ChecklistEU

EU Accessibility Act Checklist

This checklist helps test whether a consumer product or service is covered by Directive (EU) 2019/882 and what evidence should exist before release.

It focuses on scope, economic-operator role, Annex I accessibility requirements, product and service documentation, Article 14 records, supplier evidence, release checks, and monitoring.

Author
Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
Oct 15, 2026
Overview

This checklist helps teams prepare evidence under the European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882. It separates product obligations from service obligations, keeps Article 14 exceptions visible, and links Annex I requirements to records that product, legal, procurement, quality, support, and release teams can review.

Section 1

1. Confirm EAA scope before testing accessibility

Start with the Article 2 scope table, not with a generic accessibility label. For products, check whether the item is one of the covered consumer ICT products or terminals placed on the EU market after 28 June 2025. For services, check whether the service is one of the covered consumer services provided after 28 June 2025.

Record the exact product model, software version, service journey, EU market, and consumer-facing function assessed. If the feature is only a back-office tool or a business-to-business support process, keep the reason it was excluded from the EAA checklist separate from the evidence for covered consumer journeys.

  • Product scope check: consumer general purpose computer hardware and operating systems, payment terminals, covered self-service terminals, consumer terminal equipment for electronic communications or audiovisual media access, and e-readers.
  • Service scope check: electronic communications, access to audiovisual media services, listed passenger transport service elements, consumer banking, e-books and dedicated software, and e-commerce services.
  • Website and app content exclusions check: pre-recorded time-based media, office file formats, certain maps, third-party content, and archive content must be assessed only against the conditions stated in Article 2(4).
  • Enterprise-size check: the service exemption requires fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or an annual balance-sheet total no higher than EUR 2 million; document the calculation and relevant linked-enterprise facts rather than relying on a small-business label.
  • Transition check: a service contract agreed before 28 June 2025 may continue unchanged until it expires, but not beyond 28 June 2030. A service provider may continue a similar service with a product lawfully used for it before 28 June 2025 until 28 June 2030. An existing self-service terminal may continue only where the Member State adopted the Article 32 option, and then only until the end of its economically useful life or 20 years after entry into use, whichever comes first.
  • Output: a dated scope row naming the covered product or service, Article 2 category, in-scope journeys, excluded content, markets reviewed, and the evidence owner.
Section 2

2. Assign the correct operator role

The checklist should name the legal role before assigning tasks. Article 3 defines manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, distributor, service provider, and economic operator. Articles 7 to 13 then attach different obligations to those roles.

Do not treat a reseller, marketplace, software publisher, service provider, or internal product team as interchangeable. If an importer or distributor places a product on the market under its own name or modifies it in a way that may affect compliance, Article 11 makes the manufacturer obligations relevant to that operator.

  • Manufacturer evidence: design and manufacture against applicable accessibility requirements, Annex IV technical documentation, conformity assessment, EU declaration of conformity, CE marking, instructions, corrective-action records, and complaint register where non-conformity occurs.
  • Importer evidence: confirmation that the manufacturer completed Annex IV conformity assessment, prepared technical documentation, applied CE marking, supplied required documents, and can provide documentation to authorities on request.
  • Distributor evidence: due-care check that CE marking, required documents, instructions, safety information, manufacturer identity, and importer identity are present before making the product available.
  • Service-provider evidence: Annex V public information explaining how the service meets the applicable accessibility requirements, plus procedures to keep the service conformant as service characteristics, standards, or requirements change.
Section 3

3. Map requirements to Annex I outcomes

Organise the checklist by Annex I. The evidence should show which Section I, II, III, IV, or V requirements apply and how each was tested, implemented, or found not applicable. A generic WCAG report is not enough unless it is mapped to the EAA service, product, feature, or journey being released.

Where ICT standards are used, cite them as evidence aids rather than as a blanket substitute for the Directive. Under Article 15, conformity with a harmonised standard or part whose reference is published in the Official Journal creates a presumption only for the EAA requirements it covers. The same limited presumption applies to technical specifications or parts established by a Commission implementing act under Article 15.

