Who is covered
The services in scope are those provided to consumers: electronic communications, access to audiovisual media, air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport (websites, apps, e-tickets, travel information), consumer banking, e-books and e-commerce. An e-commerce service is any service provided at a distance, by electronic means, at the consumer's request with a view to concluding a contract (Article 3(30)). A web shop selling to consumers is therefore covered; a purely business-to-business shop is not.
Who is exempt
Microenterprises that provide services are exempt from the service requirements: fewer than 10 persons and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2 million (Articles 3(23) and 4(5)). The exemption does not cover products.
Any provider may also rely on a disproportionate burden or a fundamental alteration, but must document the assessment, keep it for five years and repeat it at least every five years (Article 14).
What a provider has to do
- Make the service perceivable, operable, understandable and robust; in practice measured against the European standard EN 301 549, which is largely based on WCAG 2.1.
- Explain in the general terms and conditions, or an equivalent document, how the service meets the requirements, in written and oral form (Article 13(2), Annex V).
- Keep procedures that keep the service accessible when it changes, and inform the authority when it does not conform (Article 13(3) and (4)).
Contracts concluded before 28 June 2025 may continue unchanged until they expire, at the latest five years after that date (Article 32).
Supervisors and fines in five countries
The directive leaves penalties to the Member States. The amounts below are from the national texts as of October 2026 and are not comparable one to one.
| Country and law | Supervisor | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Slovenia, ZDPSI | Market Inspectorate (TIRS) | EUR 500–5,000; EUR 1,000–10,000 for medium and large companies |
| Germany, BFSG | Joint market surveillance authority of the Länder (MLBF, Magdeburg; nationwide work since September 2025) | up to EUR 100,000 or EUR 10,000, by breach |
| Spain, Ley 11/2023 | authorities of the autonomous communities | under sector law, otherwise the disability act RDL 1/2013 (EUR 301 to 1,000,000 by severity; no single class fixed for websites) |
| France, Code de la consommation | DGCCRF with sector regulators | EUR 7,500 per breach found |
| Italy, D.Lgs. 82/2022 | AgID | EUR 5,000–40,000 |
Where to start
- Check whether you are covered: consumers, one of the listed services, not a microenterprise.
- Run an automated test on every template and fix what it reports.
- Walk through the purchase with the keyboard and a screen reader; payment and login steps are named explicitly in several national texts.
- Add the accessibility information to your terms and conditions, and keep it current.
Frequently asked questions
Does the act apply to my B2B shop?
The service obligations concern services provided to consumers. A shop that sells only to businesses is outside that scope; national laws can go further, so check yours.
Is WCAG 2.2 required?
The act sets functional requirements. The usual technical reference is the European standard EN 301 549: V3.2.1 (2021) is based on WCAG 2.1, and V4.1.1, aligned with WCAG 2.2, was published in September 2026 but is not cited in the Official Journal as of 21 October 2026. We found no citation that gives either version an automatic presumption of conformity under the act, so testing against WCAG 2.2 A and AA is the cautious choice.
Do I need an accessibility widget?
No provision we checked requires one, and the European Commission calls overlays that do not fix the site itself not an appropriate solution.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act)
- Slovenia: ZDPSI (PISRS)
- Germany: Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG)
- Spain: Ley 11/2023 (BOE)
- France: DGCCRF, accessibility directive guidance for businesses
- Italy: D.Lgs. 27 maggio 2022, n. 82 (Normattiva)
- AccessibleEU: EN 301 549 has been updated (7 Sep 2026)
Check the accessibility of your page
The free test checks one page against WCAG 2.2 A/AA rules and shows the first problems to fix. The Site Report checks up to 20 pages of your site.