The European Accessibility Act, in plain English

No legal jargon. Just what it means for a company with a website.

What it is

The European Accessibility Act is an EU law that requires digital products and services to be usable by people with disabilities. It has applied since 28 June 2025. Every EU member state has written it into its own national law, with its own regulator and its own penalties.

Who it applies to

Businesses selling products or services to consumers in the EU that have 10 or more employees or more than €2 million in annual turnover. E-commerce, banking, transport, telecoms and digital services are explicitly covered.

Micro-businesses below both thresholds are exempt from the service obligations — but if you are growing, you cross that line quietly and without warning.

What it actually requires

In practice, regulators point at WCAG 2.1 level AA. That sounds technical, but most of it is ordinary:

• Every meaningful image has a text description
• Every button and link says what it does
• Every form field has a visible, connected label
• Text has enough contrast against its background
• The whole site can be used with a keyboard alone
• Visitors can zoom in without the layout collapsing

What the fines look like

• Germany — up to €100,000 per violation
• Spain — up to €1,000,000
• Netherlands — up to €900,000 or 10% of turnover
• Ireland — criminal penalties, including imprisonment in serious cases

Is anyone actually enforcing it?

Yes, and it accelerated through 2026. In France, civil society organisations brought cases against major retailers including Carrefour, Auchan and E.Leclerc; a court ordered Carrefour to make its website and app accessible within six months or face daily penalties. Sweden logged over a hundred public complaints. In Germany, law firms began issuing warning letters under competition law — which arrive far faster than any regulator.

Confirmed monetary fines are still rare. The pattern so far is notification, then a remediation order, then money. The practical risk today is a letter demanding action within weeks.

What to do about it

1. Scan your site so you know where you stand
2. Fix the critical failures first — they are usually a handful of template changes
3. Keep checking, because every site change can undo the work
4. Keep dated records, so you can show you acted in good faith

That last point matters more than people expect. When a complaint arrives, the difference between a warning and a penalty is often whether you can show you were already working on it.

This page is general information, not legal advice.