  • Product Annex I check: accessible product information, instructions, user interface, alternatives to sensory inputs, privacy of accessibility features, assistive technology interoperability, and support-service information.
  • Packaging and instruction check: for covered products other than self-service terminals, confirm accessible packaging information and accessible installation, maintenance, storage, and disposal instructions where relevant.
  • Service Annex I check: accessible service information, accessible websites and mobile apps, accessible support services, and electronic information that is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
  • Specific service check: map electronic communications, audiovisual media access, transport, banking, e-books, and e-commerce to the additional Section IV requirements that apply to that service.
  • National-law check: confirm the transposing law and competent authority in each affected Member State, including whether that state applied the optional Annex III built-environment requirements or the Article 32 self-service-terminal transition.
  • Standards check: record the exact harmonised standard or technical specification, the applied parts, the OJEU reference basis where used for presumption of conformity, and the requirements covered or not covered.
Recommended next step

Turn the EAA checklist into release evidence

Use the checklist to align product, service, procurement, legal, quality, support, and release teams around the same scope record, Annex I mapping, and evidence file.

Section 4

4. Build product technical documentation and service information

For covered products, Annex IV requires technical documentation that makes it possible to assess conformity with the relevant accessibility requirements. The record must identify the applicable requirements and, as far as relevant to the assessment, cover the design, manufacture, and operation of the product, the standards or technical specifications applied, and any alternative solutions used where those standards were not applied.

For covered services, Annex V requires public information in the general terms and conditions or an equivalent document. That information must describe the service, explain how it operates, describe how relevant Annex I requirements are met, and show that the delivery process and monitoring keep the service aligned with the Directive.

  • Product file fields: product description, model or version, Article 2 category, Annex I requirement map, applied or technical specifications, test results, unresolved gaps, Article 14 references, manufacturing monitoring controls, EU declaration of conformity, CE marking evidence, and release approval.
  • Service information fields: service description in accessible formats, operation explanations, applicable Annex I requirements, website or app evidence, support-channel evidence, service monitoring procedure, change log, and public location of the information.
  • Authority-response fields: person responsible for requests, language availability, documents that can be provided, corrective-action owner, and record of communications with market surveillance or service compliance authorities.
Section 5

5. Control Article 14 exceptions and supplier evidence

Article 14 limits only the requirements that would fundamentally alter the basic nature of the product or service or impose a disproportionate burden on the economic operator. The assessment must be documented and retained, except for the Directive's specific microenterprise product documentation carve-out.

Supplier and procurement evidence should be linked to the applicable role and requirement. A supplier declaration, accessibility statement, design note, or test report is useful only when it names the product, service, version, Annex I requirement, applied standard or technical specification, and change history it supports.

  • Article 14 record: requirement affected, product or service affected, reason for fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden, Annex VI criteria used for burden analysis, accessibility measures still implemented, funding considered, authority notification status, approver, and review trigger.
  • Funding gate: an operator receiving external public or private funding for improving accessibility may not rely on disproportionate burden under Article 14(6). Record the funding source and purpose before approving that route.
  • Article 14 retention check: keep relevant assessment results for five years from the last making available of the product or after the service was last provided, as applicable.
  • Service renewal check: if relying on disproportionate burden, renew the assessment when the service changes, when requested by the authority, and at least every five years.
  • Supplier evidence check: require version-specific accessibility evidence for components, self-service terminals, payment flows, support tools, content platforms, e-book files, and third-party service elements that affect the consumer journey.
  • Procurement check: where the product or service is procured for a covered journey, require accessibility requirements, standards used, test evidence, remediation duties, change-notification duties, and authority-support obligations in supplier records.
Section 6

6. Run release checks and monitor after launch

Before release, the checklist should block shipment or launch if the scope row, role assignment, Annex I map, evidence file, public service information, Article 14 record, or supplier evidence is missing for an in-scope item. For products, changes in design, characteristics, , or technical specifications must be taken into account for series production. For services, changes in service characteristics, accessibility requirements, harmonised standards, or technical specifications must be reflected in procedures.

