UK business with EU customers? The European Accessibility Act comes into force from 28 June 2025 – how to ensure you are compliant
Digital platforms are increasingly integral to daily life, resulting in accessibility no longer being optional but a legal, ethical and commercial necessity. The European Accessibility Act (EAA), which comes into force on 28 June 2025, represents a significant regulatory shift across the EU, making accessibility a binding legal obligation for businesses offering certain products and services to consumers in the EU.
This guide provides an overview of the EAA, key compliance deadlines and the steps your organisation needs to take to be compliant.
What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?
The European Accessibility Act seeks to harmonise accessibility regulations across the EU.
It requires businesses to ensure certain products and services are accessible to people with visual, auditory, cognitive and motor impairments, in order to eliminate barriers for users and promote greater social inclusion.
Product and service types impacted by the legislation include:
- Websites and mobile apps
- E-commerce platforms
- Online banking
- Ticketing and booking systems; and
- Self-service terminals, including ATMs.
Which UK businesses must comply with the EAA?
The EAA has extraterritorial reach: non-EU organisations, such as UK owned entities, must comply if their products or services are accessible to consumers within the EU. These include:
- Software as a Service (SaaS) providers
- Online marketplaces and retail platforms
- Fintech and banking applications
- Event ticketing systems; and
- Web and mobile applications.
If your service targets, serves, or is accessible to EU users, the EAA likely applies to your business.
Key compliance deadlines for the EAA
There are two key deadlines to be aware of:
- New digital products and services must meet accessibility standards (e.g., Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2).
- Pre-existing services and contracts in effect before 28 June 2025 must also comply. However, there is a five-year transitional period to complete this.
This transitional period applies to:
- Services already on the market before 28 June 2025, or
- Services governed by contracts signed before that date.
After 28 June 2030, all services must be fully compliant.
What is the role of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an internationally recognised set of standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to improve digital content accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
Although the EAA does not mandate a specific technical framework, it aligns with the same core principles which underpin WCAG: perceivability, operability, understandability, and robustness.
As a result, many organisations use WCAG to demonstrate conformance with the EAA.
How can your business prepare to ensure it complies with the EAA?
If you are a UK business which is impacted by this incoming EAA legislation, there are a number of steps you can take now in order to prepare for compliance and to minimise risk
- Conduct a comprehensive audit
Identify which services are accessed by EU users and assess their current level of accessibility against WCAG 2.2 standards.
- Review existing contracts
Determine whether current offerings fall within the 2030 transitional period based on launch dates or contractual terms.
- Implement an accessibility roadmap
Begin aligning your digital offerings with WCAG 2.2, ensuring sufficient time for updates, testing, and deployment.
- Launch new services with accessibility built-in
New services launched after 28 June 2025 must be compliant from the outset. Embed accessibility into your design and development lifecycles.
What are the consequences of non-compliance with the EAA?
Failure to comply with the EAA may lead to enforcement action by national authorities which could include:
- Administrative penalties or fines
- Mandatory corrective measures
- Withdrawal of non-compliant products or services from the market.
Beyond these regulatory consequences, non-compliance also has the potential to damage your brand reputation and limit eligibility for public sector contracts across the EU.
How Hamlins can help
The EAA comes into force from 28 June 2025. Prioritising accessibility is now a legal obligation as well as a strategic opportunity. Forward-thinking organisations that prioritise accessibility benefit from enhanced user experience, broader market reach, and stronger digital resilience.
We support clients across multiple industries, sharing commercial and regulatory expertise and advising on how businesses can maintain compliance amidst changing regulation. If you would like a conversation about how we can help you navigate these changes impacting your business, please get in touch.