The European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into force on June 28, 2025. It requires most digital products and services sold in the EU to meet accessibility standards. If your website serves European customers, you need to comply — or face penalties. Here's everything you need to know.
What is the European Accessibility Act?
The EAA (Directive 2019/882) is an EU-wide law that establishes accessibility requirements for products and services. Unlike the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which are voluntary standards, the EAA is legally binding. It covers websites, mobile apps, e-commerce platforms, banking services, transport ticketing, and e-books. The goal is to ensure that the 87 million people with disabilities in the EU can access digital services equally.
Who must comply?
The EAA applies to businesses that offer products or services to consumers in the EU, regardless of where the business is based. This includes: e-commerce websites, online banking and financial services, telecom services, transport and ticketing, e-book platforms, and any digital service targeting EU consumers. Micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and under €2M turnover) are exempt, but only if compliance would create a 'disproportionate burden'.
What are the technical requirements?
The EAA references the EN 301 549 standard, which aligns with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Key requirements include: perceivable content (text alternatives for images, captions for video, sufficient color contrast), operable interface (keyboard navigation, no time limits, no seizure-inducing content), understandable information (readable text, predictable navigation, input assistance), and robust markup (compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers).
What are the penalties?
Each EU member state sets its own penalties, but they must be 'effective, proportionate and dissuasive.' In practice, this means fines that can range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of euros depending on the country. France, for example, can impose fines up to €50,000 per infraction. Beyond fines, non-compliant products and services can be removed from the EU market.
How to audit your website for EAA compliance
Start with an automated accessibility scan that checks for WCAG 2.1 AA violations. Common issues include: missing alt text on images, insufficient color contrast ratios (minimum 4.5:1 for normal text), missing form labels, keyboard traps, missing skip navigation links, and auto-playing media without controls. After the automated scan, perform manual testing with a screen reader (NVDA, VoiceOver) and keyboard-only navigation.
Common accessibility mistakes
The most frequent violations we see in SignalLens audits are: images without alt attributes (affects 68% of sites), color contrast below 4.5:1 (52% of sites), form inputs without associated labels (45% of sites), missing landmark regions for screen readers (40% of sites), and links that say 'click here' instead of descriptive text (35% of sites). Most of these can be fixed in a few hours of development work.
How SignalLens helps
SignalLens AI includes accessibility (EAA/WCAG) as one of its 6 audit dimensions. Our automated scan checks for the most common WCAG 2.1 AA violations and gives you a compliance score with specific issues to fix. This gives you a clear starting point — you'll know exactly what needs to change and can prioritize fixes by impact.
The EAA isn't just a legal requirement — accessible websites also perform better in search engines, reach more customers, and provide a better experience for everyone. Don't wait for a complaint or a fine. Audit your site now and fix the most critical issues first.