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Does the EAA apply to US and non-EU businesses?

Why the European Accessibility Act reaches US and other non-EU companies that sell to EU consumers, what changes for products, and what to do first.

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Pavel Charkasau

Yes. The European Accessibility Act applies to US companies, and to any other business outside the EU, when they sell a covered product or offer a covered service to consumers in the EU. The law attaches to the market, not to where you're incorporated. Its definition of a service provider is anyone "who provides a service on the Union market or makes offers to provide such a service to consumers in the Union" (Directive (EU) 2019/882, Article 3(4)). There is no office test and no EU-revenue threshold in that sentence.

So a Delaware company running an online store that ships to Germany is a service provider under the EAA for those German sales, and has been since 28 June 2025. What stays outside: a service that is never offered to EU consumers, a service that isn't on the EAA's list, and service providers that meet the microenterprise definition.

Products work slightly differently. When a non-EU manufacturer's product enters the EU, an EU-established importer picks up its own set of checks.

Does the EAA apply to US companies selling online?

If they sell an in-scope service to EU consumers, yes. Article 2(2) applies the directive to listed "services provided to consumers after 28 June 2025" (Article 2(2)). The list is short:

  • electronic communications services;
  • services providing access to audiovisual media services;
  • elements of air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport (websites, apps, e-tickets, travel information, self-service terminals);
  • consumer banking services;
  • e-books and dedicated reading software;
  • e-commerce services.

E-commerce is the limb that catches most US businesses. Article 3(30) defines it 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". If an EU consumer can buy through your site or app, that buying flow is an e-commerce service.

The word "consumer" matters too. Article 3(22) defines a consumer as a natural person buying "for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession". A US B2B tool sold only to companies on invoiced contracts is a different question, and a weaker case for scope. More in our who must comply guide.

Why doesn't company location matter under the EAA?

Because every obligation in the directive hangs on an activity in the EU market, not on an address. Look at the definitions in Article 3 (Directive (EU) 2019/882):

RoleDefinition (Article 3)Location requirement
Service provider (point 4)Provides a service on the Union market or offers it to consumers in the UnionNone
Manufacturer (point 17)Makes or has a product made and markets it under its own name or trademarkNone
Authorised representative (point 18)Acts for a manufacturer under a written mandateMust be established in the Union
Importer (point 19)Places a product from a third country on the Union marketMust be established in the Union
Distributor (point 20)Makes a product available in the supply chainNone stated

Only the importer and the authorised representative have to be in the EU, and both exist because the manufacturer often isn't. For services, "makes offers to provide" means you don't need a completed sale.

The EAA doesn't spell out what counts as "making an offer" to EU consumers, and I'm not going to invent a test. My practical read: if your checkout accepts EU shipping addresses, prices in euros, or your site has a German or French locale, you'd struggle to argue you aren't offering the service in the EU. If you block EU orders entirely, you're in a much stronger position. Anything in between is a question for EU counsel in the countries you sell into.

What changes if you sell physical products?

For the hardware the EAA covers (computers, smartphones, e-readers, payment terminals, routers and similar), the non-EU manufacturer still carries the core design duty. The importer then becomes a checkpoint.

Under Article 9, an EU importer:

  • may "place only compliant products on the market";
  • must confirm, before placing a product, that the manufacturer has run the Annex IV conformity assessment, drawn up the technical documentation, and applied the CE marking (Article 9(2));
  • must hold the product back if it has reason to think it doesn't conform, and tell the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities (Article 9(3));
  • must indicate its own name and a contact address, in a language end users can easily understand (Article 9(4));
  • keeps a copy of the EU declaration of conformity for five years (Article 9(7)).

So your EU importer will ask for your technical documentation and declaration of conformity. Without them, a careful importer won't take the product.

A non-EU manufacturer may appoint an authorised representative in the EU by written mandate (Article 8). The word is "may". The mandate can cover keeping documents for authorities and cooperating with them, but Article 8(1) says the design obligations in Article 7(1) and "the drawing up of technical documentation" can't be handed over. You can outsource the mailbox, not the engineering.

One trap: under Article 11, an importer or distributor that sells a product under its own brand, or modifies it in a way that may affect compliance, is treated as the manufacturer.

Who enforces the EAA against a company with no EU office?

