EAA small business exemption
Small is a legal term.
Count before you relax.
The European Accessibility Act’s small business exemption is narrower than it sounds: it covers microenterprises, meaning fewer than 10 people and no more than €2 million in turnover or balance sheet, and only for the services they provide. If you sell online to consumers in the EU with 10 or more staff, count a parent company’s staff, or make, import or sell covered products such as e-readers, the Act likely applies to you, wherever you are based. Here is the test, article by article, and a checker that runs it for you.
By the Builderify team
Does the EAA apply to me?
Start with what is on its list.
The Act does not cover every business. It covers six kinds of service provided to consumers after 28 June 2025, and five kinds of product placed on the EU market after that date (Article 2). For most small businesses, the entry that matters is the first one below.
| Service, provided to consumers | What it means in practice | Where |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce services Catches most small businesses | Selling to consumers at a distance through a website or app, “with a view to concluding a consumer contract”. Recital 43 says it applies to “the online sale of any product or service”, so a candle shop counts as much as a tech store. | Art. 2(2)(f), 3(30) |
| Consumer banking services | Consumer credit and mortgages, payment services, payment accounts, electronic money and some investment services. | Art. 2(2)(d), 3(28) |
| E-books and dedicated software | Selling e-book files, and the apps used to read and navigate them. | Art. 2(2)(e), 3(41) |
| Electronic communications services | Phone, messaging and internet access services, except transmission for machine-to-machine services. | Art. 2(2)(a) |
| Access to audiovisual media services | Websites, apps and programme guides used to find and watch TV and video services. | Art. 2(2)(b), 3(6) |
| Air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport | Websites, apps, e-tickets, travel information and kiosks. Urban, suburban and regional transport is covered for its self-service terminals only. | Art. 2(2)(c) |
- (a) Consumer computers, phones, tablets and their operating systems
- (b) Payment terminals, ATMs, ticketing, check-in and information kiosks
- (c) Consumer devices for electronic communications
- (d) Consumer devices for watching audiovisual media
- (e) E-readers
Being outside the EU does not take you out
The Act defines a service provider as anyone who “provides a service on the Union market or makes offers to provide such a service to consumers in the Union” Art. 3(4). A US or UK webshop that sells to shoppers in France is a service provider in France. Products from outside the EU reach the market through an EU-based importer, who carries the importer’s duties Art. 3(19), 9.
The service rules are for consumers
Article 2(2) covers services “provided to consumers”, and a consumer is a person buying “for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession” Art. 3(22). A design tool sold only to agencies is likely outside them. Sell to both, and the consumer side is in.
No checkout, likely no e-commerce service
A site that describes your business but where nobody can buy, book or subscribe does not provide a service “with a view to concluding a consumer contract” Art. 3(30), so it is likely not an e-commerce service. Add online booking or a shop, and that changes.
The EAA microenterprise exemption,
read one phrase at a time.
The whole small business exemption is one sentence in Article 4(5). Every phrase in it narrows it.
“Microenterprises1 providing services2 shall be exempt from complying with the accessibility requirements referred to in paragraph 33 of this Article and any obligations relating to the compliance with those requirements4.”
And the definition it rests on, Article 3(23): a microenterprise is “an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and which has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million”.
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1
“Microenterprises” Art. 3(23)
Two tests, and you need both: fewer than 10 persons, and turnover or balance sheet total of no more than €2 million. “Fewer than 10” means 10 is already too many.
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2
“providing services” Art. 14(4), 14(8)
Services only. For products, Recital 71 says the obligations “should be lighter”, not absent: a microenterprise dealing with products need not write down its disproportionate-burden assessment or notify the authority, but the product rules still apply.
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3
“the accessibility requirements referred to in paragraph 3” Annex I
Paragraph 3 points to Sections III and IV of Annex I: the general service requirements, which include making websites and apps “perceivable, operable, understandable and robust”, and the extras for e-commerce, banking and the rest.
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4
“any obligations relating to the compliance” Art. 13
This reads as covering the Article 13 duties too: the Annex V information on how your service meets the requirements, the procedures to keep it compliant and the corrective action. An exempt microenterprise does not have to publish that information, though nothing stops you.
Five ways people misread the exemption
“We turn over less than €2 million, so we are exempt.”
Turnover is half the test. You also need fewer than 10 persons. A 12-person shop turning over €900,000 is not a microenterprise. Art. 3(23)
“We have ten staff. That is small.”
The Act says “fewer than 10”. And staff are counted in annual work units, with owner-managers and partners who work in the business included. Rec. 2003/361/EC, Annex Art. 5
“We are tiny, so the e-readers we sell are exempt too.”
The exemption is for microenterprises providing services. The products in Article 2(1) stay covered, with lighter paperwork for microenterprises only. Art. 4(5), 14(4)
“We are our own company. The parent’s staff do not count.”
