European Accessibility Act (EAA) for US small businesses: does it apply and what to check

Plain-English guide to the European Accessibility Act for US small businesses that sell online to EU customers: what it covers, the microenterprise exemption, how WCAG fits, and what to check on your store. Not legal advice.

If you're a US small business and some of your customers are in the European Union, you may have heard about the European Accessibility Act (EAA). This page explains, in plain words, what it is, when it may matter to a small US business, and what to check on your site. It is general information, not legal advice. Whether the EAA applies to you depends on what you sell, to whom, and how big your business is, so ask a lawyer who knows EU law if it might.

What the EAA is

The EAA is an EU law, Directive (EU) 2019/882, that sets common accessibility requirements for certain products and services sold to consumers in the EU. EU countries had to put it into their own national laws, and its requirements have applied since 28 June 2025. The European Commission's EAA overview lists what it covers, including e-commerce, banking services, e-books, passenger transport services, computers and smartphones.

When it might matter to a US small business

You sell online to consumers in the EU. An online store that ships to EU customers or sells them digital products is the most common case. Each EU country enforces its own version of the law.
Very small service businesses may be exempt. The directive exempts microenterprises that provide services, defined as fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than EUR 2 million. Check this with a lawyer for your situation rather than assuming.
A US-only local business (a dentist, a plumber, a restaurant) that doesn't sell to EU consumers is usually not the EAA's target. US rules such as the ADA are the ones to think about; see does my small business website need to be accessible?

What "accessible" means in practice

The EAA describes accessibility in general terms. In practice, the European standard used for websites and apps is EN 301 549, and its web requirements are based on the W3C's WCAG success criteria (level AA). The W3C keeps a summary of EU accessibility policies. So the same work that helps US customers with disabilities is the work that matters here: see WCAG 2.2 explained.

What to check first on a store that sells to the EU

The buying path. Product page, cart, checkout, payment and confirmation should all work with a keyboard, have labelled fields and clear text error messages. See accessible online checkout.
Product information. Sizes, prices, options and stock status should be in real text, not only in images or colours. Product photos need useful alt text; see alt text examples.
Account and login. Let people paste passwords and use password managers, and offer a CAPTCHA alternative. See login and CAPTCHA accessibility.
Pop-ups and cookie banners. Common on EU-facing sites, and often a keyboard trap. See cookie banners, pop-ups and chat widgets.
Contrast, zoom and mobile. Text must stay readable at 200% zoom and on a phone. See mobile zoom and tap targets.
Third-party pieces. Your store platform, payment provider and review widgets are the vendor's code. Ask each one for their accessibility conformance report (a VPAT) and how they address the EAA.

Accessibility information

The EAA expects service providers to give information about how their service meets the accessibility requirements. For a small store, a factual accessibility statement is a sensible place to describe what you've done, known limits and how customers can report a barrier. Only say what is true and current. See our accessibility statement template, and have a lawyer check any wording you publish for the EU.

Don't rely on an overlay widget

Overlay toolbars are marketed as a one-line fix for new laws like the EAA. They don't fix the underlying code, and in 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission fined overlay maker accessiBe $1 million over claims that its tool could make any website compliant. See overlays vs real fixes.

Common mistakes

Assuming a US business can't be affected by an EU law when it sells to EU consumers.
Assuming it applies to every US site, including ones that don't sell to the EU.
Checking only the homepage and not the checkout.
Publishing a statement that says the site is "fully accessible" or "EAA compliant" without evidence.
Installing an overlay and stopping there.

Where the Fix-Pack fits

Our $149 Fix-Pack scans up to 10 pages you choose (for a store: home, a product page, cart, checkout and account pages), ranks every issue the automated scan finds against WCAG, and gives copy-paste fixes for your platform within 48 hours, with one re-scan. Automated scans find only part of the barriers, and the report doesn't certify conformance with the EAA, EN 301 549, the ADA or any law. For a large or complex store, ask about a manual audit too. Start with the free homepage snapshot to see what it finds.

This is general information, not legal advice, and it doesn't certify compliance with the EAA, the ADA or any law, or protect against claims.

Related guides

All guides

This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.

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14-day refund promise. See a sample report first. A technical report, not legal advice; automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.