unfair competition law.
• Ireland: breaches are criminal offences, with fines up to EUR 60,000 on indictment, and company officers can be liable.
• Spain: penalties follow the general disability law, up to EUR 1,000,000 for the most serious breaches.
• Netherlands: the Authority for Consumers and Markets supervises e-commerce and started with a dialogue-based approach.

Fine amounts come from each national law and published summaries; check the official text for your market. See our country guides, which cover 13 EU countries.

What to do first

1. Run an automated check against WCAG 2.2 A and AA on your main pages: home, product, cart and checkout.
2. Fix the critical and serious problems first, especially anything that blocks checkout with a keyboard or a screen reader.
3. Publish an accessibility statement explaining how your service meets the requirements and how to report a barrier.
4. Keep a dated record of what you checked and fixed. If an authority asks, you can show it.

Automated testing finds many, not all, accessibility problems, so add a manual keyboard and screen reader check. Read how to check your website in 15 minutes.