Linked enterprises count in full and partner enterprises in proportion to the stake. Recital 53 says microenterprises must “genuinely fulfil” the Commission’s SME definition, including its rules against circumvention. Recital 53
“If we take an accessibility grant, we lose the exemption.”
That rule is about the disproportionate-burden defence: a business funded to improve accessibility cannot claim the cost is too high. It says nothing about the microenterprise exemption. Art. 14(6)
How to count staff for the European Accessibility Act small business test.
Not by counting names on the payroll. Recital 53 of the Act says microenterprises must “genuinely fulfil the requirements of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC”, and that Recommendation is where the counting rules live.
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1
Count annual work units, not people. Annex Art. 5
Someone full-time for the whole year is 1. Part-timers, people who joined mid-year and seasonal workers count as fractions.
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2
Include the owners who work in it. Annex Art. 5
Staff means employees, people deemed employees under national law, owner-managers, and partners who work regularly in the business and benefit financially from it.
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3
Leave out apprentices and leave. Annex Art. 5
Apprentices and students on vocational training contracts are not staff, and time on maternity or parental leave is not counted.
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4
Use the latest approved accounts. Annex Art. 4(1), 4(3)
Figures are annual, from the last approved accounting period, and turnover excludes VAT. A new business uses a bona fide estimate.
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5
Status changes after two years, not one. Annex Art. 4(2)
You only gain or lose microenterprise status once you are over, or under, a ceiling for two consecutive accounting periods.
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6
Add your group. Annex Art. 3, 6
Partner enterprises (a 25% to 50% stake, either way) are added in proportion to the stake. Linked enterprises (a majority, or control) are added in full. A business 25% or more controlled by public bodies is not an SME at all.
Article references here are to the Annex of Recommendation 2003/361/EC. The Act itself only defines the thresholds; how your national authority applies the counting rules is for it to say.
Fennel & Ash, a homeware webshop
Nine names on the payroll. Is it a microenterprise?
Not a microenterprise. Its own nine people come to 5.5 work units, and even with the partner stake it stays under 10. The holding company’s staff are what take it over. Turnover and balance sheet are added up the same way.
Does the European Accessibility Act apply to my business?
Answer six questions.
The answers start filled in for a typical small webshop with 12 people. Change them to match yours; the verdict on the right updates as you go, with the article behind every line. It runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
Likely in scope
The Act likely applies to your business.
Why
- You sell in the EU, so the Act can reach you: it covers products placed on the EU market and services offered to consumers there. Art. 2, Art. 3(4)
- You provide e-commerce services to consumers, and the Act lists it. Art. 2(2)(f)
- Selling to businesses as well does not change that. Those sales sit outside the service rules; the consumer-facing part of your service does not. Art. 3(22)
- You count 12 people. A microenterprise employs fewer than 10, so your turnover no longer matters. Art. 3(23)
What to do next
- Check your website and app against the Annex I requirements. Most teams test against WCAG 2.2 level AA, starting with sign-in, checkout and payment.
- Write how your service meets the requirements, put it in your terms and conditions or an equivalent document, and publish it in an accessible format (Art. 13(2), Annex V).
- If a requirement would be a disproportionate burden, assess it against Annex VI, keep the written assessment for five years and tell the authority (Art. 14).
- Find your country's transposing law and the authority that checks services there. Penalties differ by country (Art. 30, 31).
This is not legal advice. It applies the Directive’s own words to your answers and nothing more. Your country’s law, and the authority that enforces it, decide. For a decision that costs money, ask a lawyer who works on accessibility.
In scope? What the European Accessibility Act asks of a small business.
Build the service to the requirements, say publicly how it meets them, and keep it that way. There is one way out for a requirement that would cost too much, and it comes with paperwork.
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28 June 2025
The Act applies Art. 31(2), 2(2)
Member States had to apply their national laws from this date, and the service rules cover services provided to consumers after it.
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Design
Build the service to Annex I Art. 13(1), Annex I III(c), IV(g)
Websites and apps must be accessible “in a consistent and adequate way by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust”. For e-commerce, identification, security and payment must be too, and you must pass on the accessibility information about products you sell when the responsible economic operator provides it. The Act names no web standard; in practice teams test against WCAG 2.2 level AA, and ETSI published EN 301 549 version 4.1.1 in September 2026.
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Publish
Say how your service meets the requirements Art. 13(2), Annex V
Put the information in your general terms and conditions or an equivalent document: a description of the service in accessible formats, how it works, and how it meets the Annex I requirements. Make it public “in written and oral format”, accessibly, and keep it for as long as the service runs. The accessibility statement template is a practical home for it.
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Maintain
Keep it compliant, and fix what breaks Art. 13(3), 13(4)
Have procedures so the service stays compliant as it changes. If it falls short, correct it and tell the authorities in the countries where you provide it.
