Does the EAA Apply to Non-EU Sellers? Yes

Q: We're B2B only. Do we still have to comply?

The EAA's service obligations target services 'provided to consumers'. Purely business-to-business services that are not offered to the general public are outside the services scope. However, if you are a manufacturer placing covered products on the EU market, the product obligations apply regardless of whether your direct customer is a business or a consumer — because the product is the one that needs to carry the CE mark and travel through the supply chain.

The scope rule in one paragraph

Directive (EU) 2019/882 — Article 2 (Scope)

Directive (EU) 2019/882 applies to any economic operator that places a covered product on the EU market, or that provides a covered service to consumers in the EU. The definition of "economic operator" includes manufacturers, importers, distributors and service providers. Location of headquarters is irrelevant. If the product or service reaches an EU consumer, the directive attaches. A Chinese factory, a US SaaS company, an Indian service provider and a Brazilian e-commerce brand are all in exactly the same position as a German or French company selling the same thing.

This applies to every country listed below — and every country not listed too. If the sale reaches an EU consumer, the obligation attaches:

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China

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United States

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India

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Brazil

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United Kingdom

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Canada

The micro-enterprise exemption and its traps

The directive exempts micro-enterprises that provide services, but only when the company meets two conditions simultaneously: fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet no greater than €2 million. Breaking either condition — 10 or more employees, or more than €2 million annual turnover — means you are not a micro-enterprise and you are obliged.

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The service exemption does not cover manufacturers

If you produce hardware covered by the EAA — consumer computing equipment, smartphones, tablets, e-readers, self-service terminals, payment terminals — you are obliged regardless of company size. The exemption is for service providers only.

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Your EU importer or distributor will ask for the file anyway

If you are in a supply chain, your EU importer or distributor will demand your technical documentation to meet their own obligations. Even a genuinely small manufacturer will have to produce the file on request.

This is the same machinery as CE marking

Every EU product directive in the last twenty years has followed the same shape: essential requirements, harmonised standard, conformity assessment, technical file, market surveillance. The European Accessibility Act uses exactly that framework. The harmonised standard is EN 301 549 V3.2.1, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Products in scope must carry the CE mark and be accompanied by a Declaration of Conformity. The conformity assessment is documented in the technical file, which market surveillance authorities can request at any time.

If you run CE compliance for another directive, none of this is unfamiliar. The only thing that changes is the technical annex.

What's in the 9-page PDF

EAA-Report generates a 9-page PDF following the European harmonised model of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523, adapted to the scope of Directive (EU) 2019/882:

Cover page

Global compliance score, country-specific enforcement data, unique verification reference.

Service owner identification, scope and evaluation method

Under the European harmonised model.

3–4

Compliance status by WCAG principle + criterion-by-criterion evaluation

All 17 WCAG 2.1 AA criteria with Yes / Partial / No / N/A.

5–6

Official W3C remediation guidance

Extracted from "Understanding WCAG 2.1" — real fixes your developers can implement today.

Non-accessible content declaration

Under Annex V, Directive 2019/882.

Feedback mechanism and enforcement procedure

Competent national authority, applicable national transposition law, exact fine range for your service country.

Legal basis

Directive (EU) 2019/882, the European harmonised model of Decision (EU) 2018/1523 (adapted to the scope of Directive 2019/882) and EN 301 549 V3.2.1.

Country-specific enforcement data for Germany (BFSG / MLBF / BFIT-Bund), Spain (Ley 11/2023), France (Loi n° 2023-171), Italy (Stanca Act + D.Lgs. 82/2022) and the Netherlands (Wet toegankelijkheid).

Enforcement is already live

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Vueling — Spain, sentence Feb 2024

€90,000

Fine upheld by the Audiencia Nacional Contentious-Administrative Chamber Section 8 in February 2024 (sanction originally imposed October 2020), plus a six-month ban on concurring in proceedings for the granting of official aid.