After launch, monitoring should track accessibility complaints, non-conformities, corrective actions, supplier changes, standards changes, and authority requests. Articles 19 to 23 describe product market surveillance, safeguards, formal non-compliance, and service compliance checks, so the evidence file should be ready for authority review rather than assembled only after a request arrives.

  • Pre-release product gate: Article 2 scope confirmed, role assigned, Annex I and Annex IV evidence complete, Article 14 exceptions documented where used, CE marking and EU declaration of conformity ready, instructions and accessibility information available, and supplier evidence version-matched.
  • Pre-release service gate: Article 2 scope confirmed, Annex I and Annex V evidence complete, public service information available in accessible formats, support channels covered, Article 14 records complete where used, and service monitoring procedure active.
  • Post-release triggers: product or service redesign, firmware or software change, content-platform change, supplier change, new or revised applicable standards, complaints, non-conformity findings, authority requests, and corrective actions.
  • Monitoring outputs: updated scope register, remediation log, complaint and non-conformity register, supplier change record, Article 14 renewal log, standards watch record, and authority correspondence file.
Primary sources

References and citations

eur-lex.europa.eu7 citations
Referenced sections
  • Primary legal source for EAA scope, economic-operator obligations, Annex I requirements, Article 14 assessments, Annex IV product documentation, Annex V service information, and monitoring.
  • Supports the covered product, service, emergency communications, and website or mobile application content scope checks in Article 2 and the transition checks in Article 32.
  • Supports operator definitions in Article 3 and role-specific obligations for manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors, and service providers in Articles 7 to 13.
Show 4 more
  • Supports the Annex I product, service, service-specific, and emergency communications requirement mapping, plus Article 15 presumption-of-conformity limits.
  • Supports Annex IV product technical documentation, EU declaration of conformity, CE marking evidence, and Annex V service information requirements.
  • Supports Article 14 fundamental alteration and disproportionate burden records, the five-year retention rule, service-provider renewal triggers, and Annex VI burden criteria.
  • Supports release and monitoring checks for manufacturer series production, service conformity procedures, market surveillance, formal non-compliance, and service compliance authorities.
"accessibility requirements for products and services"
More quoted passages
"certain products and services"
"economic operator"
"Accessibility requirements for products and services"
"technical documentation"
"fundamental alteration"
"corrective measures"
eur-lex.europa.eu4 citations
Referenced sections
  • General EU product-law guidance for CE marking, EU declarations of conformity, manufacturer responsibility, importer checks, distributor due care, and authority cooperation.
  • General EU product-law guidance supporting CE marking, declaration of conformity, manufacturer responsibility, importer checks, distributor due care, and authority cooperation.
  • Supports general product-law handling of CE marking, EU declarations of conformity, technical documentation availability, and supply-chain authority cooperation.
Show 1 more
  • Supports supply-chain monitoring, product documentation availability, CE marking supervision, and importer or distributor support for national authorities.
"EU Declaration of Conformity"
More quoted passages
"sole responsibility of the manufacturer"
"assist the national authority"
etsi.org2 citations
Referenced sections
  • Standards source for EN 301 549 as ICT accessibility evidence for web pages, mobile applications, software, hardware, and combined ICT products and services.
  • Supports using EN 301 549 as an ICT accessibility evidence source for web, mobile, software, hardware, and combined ICT products and services, while noting the EAA support revision context.
"Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services"
commission.europa.eu2 citations
Referenced sections
  • Commission source for European accessibility standardisation, including EN 301 549 and public procurement relevance.
  • Supports procurement and standards evidence by explaining the role of European accessibility standards, including EN 301 549 for ICT accessibility.
"accessibility standards"
More quoted passages
"EN 301 549"
commission.europa.eu2 citations
Referenced sections
  • Commission source for the EAA policy context and selected product and service coverage.
  • Commission source for the EAA as the EU accessibility framework for selected products and services.
"European Accessibility Act"
single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu2 citations
Referenced sections
  • Commission source for harmonised standards context and presumption-of-conformity language used in standards checks.
  • Supports the distinction between applying a standard and relying on a harmonised standard cited for presumption of conformity.
"Harmonised standards"
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