The European Accessibility Act (EAA), which takes effect across the European Union on June 28, is positioned to harmonize accessibility requirements and remove digital barriers for people with disabilities. It covers a wide range of products and services — from e-commerce platforms and mobile apps to e-books and audiovisual content — ensuring equal access for millions of consumers.
For businesses, this legislation presents both a legal obligation and a strategic opportunity. While compliance may require investment and effort, it also opens doors to greater market reach, improved user experiences and stronger brand trust.
Verbit is here to help. With industry-leading solutions for captioning, transcription, audio description and more, Verbit enables companies to meet the EAA’s digital content standards with confidence. Below is a checklist that outlines some of the steps that businesses can take to align with the EAA and make their products and services more inclusive.
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Understand the EAA’s scope
It’s important to determine whether the EAA applies to your business and which products or services are affected.
- Identify whether your products or services are covered by the EAA (e-commerce platforms, ATMs, mobile apps, e-books, etc.).
- Determine if you’re a microenterprise (fewer than 10 employees with less than €2M in turnover). If so, you may be exempt from some EAA obligations, however, voluntary compliance is encouraged, especially if you plan to serve customers with disabilities or expand across the EU.
Assess and adapt your products and services
Conducting a gap analysis is an important step in identifying where accessibility barriers exist and how to address them.
- Perform an accessibility audit. Use internal assessments or third-party accessibility experts to evaluate your websites and web applications, mobile apps, self-service ATMs or kiosks and customer-facing platforms and portals.
- Redesign digital interfaces and content. Ensure compliance with relevant standards, including EN 301 549 and WCAG, and make sure digital devices allow for such things as screen-reader compatibility, color contrast, keyboard navigation, text alternatives and resizable text.
- Ensure compatibility across formats. Provide content in multiple formats, including captions for videos, transcripts for audio, audio descriptions for visual content and accessible PDFs and forms.
Prepare and maintain documents
Put everything in writing! Proper documentation helps demonstrate compliance and provides a legal safety net. Keep detailed records of accessibility audits and their results, any remedial steps you’ve taken to improve access and internal policies or justifications for exempted services. It’s also a good idea to prep a formal statement confirming your products and services adhere to EAA standards in the event regulatory authorities or customers want proof of compliance.
Monitor legal and regulatory requirements
The EAA sets EU-wide minimum standards, but individual member states may expand or interpret the law differently.
- Track national legislation and timelines. Regulations may vary by scope, enforcement methods or penalties depending on the country. Some may offer grace periods or additional guidance.
- Consult local resources. Refer to tools, checklists or certifications provided by national accessibility agencies, chambers of commerce or industry organizations to keep current with the latest developments and recommendations.
Train your teams
Accessibility is a group effort, requiring buy-in and engagement from product, leadership and customer support teams. It’s important to educate departments and staff on accessible design and development standards, legal obligations and inclusive customer support practices. It’s also important to choose an accessibility coordinator (or team) that can promote accessibility across departments, monitor progress and meet with external partners or auditors.
Establish feedback and support channels
Accessible services must also include accessible ways for users to ask questions, get help or submit concerns. Enterprises should offer customer support via multiple channels (chat, phone, email), ensure those channels are compatible with assistive technologies and apply any user feedback to ongoing improvements.
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Read our free guide to understand what’s at stake and how businesses can prepare.
