The European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882) is now in force. Here's what every website owner needs to know — and how to check compliance in 50 seconds.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) requires that certain digital products and services sold in the EU be accessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites, e-commerce platforms, banking apps, e-books, and more.
The law applies to all businesses selling to EU consumers — not just EU-based companies. If you sell products or services in Germany, France, Italy, or any EU member state, the EAA applies to you.
June 28, 2025. As of today, all covered websites must comply or face penalties.
Each EU member state sets its own penalties, but they include:
Key point: If you sell products to EU customers, you are likely covered — regardless of where your company is registered.
The EAA references WCAG 2.2 Level AA as the accessibility standard. This means your website must meet approximately 50 success criteria covering:
According to WebAIM's 2026 analysis, 95.9% of the top 1 million websites have detectable WCAG 2 failures. The average homepage has 56.8 accessibility errors. Most website owners are unaware they are violating the law.
Scan your site in 50 seconds with AccessCheck's 5-layer AI audit: