---
title: "European Accessibility Act I: products and services caught,…"
description: "Which products and services Directive (EU) 2019/882 covers since 28 June 2025, what each economic operator has to do, and how the microenterprise exemption,…"
url: https://pitch.law/academy/european-accessibility-act-scope-and-exemptions
---

[pitch](https://pitch.law/) [Academy](https://pitch.law/academy) [Commercial](https://pitch.law/academy/topics/commercial)

# European Accessibility Act I: products and services caught, and the exemptions

Which products and services Directive (EU) 2019/882 covers since 28 June 2025, what each economic operator has to do, and how the microenterprise exemption, the disproportionate burden test and the transitional periods work.

- - By [Bart Lieben](https://pitch.law/team/bart-lieben), Attorney-at-Law
  - 13 November 2026

- Updated

  13-11-2026

## The legal framework

The European Accessibility Act is [Directive (EU) 2019/882](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882) of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services. It entered into force on 27 June 2019. Member States had to adopt their national rules by 28 June 2022 and must [apply them from 28 June 2025](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_31) (Article 31(1) and (2)). Only the rules on answering emergency calls to 112 may start later, at the latest on 28 June 2027 (Article 31(3)).

As a directive, it works through national law. This first article covers who is caught and the exemptions; the [second](https://pitch.law/academy/european-accessibility-act-websites-apps-e-commerce) covers websites, apps and e-commerce.

### Belgium: no single act

Belgium did not transpose the Act in one law. The Commission's index of [national transposition measures](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/NIM/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882) lists 22 Belgian measures, federal, regional and community. On the federal side it lists two laws of 2023 (published on 29 September 2023), three royal decrees (published on 25 October 2023) and the law of 8 May 2024 on the accessibility of transport, all in force from 28 June 2025. A measure of the FPS Economy was notified as a partial transposition and is in force since 1 March 2024. So check the federal and regional laws and decrees together, depending on the product or service.

### Products in scope (Article 2(1))

The Act applies to the following [products placed on the market after 28 June 2025](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_2):

- consumer general purpose computer hardware systems and their operating systems, which Article 3(39) says include desktops, notebooks, smartphones and tablets;
- payment terminals, and self-service terminals dedicated to services covered by the Act: ATMs, ticketing machines, check-in machines and interactive terminals that provide information (except those built into vehicles, aircraft, ships or rolling stock);
- consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability used for electronic communications services;
- consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability used for accessing audiovisual media services;
- e-readers.

### Services in scope (Article 2(2))

The Act applies to the following services provided to consumers after 28 June 2025, subject to the transitional rules of Article 32:

- electronic communications services, except transmission services for machine-to-machine services;
- services providing access to audiovisual media services, which Article 3(6) says includes electronic programme guides;
- for air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport: websites, mobile apps, electronic tickets and ticketing services, transport information including real-time travel information, and interactive self-service terminals in the Union (for urban, suburban and regional transport only the terminals);
- consumer banking services, defined in Article 3(28) as consumer credit and mortgage credit, certain investment services, payment services, services linked to a payment account and electronic money;
- e-books and dedicated software;
- e-commerce services.

[Article 3(30)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_3) defines e-commerce services as "services provided at a distance, through websites and mobile device-based services by electronic means and at the individual request of a consumer with a view to concluding a consumer contract". That is not limited to retail.

Article 2(4) excludes some website and app content, such as pre-recorded media and office files published before 28 June 2025, third-party content the operator does not fund or control, and archives not updated after that date.

### Who has duties

The Act speaks of _economic operators_: the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer, the distributor and the service provider (Article 3(21)).

- **Manufacturers ([Article 7](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_7)).** Design and make the product in line with the accessibility requirements, draw up the technical documentation and carry out the conformity assessment of Annex IV, draw up the EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking, keep the documents for five years, take corrective action and inform the authorities when a product does not comply, and keep a register of non-compliant products and related complaints.
- **Importers ([Article 9](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_9)).** Place only compliant products on the market, check the conformity assessment, the CE marking and the documents, put their own contact details on the product, and keep the declaration for five years.
- **Distributors ([Article 10](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_10)).** Act with due care, check the CE marking and the instructions in a language consumers understand, and do not make a product available if they believe it does not comply.
- **Own brand or modification (Article 11).** An importer or distributor that sells a product under its own name or trade mark, or modifies it in a way that may affect compliance, is treated as the manufacturer.
- **Service providers ([Article 13](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_13)).** Design and provide the service in line with the requirements, prepare the information described in Annex V and explain how the service meets the requirements publicly and accessibly, keep the service compliant over time, and take corrective action and inform the authorities in case of non-compliance.

The requirements themselves are in [Article 4](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_4) and Annex I. All products must meet Section I. All products except self-service terminals must also meet Section II. Services meet Section III (general requirements, except urban, suburban and regional transport) and Section IV (additional requirements for specific services).

### The microenterprise exemption

A microenterprise employs fewer than 10 persons and has an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2 million (Article 3(23)). Under [Article 4(5)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_4), microenterprises _providing services_ are exempt from the service requirements and the related obligations.

The exemption covers services only. A microenterprise that manufactures, imports or distributes a product in scope is not exempt from the product requirements. It only gets lighter paperwork: under Article 14(4) it does not have to document its disproportionate burden assessment, though it must give the facts to the authority on request, and under Article 14(8) it does not have to notify the authority that it relies on the exception. Member States must provide guidelines and tools for microenterprises (Article 4(6)).

### Fundamental alteration and disproportionate burden

[Article 14](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_14) limits the requirements. They apply only to the extent that compliance does not require a significant change resulting in a fundamental alteration of the basic nature of the product or service, and does not impose a disproportionate burden on the operator.

The operator must carry out an assessment (Article 14(2)). For the burden test it uses the criteria of [Annex VI](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#anx_VI): the ratio of the net costs of compliance to the overall costs of making, distributing, importing or providing; the estimated costs and benefits for the operator compared with the estimated benefit for persons with disabilities, taking account of how often and how much the product or service is used; and the ratio of the net costs to the operator's net turnover. Annex VI lists one-off and ongoing cost elements to count.

Then the conditions:

- The assessment must be documented and kept for five years after the product was last made available or the service last provided, and handed over on request (Article 14(3)).
- A service provider relying on the burden test must renew the assessment per category or type of service when the service changes, when the authority asks, and at least every five years (Article 14(5)).
- An operator that receives outside funding, public or private, to improve accessibility cannot rely on the burden test (Article 14(6)).
- An operator relying on Article 14 for a specific product or service must inform the market surveillance authority or the authority that checks services in the Member State concerned (Article 14(8)), except microenterprises.
- For products, the EU declaration of conformity must state which requirements are subject to the exception (Article 16(1)).

### Transitional periods (Article 32)

[Article 32](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882#art_32) gives service providers time in three ways. Member States must provide a transitional period until 28 June 2030 during which service providers may keep providing services with products they lawfully used for similar services before that date. Service contracts agreed before 28 June 2025 may continue unchanged until they expire, but no longer than five years from that date. And Member States may allow self-service terminals lawfully used before 28 June 2025 to stay in use until the end of their economically useful life, but no longer than 20 years after they entered into use.

The transitional period protects the _products_ used to provide a service, not new versions of the service itself.

### Enforcement

Authorities check services (Article 23) and products (Article 19). Consumers and organisations with a legitimate interest can go to court or to an administrative body (Article 29). Penalties are national and take into account the seriousness, the number of non-compliant units and the number of persons affected (Article 30).

## In practice

**A webshop with eight staff.** A Belgian online shop selling furniture has eight employees and a turnover of EUR 1.5 million. It provides an e-commerce service, but it is a microenterprise, so Article 4(5) exempts it from the service requirements.

**An importer of payment terminals.** A company imports card terminals from outside the EU for Belgian shops. As importer it must check the conformity assessment, the CE marking and the documents before placing them on the market, add its own contact details, and keep the declaration for five years. There is no product exemption for microenterprises.

**A distributor that rebrands.** A distributor sells e-readers under its own brand. Under Article 11 it becomes the manufacturer, with every duty of Article 7. Its contract with the factory must then secure the technical documentation. See [manufacturing and supply agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/manufacturing-supply-agreements) and [distribution and reseller agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/distribution-reseller-agreements).

### Contracts and practical steps

- **Map your offer** against Article 2, with your role for each item.
- **Check the microenterprise test** against the headcount and financial thresholds of Article 3(23), and remember it only helps for services.
- **Allocate duties in supply chains.** Supply and distribution contracts should say who supplies the technical documentation and declaration of conformity, who keeps them for five years, who handles corrective action and notifications, and what happens if a distributor rebrands.
- **Update terms and conditions.** Service providers must include the Annex V information in their general terms and conditions or an equivalent document.
- **Document any Article 14 reliance.** Write the assessment against Annex VI, keep it five years, diarise the five-year renewal for services, and notify the authority.

## Frequently asked questions

### We only sell to businesses. Does the Act apply?

The service list in Article 2(2) covers services provided to consumers, and e-commerce services are defined by reference to a consumer contract. A purely business-to-business service is outside that list. Products are different: several items on the product list are consumer equipment, but payment terminals and the listed self-service terminals are covered without that qualifier.

### Can a small company simply claim a disproportionate burden?

Not simply. It needs an assessment against the Annex VI criteria, documented and kept for five years, and it must notify the authority. Outside funding for accessibility rules it out.

### Where do we find the Belgian rules?

There is no single Belgian act. The EUR-Lex [national transposition page](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/NIM/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882) lists the federal and regional laws, royal decrees and decrees. Which one applies depends on the product or service.