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Endesa — Spain, 2018

€30,001

Fine for accessibility failures on endesaclientes.com after a CERMI complaint. CENTAC and OADI technical reports confirmed failure to meet WCAG Level AA.

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Auchan, Carrefour, E. Leclerc, Picard Surgelés — France, November 2025

Pending

Four supermarket giants summoned before the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris on 12 November 2025 by ApiDV and Droit Pluriel. Prior formal notice 7 July 2025.

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FTC vs accessiBe — April 2025

$1,000,000

Civil penalty for deceptive claims about the accessWidget overlay. Final consent order 22 April 2025 (Docket C-4817). UsableNet documented 119 defendants with accessibility widgets sued in May 2025 alone. Overlays are not a legal defence in the US or in the EU.

"Free templates exist. Why pay €149?"

Free generators produce a one-paragraph marketing statement. They do not evaluate your service against the 17 WCAG 2.1 AA criteria, do not include country-specific enforcement data, and do not follow the European harmonised model of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523. EAA-Report does all of that. 9 pages, 15 minutes, €149 one-time. Yours to keep.

Alternative	Cost	What you actually get
Manual accessibility audit by a consultancy	€2,000 – €5,000	Thorough, but weeks of lead time
Annual SaaS compliance subscription	€500 – €2,000 / year	Recurring cost, often US-focused
Accessibility overlay (legally discredited)	€490 – €1,990 / year	Not a defence. FTC penalised accessiBe $1M.
EAA-Report	€149, one-time	9-page PDF, 15 minutes, European harmonised model adapted to Directive 2019/882, yours forever

Need multiple reports? One PDF per brand, per listing, per country.

Compliance managers often need 10, 20 or 30 reports at once — one per brand, one per ASIN family, or one per EU marketplace. We offer volume pricing on packs of 10 or more reports. Tell us how many you need and we'll send a pack quote within one business day.

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Frequently asked questions

Our company is in the United States. Isn't the EAA just an EU problem?

No. The EAA applies by market, not by company headquarters. If you sell products or digital services to consumers in the European Union, you are an economic operator under the directive and you are obliged — regardless of where your company is incorporated.

We're B2B only. Do we still have to comply?

The EAA's service obligations target services "provided to consumers". Purely business-to-business services not offered to the general public are outside the services scope. However, if you are a manufacturer placing covered products on the EU market, the product obligations apply regardless of whether your direct customer is a business or a consumer — because the product needs to carry the CE mark through the supply chain.

If I just stop shipping to the EU, does the problem go away?

Yes, for the future. If you exit the EU market entirely, the directive no longer attaches because there is no covered product or service reaching EU consumers. But walking away from a market that represents hundreds of billions in annual purchases from non-EU exporters is not usually the cheaper option.

Are there any countries inside Europe where the EAA doesn't apply?

The directive applies across all 27 EU member states. The UK post-Brexit is not directly covered by the directive, but the UK has its own accessibility rules. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (EEA) are generally affected by EU directives through the EEA Agreement, though the exact incorporation of the EAA into EEA law should be checked for each market.

Our factory has 25 employees but turnover is €1.5 million. Does the micro-enterprise exemption save us?

No. The micro-enterprise exemption requires both conditions at once: fewer than 10 employees and turnover/balance ≤€2 million. With 25 employees, you break the employee condition even if your turnover is small. Additionally, the service exemption does not apply to product manufacturers at all.

Is EAA-Report a certified third-party audit?

No. It is a structured self-assessment following the European harmonised model of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523, adapted to the scope of Directive (EU) 2019/882, generated from the data you provide under your own responsibility. It is not legal advice and not a third-party audit. It is the documented self-assessment European regulators expect every obliged economic operator to have on file and produce on request.

⚠️ Important notice: EAA-Report is a structured self-assessment tool, not legal advice and not an overlay. All enforcement cases cited are sourced from identified public documentation.

Does the European Accessibility Act Apply to Non-EU Sellers? Short Answer: Yes. Long Answer: Here's Why, and What to File.