European Accessibility Act: a guide

Short answer: The European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882/EU) became applicable on 28 June 2025, requiring businesses that place products on the market or provide digital services to meet concrete accessibility requirements. Companies with more than 10 employees or an annual turnover above €2 million are covered; microenterprises are exempt (Article 4(5)). The applicable standard for digital services is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Scope: which products and services

Directive 2019/882/EU (Article 2) covers a broad range of products and services. Products include computers and operating systems, self-service terminals (ATMs, ticketing machines, check-in terminals), smartphones and telecommunication equipment, television equipment for digital television services, and e-readers. Services include telephony services, audiovisual media services, passenger transport (air, bus, rail, water), consumer banking, e-commerce, e-books, and the emergency call service (112). Content published before 28 June 2025 that has not been updated since is exempt.

Obligations and standards

Manufacturers must design products in accordance with the requirements of Annex I, affix CE marking, and retain technical documentation for five years (Article 4). Service providers must deliver accessible information about their services and demonstrably comply with the requirements. For digital services, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the applicable standard; the ACM has noted that in the course of 2026, WCAG 2.2 Level AA will become the new norm.

Dutch enforcement

The Netherlands transposed the directive through, among other legislation, the Warenwetbesluit toegankelijkheidsvoorschriften 2024. Supervision is divided among several authorities:

• ACM (Authority for Consumers and Markets) – e-commerce and electronic communications services
• AFM (Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets) – consumer banking and financial e-commerce services
• CvdM (Dutch Media Authority) – e-books and audiovisual media services
• RDI (Inspectorate for Digital Infrastructure) – digital products generally
• ILT (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate) – passenger transport

Citizens can report non-compliant products or services via a decision tree on rijksoverheid.nl or by calling 1400.

Transition periods

New products and services brought to market after 28 June 2025 must comply immediately. For existing service contracts concluded before that date, a maximum transition period of five years applies (no later than 28 June 2030). Self-service terminals may benefit from a transition period of up to 20 years.