## How this connects

The practical side, for websites, apps and online shops, is in [European Accessibility Act II](https://pitch.law/academy/european-accessibility-act-websites-apps-e-commerce). Accessibility duties also run through your supply chain, so they belong in [manufacturing and supply agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/manufacturing-supply-agreements) and [distribution and reseller agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/distribution-reseller-agreements). We review and draft those as part of [commercial contracts and transactions](https://pitch.law/solutions/commercial-contracts-transactions). [Contract Review](https://pitch.law/technologies/clause-library-risk-review) checks your terms, and the [rights and obligations register](https://pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations) tracks the documentation and reassessment deadlines.

> **Cited provisions.** Directive (EU) 2019/882: Article 2 (scope), Article 3 (definitions), Article 4 (accessibility requirements, microenterprises), Articles 7 to 13 (duties of economic operators), Article 14 and Annex VI (fundamental alteration and disproportionate burden), Article 16 (declaration of conformity), Articles 19, 23, 29 and 30 (enforcement and penalties), Article 31 (transposition), Article 32 (transitional measures), Annex I (requirements), Annex V (information on services).
>
> **Key dates.** 27 June 2019: entry into force. 28 June 2022: transposition deadline. 28 June 2025: national rules apply. 28 June 2030: end of the transitional period for products used in services and for older service contracts. Up to 20 years after entry into use: older self-service terminals, where national law allows.
>
> **Further reading.** [European Accessibility Act II: websites, apps and e-commerce](https://pitch.law/academy/european-accessibility-act-websites-apps-e-commerce) · [Manufacturing and supply agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/manufacturing-supply-agreements) · [Distribution and reseller agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/distribution-reseller-agreements)

## In short

- The products and services in scope, from the text of Article 2
- The duties of manufacturers, importers, distributors and service providers
- The microenterprise exemption and what it does not cover
- The disproportionate burden assessment under Article 14 and Annex VI
- Transitional periods until 2030 and beyond for terminals

## Related solutions

- [Solutions](https://pitch.law/solutions/commercial-contracts-transactions)
  ### [Commercial Contracts & Transactions](https://pitch.law/solutions/commercial-contracts-transactions)
  [Supply, distribution, services, SaaS and procurement contracts, and the deals around them, drafted and reviewed with the IP, data and tax angles in view.](https://pitch.law/solutions/commercial-contracts-transactions)

## Our proprietary Legal Tech

- [Technology](https://pitch.law/technologies/clause-library-risk-review)
  ### [Contract Review](https://pitch.law/technologies/clause-library-risk-review)
  [Send us the contract the other side drafted and we check it clause by clause against our playbook, with a risk ranking an attorney has verified.](https://pitch.law/technologies/clause-library-risk-review)
- [Technology](https://pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations)
  ### [Contract Management: Rights and Obligations](https://pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations)
  [Once a contract is final, we pull out each party's duties and rights with the clause they come from, have a person confirm them, and follow them with reminders.](https://pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations)

## More in Commercial

- ### [Commercial Contracts: a Map](https://pitch.law/academy/commercial-contracts-overview)
  [The main families of commercial contract, the EU and national rules that frame them, and where risk and value tend to sit.](https://pitch.law/academy/commercial-contracts-overview)
- ### [The Digital Fairness Act in depth: dark patterns, influencers, subscriptions](https://pitch.law/academy/digital-fairness-act-in-depth)
  [A close reading of the Commission's Digital Fairness Act proposal of 11 November 2026 on interface design, influencer marketing and online subscriptions, set against the consumer rules that apply today.](https://pitch.law/academy/digital-fairness-act-in-depth)
- ### [Distribution and Reseller Agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/distribution-reseller-agreements)
  [How to structure distribution and reseller agreements in the EU: exclusivity, termination protection, online sales, and the brand provisions that keep control.](https://pitch.law/academy/distribution-reseller-agreements)
- ### [The DMA for business users](https://pitch.law/academy/dma-for-business-users)
  [What you can ask of a designated gatekeeper under Articles 5 to 7 of the Digital Markets Act when you sell, advertise or build apps through its platform, and how to raise a problem.](https://pitch.law/academy/dma-for-business-users)
- ### [Influencers and the Law](https://pitch.law/academy/influencers-and-the-law)
  [The EU rules on influencer marketing today, what the proposed Digital Fairness Act would add, and the clauses every influencer agreement needs.](https://pitch.law/academy/influencers-and-the-law)
- ### [Licensing Agreements](https://pitch.law/academy/licensing-agreements)
  [How to structure an IP licence: scope, royalties, improvements, quality control, termination, and the EU rules that frame it.](https://pitch.law/academy/licensing-agreements)

## Let’s talk

Tell us what you’re working on. We’ll get the right person on it and reply within one business day. The first chat is free.

[Schedule a meeting](https://pitch.law/schedule)