The European Accessibility Act explained simply

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) was adopted by the EU in 2019. It is a directive that sets minimum requirements for digital accessibility. Each EU member state must transpose this directive into national law. In Germany, for example, this has been done through the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG).

The goal of the EAA is to strengthen digital accessibility for consumers. It applies to companies that do business with end customers (B2C) and covers all digital services and products, such as:

• Online shops
• Invoices
• Online banking
• Reservation systems
• User manuals

Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of under €2 million are exempt. But for everyone else: from 28 June 2025, products and services offered after this date must meet the requirements of the EN 301 549 standard.

The requirements of the act are based on the technical standard EN 301 549, which was developed specifically for accessible information and communication technologies. Some of the most important points, which will likely remind you of the WCAG guidelines, include:

1. Perceivable
2. Operable
3. Undestandable
4. Robust

Additional requirements:

• A publicly accessible accessibility statement
• A feedback mechanism for reporting barriers and submitting suggestions for improvement
• Regular audits to ensure ongoing compliance with the standard

Your company is affected by the EAA and you're not sure how best to proceed?

The first step is to get an overview of which digital products and services you offer that will need to be made accessible in the future. This might seem like a mountain at first, but with the right expertise and tools, making your digital offerings accessible is very achievable.

We at axes4 are happy to help you with your digital PDF documents:

• Our free PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) lets you check your documents for accessibility quickly and easily.
• Our blog and newsletter offer a wealth of expertise — for beginners and experts alike.
• In our free online seminars, we show you how to create accessible PDFs simply and efficiently going forward.
• axesService makes your existing PDFs accessible retroactively — without any extra effort on your part.

The following tools help you create accessible documents easily and quickly. Free demo versions of all software are available on our website:

• axesWord: Convert your Word documents into accessible PDFs in just a few clicks.
• axesPDF: Find barriers in your PDF files and fix them effortlessly — often in seconds.
• axesSlide: Convert your PowerPoint slides into accessible PDFs in just a few clicks, in line with international standards.