The EAA is now legally enforceable across the EU, and each member state sets its own penalties. Is your website ready?
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is EU legislation that requires businesses to make certain products and services accessible to people with disabilities. As of June 28, 2025, the EAA is now legally enforceable across all EU member states.
The directive aims to eliminate barriers that prevent approximately 87 million Europeans with disabilities from fully participating in society and the economy. For websites and online services, this means compliance with specific accessibility standards based on WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
The EAA is not a recommendation, it’s EU law. All member states must enforce compliance and impose penalties for violations.
Each member state sets its own penalties, from fines to orders to fix a non-compliant service.
EAA compliance is measured against EN 301 549, which builds on WCAG 2.1 Level AA. A new version based on WCAG 2.2 was published in September 2026.
If you sell to EU consumers, you must comply regardless of where your business is located.
The EAA applies to a wide range of businesses that serve consumers in the EU. If you sell products or services online to consumers, you’re likely affected.
Businesses selling products or services online to consumers need to make their website, product pages, shopping cart and checkout accessible.
Online banking, payments, consumer credit and investment services for consumers must be accessible to all users.
Phone, internet and messaging services, access to TV and streaming, and e-books must meet EAA standards.
Websites, apps and e-tickets for air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport must be accessible to travelers with disabilities.
In practice, the EAA’s web requirements are measured against EN 301 549, which builds on WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Your website should meet these standards across four key principles:
Users must be able to perceive the information being presented.
Users must be able to operate the interface.
Content and operation must be understandable.
Content must work with assistive technologies.
The EAA is now enforceable, and penalties vary by EU member state. Here’s what you need to know:
Beyond fines, an inaccessible website shuts out customers who want to buy from you. Making it accessible opens your products and services to everyone, including the millions of people in the EU with a disability.
Scanluma helps you work towards EAA compliance with automated monitoring based on WCAG 2.1 and 2.2, Levels A and AA.
Add your website and start your first scan with one click. Scanluma checks it against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the basis for the EAA, and shows every issue automated checks can find.
See the exact HTML element behind every issue detected and what needs to change. No guessing about where to look.
Scanluma keeps scanning automatically, weekly on Free and daily on Pro, so new issues show up as you add new content or features.
The EAA enforcement deadline has passed. Here’s a practical plan to get started and stay on track:
Add your website to Scanluma for free and run your first scan. In seconds, you see the issues automated checks can find, sorted by severity.
Use the Scanluma report to tackle the most critical accessibility violations first. Focus on issues that affect core user journeys like navigation, forms and product pages, then apply the same fixes to your checkout.
Address the remaining WCAG 2.1 Level AA issues. Then check what automated scans can’t, like keyboard use and screen reader flow, yourself or with an expert.
Scanluma keeps scanning automatically, weekly on Free and daily on Pro, so you catch new issues as you update your website.
The European Accessibility Act became enforceable on June 28, 2025. All covered businesses must now comply with the requirements or face penalties.
Yes. If you sell products or services covered by the EAA to EU consumers, you must comply regardless of where your business is located. This includes online stores, consumer banking, passenger transport and communication services. Services sold only to businesses are not covered.
The EAA is EU legislation that requires accessibility. WCAG is the technical guideline behind it: EAA compliance is measured against EN 301 549, which builds on WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA covers most of the EAA’s web requirements. The EAA also asks for other things, like publishing accessibility information about your service.
No, and no automated tool can. Scanluma automates testing against WCAG 2.1 Level AA (the technical basis for EAA web requirements) and finds many common issues. Some aspects, like content quality and keyboard or screen reader use, need manual review. Scanluma shows you what to change, but final responsibility rests with your business.
With Scanluma, you can start free with weekly monitoring of your homepage. Pro (€29.95/month) adds daily scans, up to 10 subpages, mobile device scans and unlimited history. The cost of the changes themselves depends on your website and the number of issues.
Each EU member state sets its own penalties, from fines to orders to fix or stop a non-compliant service. Beyond penalties, an inaccessible website loses customers who can’t use it.
All 27 EU member states must enforce the EAA: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
If you provide a service covered by the EAA, you must publish information on how it meets the accessibility requirements (Annex V), in your terms or an equivalent document. Most businesses do this with an accessibility statement that also lists known limitations and a contact for reporting issues.
The EAA is now enforceable. Get your website checked every week against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard behind the EAA. Free, no credit card required.
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