Does the EAA apply to US companies?

Yes. The EAA applies to any company that sells products or services to EU consumers, regardless of where the company is headquartered. If you run a US e-commerce store, SaaS platform, or digital service that EU customers can access and purchase from, you are subject to EAA obligations — just as an EU-based company would be.

What is the EAA compliance deadline?

For services that existed before June 28, 2025: you have until June 28, 2030 to comply (the transition period). However, any new features, redesigns, or updates deployed after June 28, 2025 must comply immediately. For services that launched after June 28, 2025: compliance is required now.

What technical standard does the EAA require?

The EAA references EN 301 549, the European harmonized accessibility standard, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA as its web accessibility requirements. In practice: if your website meets WCAG 2.1 AA, you meet the EAA's technical requirements. ADAGuard tests against WCAG 2.2 AA, which is a superset of the required 2.1 AA standard.

EAA vs ADA: does complying with one satisfy the other?

Almost entirely, yes. The ADA (de facto standard: WCAG 2.1 AA) and EAA (required standard: WCAG 2.1 AA via EN 301 549) use the same technical benchmark. A site that genuinely meets WCAG 2.1 AA satisfies both. The EAA additionally requires a published accessibility statement and feedback mechanism — documentation requirements beyond the technical standard.

What is an accessibility statement and do I need one?

The EAA explicitly requires organizations to publish an accessibility statement on their website. It must describe which accessibility standards the service meets, explain any areas that do not yet comply and the timeline for addressing them, and provide contact details for users to report accessibility issues. This is a distinct documentation requirement, separate from the technical WCAG compliance work.

EAA Compliance Guide

Is your website
EAA compliant?

Full EAA guidelines: the European Accessibility Act took effect June 28, 2025, and applies to any business selling to EU consumers — including US e-commerce and SaaS companies. WCAG 2.1 AA is the required standard.

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Compliance Score

example.com

Passing

85/100

Critical issues2

Warnings5

Passed checks47

View full report

WCAG 2.2 AA

4,800+ADA lawsuits filed in 2025 (UsableNet)

$35KAverage ADA lawsuit settlement

June 2025EAA took full effect

78%WCAG issues detected automatically

Overview

What is the European Accessibility Act?

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) — Directive 2019/882 — is the EU's landmark accessibility law for digital products and services. It covers e-commerce, banking, audiovisual media, transport booking, and telecommunications. Crucially, it applies to any business serving EU consumers, regardless of where the company is headquartered. A US Shopify store with European customers, a UK SaaS company with German users, or an Australian app available in France — all must comply. The technical requirement is WCAG 2.1 Level AA, via the harmonized European standard EN 301 549.

Technical standard

WCAG 2.1 Level AA

Scope

Any organization covered by the EAA

Enforcement

Complaints, member-state authorities

ADAGuard covers

WCAG 2.2 AA — 23 check categories

Scope

Who does the EAA apply to?

If your organization matches any category below, you are legally required to comply.

E-commerce websites (any country, EU customers)

Full WCAG 2.1 AA — effective June 28, 2025 for new services

Banking and financial services

Full WCAG 2.1 AA — effective June 28, 2025

Audiovisual media services (streaming)

WCAG 2.1 AA for player UI and on-demand content interfaces

Transport booking services

WCAG 2.1 AA for websites and apps

Telecommunications services

WCAG 2.1 AA for consumer-facing digital interfaces

Ebooks and reading software

WCAG 2.1 AA and accessibility metadata required

Microenterprises (under 10 employees, under €2M turnover)

Exempt from service obligations (not product manufacturing)

Existing services (launched before June 28, 2025)

Must comply by June 28, 2030 — transition period

Technical checklist

What does EAA compliance require?

These are the specific technical obligations your website must meet. ADAGuard automatically checks most of these on every scan.

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WCAG 2.1 Level AA — all 50 A and AA success criteria (EN 301 549)

Alternative text for all non-text content (1.1.1)

Captions for all prerecorded video content (1.2.2)

Color contrast 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text (1.4.3)

Full keyboard accessibility for all functionality (2.1.1)

Accessible authentication — no cognitive puzzles required to log in (WCAG 2.2 / EAA requirement)

Published accessibility statement on your website describing compliance status

Feedback mechanism for users to report accessibility problems

Compliance documentation maintained and available to national authorities on request

New features and redesigns deployed after June 28, 2025 must comply immediately

Risk

The cost of
non-compliance

The EAA (Article 30) does not set a single EU-wide fine — it delegates penalty rules entirely to each of the 27 member states, and the range is large. Enforcement is complaint-driven — disability organizations and individuals can file complaints.

Netherlands: up to €900,000 or 10% of annual turnover — the highest flat cap in the EU

Italy: up to 5% of annual revenue for large companies

Spain: up to €1,000,000 for very serious violations

Ireland: fines plus up to 18 months imprisonment — the only EU member state with criminal liability for violations

SMEs generally face lower fines than large companies, but exact thresholds vary by country

US companies are not exempt — any company with EU customers is subject to EAA enforcement

Your path to compliance

How to become EAA compliant

Run your free scan

Paste your URL and run a free WCAG 2.2 AA scan. ADAGuard checks 23 categories of EAA requirements in under 60 seconds.

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Review violations

Get a prioritized list of every violation with the failing element, the WCAG criterion, and before/after code examples to fix it.

Fix & document

Fix violations with your dev team, re-scan to verify, and download a dated audit report as evidence of your compliance effort.

Why ADAGuard

Everything you need for EAA compliance

One platform to scan, fix, document, and monitor your accessibility compliance.

WCAG 2.2 AA scanning

23 check categories. Real browser rendering. Not a simulated or partial test.

Element-level guidance

Every issue includes the failing HTML, the WCAG criterion, and a before/after code fix.

Compliance reports

Dated PDF audit reports to show regulators, clients, or your legal team.

Continuous monitoring

Scheduled rescans alert you when new issues appear after deploys or content updates.

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FAQ

Common questions about EAA compliance

Sources & primary references

The legal and standards claims on this page are drawn from the primary sources below. Enforcement details vary by jurisdiction — consult qualified counsel for advice specific to your situation.

Don't wait for a lawsuit.
Find out where you stand today.

Scan your site free. Get a full EAA violation report in 60 seconds — with WCAG criterion, failing element, and how to fix it.

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Is your websiteEAA compliant?