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The escape hatch
Disproportionate burden, documented Art. 14
A requirement applies only to the extent it does not fundamentally alter the service or impose a disproportionate burden. You must assess that against the Annex VI cost criteria, document it, keep it for five years after you last provide the service, renew it at least every five years, and notify the authority. You cannot claim it for accessibility work someone else is funding.
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28 June 2030
The transition ends Art. 32
Services may keep using products they lawfully used before 28 June 2025 until 28 June 2030, and service contracts agreed before 28 June 2025 can run unchanged until they expire, for five years at most. Self-service terminals can stay in use up to 20 years if your country allows it.
Your country’s law is the one that is enforced
The Act is a directive. Each Member State wrote it into its own law, sets its own penalties, which must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”, and lets consumers and organisations take action Art. 29, 30. Two examples, read in the official texts:
| Country and law | Microenterprise rule | Help for microenterprises | Penalties |
|---|---|---|---|
| GermanyBarrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) | The accessibility duty in § 3(1) does not apply to microenterprises that offer or provide services § 3(3). Same thresholds as the Act § 2 No. 17. | The Federal Accessibility Agency’s advice includes advising microenterprises § 15. Enforcement is by the market surveillance authorities of the Länder § 2 No. 22. | Offering or providing a non-compliant service: a fine of up to €100,000. The other listed breaches: up to €10,000 § 37. |
| IrelandS.I. No. 636/2023 | The service requirements, and the duties of service providers, do not apply “to a service provided by a microenterprise” Reg. 5(4). | The market surveillance authority must provide guidelines and tools to microenterprises Reg. 5(6). E-commerce is checked by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Reg. 4(2)(g). | An offence: on summary conviction, a class A fine or up to 6 months’ imprisonment; on indictment, a fine of up to €60,000 or up to 18 months, or both Reg. 32. |
Selling across borders? Each country you sell into applies its own law to the service you provide there. Texts read on 5 October 2026.
An accessibility menu helps visitors.
It does not settle the Act.
Builderify’s accessibility widget is a menu of 13 adjustments in five groups that each visitor controls: text size, spacing and a dyslexia-friendly typeface; underlined links and titles and no animations; more contrast, black and white or inverted colours; a large cursor and focus highlighting; read aloud and a reading guide.
It works on top of your page as it already is and does not change your markup. So it does not make your website, app or checkout meet Annex I, and Builderify does not claim it does. If the Act applies to you, the work is in the site itself. The menu is extra help for visitors alongside that work.
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1
Find out if you are in
The checker above, then your national law. Run the checker →
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2
Fix the site itself
Work through WCAG 2.2 level AA, criterion by criterion, starting with the checkout. The WCAG 2.2 checklist →
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3
Publish the Annex V information
Say how your service meets the requirements, honestly, with a contact route. The accessibility statement template →
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4
Be clear about widgets
What toolbars and overlays can and cannot do for compliance, including ours. Accessibility overlays and compliance →
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5
Give visitors a way to report barriers
A support ticket form in the website widget gives each report a reference number and a status. Support tickets →
The accessibility menu is included in every account and ships in the same script tag as the website widget. One-time packs start at $9 and never expire; the full rate card is on the pricing page, alongside the rest of the 20 modules.
The EAA and small businesses, before you ask.
Only for microenterprises, and only for services. Article 4(5) exempts microenterprises providing services, and Article 3(23) defines a microenterprise as having fewer than 10 persons and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than €2 million. Small and medium-sized businesses above that are covered.
No. Products such as e-readers, computers, phones and payment terminals stay covered even when a microenterprise makes, imports or sells them. Microenterprises dealing with products only get lighter paperwork: they need not document a disproportionate-burden assessment or notify the authority (Article 14(4) and 14(8)).
Yes, if they sell to consumers in the EU. Article 3(4) defines a service provider as anyone who provides a service on the Union market or makes offers to provide it to consumers in the Union, so a US or UK webshop shipping to EU shoppers can be covered.
Recital 53 points to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, which counts annual work units: part-time and seasonal staff count as fractions, owner-managers and working partners count, and apprentices do not. Partner enterprises are added in proportion to the stake and linked enterprises in full, which can push a small company over the limit.
The service rules cover services provided to consumers, meaning people buying outside their trade, business, craft or profession (Articles 2(2) and 3(22)). A service sold only to businesses is likely outside them. If you sell to both, the consumer-facing part is covered.
Sources
- EUR-Lex Directive (EU) 2019/882, the European Accessibility Act
- EUR-Lex Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC: the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
- European Commission European Accessibility Act (EAA)
- Germany, gesetze-im-internet.de Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG)
- Ireland, irishstatutebook.ie S.I. No. 636/2023, European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023
- ETSI EN 301 549 V4.1.1 (2026-09): Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services
Legal texts read in full on 5 October 2026. The fictional businesses on this page are examples, not clients. ← All guides
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