The member states do, each in its own market. Article 23 requires every member state to set up procedures to "check the compliance of services", to "follow up complaints or reports" of non-compliance, and to verify corrective action, and to designate the authorities that run them (Article 23). A US company selling into six countries answers to six sets of national rules. Our EAA overview and the post on enforcement by country cover who those authorities are.

Two provisions put the duty on you directly. Article 13(4) says that when a service doesn't conform, the provider must take corrective measures and "immediately inform the competent national authorities" of each member state where the service is provided. Article 13(5) requires you to supply information on a reasoned request from those authorities.

Penalties are national too. Article 30 leaves the rules to each member state and requires them to be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive", taking into account the seriousness of the non-compliance and "the number of persons affected" (Article 30). The directive sets no EU-wide amount, so I won't quote one. Check the transposing law of each country you sell into.

Does the microenterprise exemption apply to non-EU companies?

The definition itself has no location test. Article 3(23) defines a microenterprise as "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". Service providers that meet it are outside the accessibility requirements for services. Nothing in that definition limits it to EU-based firms, though how a national authority counts staff and turnover for a non-EU group is a fair question for your lawyer.

Two cautions. The thresholds count the whole enterprise, not just its EU sales, so a US company with 40 staff doesn't become a microenterprise because its EU revenue happens to be small. And the exemption covers services only; a micro manufacturer of e-readers still has to meet the product requirements. The microenterprise exemption guide goes through the edge cases.

What should a US team do first?

Start by finding out which of your flows are actually in scope, then test them against the standard regulators use.

  1. List the EU markets you sell into and the in-scope services you offer there. For most US software and retail companies, that's the e-commerce flow: product pages, cart, checkout, account, order confirmation.
  2. Test against WCAG 2.1 AA via EN 301 549. The Act states outcomes in Annex I. EN 301 549 is the European standard that turns them into testable clauses, and in version 3.2.1 its web clauses track WCAG 2.1 Level AA (ETSI EN 301 549 V3.2.1). If you already test for the ADA, you have most of the method; the EU scope and paperwork are what differ.
  3. Publish the Annex V information. Article 13(2) requires service providers to publish how the service meets the requirements, in written and oral form and in accessible formats. Most teams do this as an accessibility statement. The statement generator gives you a structure; the content has to describe your real state, gaps included.
  4. Keep a record. Article 13(3) requires procedures that keep the service compliant as it changes. Dated scan results and a remediation log are the simplest evidence.

Be honest with yourself about what automation covers. In Deque's study of about 300,000 issues from more than 2,000 audits, automated testing found 57% of issues by volume (Deque, 2021). The other 43% needed a person. A scanner will tell you that button.checkout-submit has no accessible name. It won't tell you whether a screen-reader user can get through your address autocomplete. Full conformance needs human review.

My opinion, for what it's worth: the US teams I talk to lose the most time arguing about whether the EAA "really" applies to them. If EU consumers can check out on your site, assume it does and spend that time fixing the checkout.

Frequently asked questions

Does the EAA apply to US companies?

Yes, when a US company offers an in-scope service, such as e-commerce or consumer banking, to consumers in the EU, or places an in-scope product on the EU market. The directive defines a service provider by activity in the EU market, not by where the company is based.

Do I need an EU representative for the EAA?

Not for services. For products, a non-EU manufacturer may appoint an EU authorised representative under Article 8, but the directive says "may", and the manufacturer's design and technical documentation duties can't be delegated. The EU importer has its own checks under Article 9.

Does the EAA apply to UK companies?

The same rule applies: a UK company that offers in-scope services to EU consumers or places in-scope products on the EU market is covered for those sales. The EAA doesn't govern sales within the UK itself, because the UK isn't an EU member state.

Does the EAA apply if only a few EU customers buy from me?

The directive has no minimum EU revenue or customer threshold. What matters is whether you offer an in-scope service to EU consumers and whether your whole enterprise meets the microenterprise definition of fewer than 10 staff and €2 million or less in turnover or balance sheet.

Which standard should a US company test against for the EAA?

EN 301 549 is the European standard teams use to show the EAA's requirements are met, and in version 3.2.1 its web clauses follow WCAG 2.1 Level AA. If you already test to WCAG 2.1 AA for the ADA, you can reuse that method for your EU-facing pages.

See what an EU auditor would see

If EU consumers can buy from you, start with the pages they buy through. Run a free scan on your product page and checkout to get the automated findings with selectors, then plan the manual review that covers the rest.

Pavel Charkasau, founder, wcagc.com. Last updated 26 October 2026.

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