The European Accessibility Act: what sellers outside the EU need to know

The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) has applied since 28 June 2025. It covers products and services sold to consumers in the EU, so an Indian, UK, US or Australian business selling into the EU is in scope too.

Which services are covered

• E-commerce: websites and apps that sell to consumers.
• Consumer banking services.
• E-books and the software used to read them.
• Electronic communications services.
• Passenger transport services by air, bus, rail and water: websites, apps, e-tickets and travel information.
• Services giving access to audiovisual media.

Who is exempt

Microenterprises providing services, meaning fewer than 10 staff and annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than EUR 2 million, are exempt from the service requirements. Other businesses can claim that a requirement is a disproportionate burden only with a documented assessment.

What 'accessible' means in practice

• The harmonised standard is EN 301 549, which includes WCAG 2.1 level AA for web content.
• Key journeys such as browsing, sign-up, checkout and support must work with a keyboard and a screen reader.
• You must publish information on how your service meets the requirements, usually in an accessibility statement.
• Each EU country enforces the Act through its own authority and sets its own penalties.

Where to start

• Audit your key pages against WCAG 2.2 AA (2.2 includes everything in 2.1).
• Fix level A failures first: missing alt text, unlabelled form fields, unnamed buttons, blocked zoom.
• Test the main journeys by hand with a keyboard and a screen reader; automated checks catch only part of the problems.
• Publish an accessibility statement with a contact route, and add accessibility checks to your release process.

The same WCAG fixes also reduce ADA risk in the US and meet the expectations in the UK, Australia and India. This guide isn't legal advice.