European Accessibility Act (EAA) Takes Effect, Unifying Standards Across the EU

SG 139/25

European Accessibility Act (EAA) took effect on June 28, 2025, enhancing the internal market for accessible products and services by eliminating barriers caused by inconsistent regulations across EU member states.

The EAA was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 7, 2019, and entered into force on June 27, 2019. The objective of the Directive is to unify the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the EU Member States concerning accessibility requirements for specific products and services. It aims to promote full and effective equal participation by improving access to mainstream products and services and to enhance these products and services through initial design and subsequent adaptation to meet the particular needs of persons with disabilities. Since June 28, 2025, products and services within the scope of the Directive placed on the EU market must comply with the requirements of the Directive.

The Directive applies to the following products placed on the market after June 28, 2025:

• Consumer general purpose computer hardware systems and operating systems for those hardware systems
• Payment terminals
• Self-service terminals dedicated to the provision of services covered by the Directive:
  1. Automated teller machines
  2. Ticketing machines
  3. Check-in machines
  4. Interactive self-service terminals providing information, excluding those installed as integrated parts of vehicles, aircraft, ships or rolling stock

• Consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability:
  1. Used for electronic communications services
  2. Used for accessing audiovisual media services
• E-readers

The Directive applies to the following services provided to consumers after June 28, 2025:

• Electronic communications services, excluding transmission services used solely for machine-to-machine communication
• Services providing access to audiovisual media services
• The following elements of air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport services, excluding urban, suburban and regional transport services, for which only the elements under point (v) apply:
  1. Websites
  2. Mobile device-based services including mobile applications
  3. Electronic tickets and electronic ticketing services
  4. Delivery of transport service information, including real-time travel information; this shall, with regard to information screens, be limited to interactive screens located within the territory of the EU
  5. Interactive self-service terminals located within the territory of the EU, excluding those installed into vehicles, aircraft, ships and rolling stock used for the provision of passenger transportation

• Consumer banking services
• E-books and dedicated software
• E-commerce services

Transitional measures

The specific accessibility requirements of the answering emergency communications to the single European emergency number '112' can be deferred until June 28, 2027, at the latest.

Service contracts agreed before June 28, 2025, may continue without alteration until they expire, but no longer than five years from that date.

Self-service terminals lawfully used by service providers for the provision of services before June 28, 2025, may continue to be used in the provision of similar services until the end of their economically useful life, but no longer than 20 years after their entry into use.

The Directive does not apply to the following website and mobile application content:

• Pre-recorded time-based media and office file formats published before June 28, 2025
• Online maps and mapping services, if essential information is provided in an accessible digital manner for maps intended for navigational use
• Third-party content that is neither funded, developed by, or under the control of, the economic operator concerned
• Content of websites and mobile applications qualifying as archives, meaning that they only contain content that is not updated or edited after June 28, 2025

Conformity assessment procedure – products

• Internal production control: manufacturer must fulfill the obligations required by this Directive and be self-responsible for ensuring and declaring that the relevant products comply with the corresponding requirements of the Directive
• Technical documentation: manufacturer must establish technical documentation, the content of which shall be sufficient to assess whether the product complies with the accessibility requirements of the Directive
• Manufacturing: manufacturer must take all necessary measures to ensure that production and monitoring processes enable the product to comply with the requirements of the technical documentation and the accessibility requirements of the Directive
• EU CE marking and declaration of conformity (DoC): manufacturer must affix the EU CE marking referred to in the Directive to each product that complies with the applicable requirements and prepare a written DoC for the product model

General accessibility requirements related to all products and services:

1. Products:

• Information provision requirements: information shall be accessible through more than one sensory channel, presented in an easy-to-understand manner, provided in a perceivable form, etc.
• User interface and functional design requirements: when a product offers communication functions, it shall enable such functions through more than one sensory channel. When the product uses speech, it shall provide alternatives to speech and vocal input for communication, operation control and orientation. When the product uses visual elements, it shall offer flexible adjustment functions for magnification, brightness and contrast for communication, information display and operation, while ensuring interoperability with programs and assistive devices used for interface navigation, etc.
• Support service requirements: where available, support services (help desks, call centers, technical support, relay services and training services) shall provide information on the accessibility of the product and its compatibility with assistive technologies, in accessible modes of communication
• Packaging and product instruction requirements: if packaging provides information about the accessibility characteristics of the product, such information shall be made accessible; where feasible, accessible information shall be provided on the packaging. If the instructions for the installation, maintenance, storage and disposal of the product are not provided on the product itself but made available through other means, such as a website, these shall be publicly available when the product is placed on the market and must comply with the following requirements:
  • Obtainable via more than one sensory channel
  • Presented in an easy-to-understand manner
  • Delivered to users in a perceivable form
  • etc

2. Services:

• Ensures the accessibility of the products used in the provision of the service
• Provides information about the functioning of the service: making the information available via more than one sensory channel; presenting the information in an understandable way; making the information content available in text formats that can be used to generate alternative assistive formats to be presented in different ways by the users and via more than one sensory channel
• Websites, including related online applications, and mobile device-based services, including mobile applications, must be accessible in a consistent and adequate way by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust
• Support services, including help desks, call centers, technical support, relay services and training services (where applicable), must provide information on the accessibility of the service and its compatibility with assistive technologies, in accessible modes of communication

Testing standards

To meet the accessibility requirements of the Directive, the standard EN 301 549 is adopted for testing. The test cases are briefly described as follows:

• Clause 5: Generic requirements
• Clause 6: ICT supporting real-time bidirectional communication
• Clause 7: ICT with video capabilities
• Clause 8: Hardware
• Clause 9: Web
• Clause 10: Non-web documents
• Clause 11: Non-web software
• Clause 12: Information about products and services

We are committed to providing information about regulatory developments for consumer products as a complimentary service. Through our global network of experts and laboratories, we provide a wide range of services including physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing and consultancy work for technical and non-technical parameters applicable to a comprehensive range of consumer products.

For product categories, we provide accessibility testing for smartphones, smartwatches, POS machines, telephones, televisions, TV BOX, smart monitor, routers and more.

For service categories, we conduct accessibility testing for official websites, online malls, etc.

Our solutions include:

• Interpretation of EAA regulations, including official communication channels and product risk identification
• Test case training and rectification suggestions for failed items
• Provision of technical document templates, delivery of test reports and verification of conformity certification

Contact us to learn more, or visit our website. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested.