Which products does the EU Accessibility Act cover?

Article 2 covers consumer general purpose computer hardware systems and their operating systems, payment terminals, specified self-service terminals used for covered services, consumer terminal equipment used for electronic communications services, consumer terminal equipment used for accessing audiovisual media services, and e-readers. Treat the item as a product-side question when the record concerns a manufactured good placed on the Union market and product economic operators such as the manufacturer, importer, or distributor.

Does the EU Accessibility Act cover every connected device or every app?

No. Article 2 lists specific product categories and specific consumer service categories. A connected device, website, mobile app, or software component should be mapped to a listed product or service category before being treated as EAA scope. For example, an e-commerce checkout can be in scope as an e-commerce service, while unrelated third-party content not funded, developed, or controlled by the economic operator is excluded from the website and mobile application content scope.

Which services does the EU Accessibility Act cover?

Article 2 covers electronic communications services, access services for audiovisual media services, specified digital and terminal elements of air, bus, rail, and waterborne passenger transport services, consumer banking services, e-books and dedicated software, e-commerce services, and answering emergency communications to 112. The service must be provided to consumers, except that Article 2 separately states the 112 emergency communications scope.

How should transport services be scoped under the EU Accessibility Act?

For air, bus, rail, and waterborne passenger transport, Article 2 focuses on websites, mobile device-based services including apps, electronic tickets and ticketing services, transport service information including real-time travel information, and interactive self-service terminals located in the Union. Urban, suburban, and regional transport services are treated more narrowly: only the interactive self-service terminal element under Article 2(2)(c)(v) applies.

What is the difference between an EU Accessibility Act product and service decision?

A product decision asks whether a manufactured good falls into one of the Article 2 product categories and which product economic operator is responsible. A service decision asks whether a consumer-facing service falls into one of the Article 2 service categories and whether the provider is offering or providing that service on the Union market. For mixed offers, keep both records if hardware, software, and the consumer journey each matter to the conclusion.

Which website or mobile app content is outside EU Accessibility Act Article 2?

Article 2 excludes specific website and mobile application content: certain pre-recorded time-based media and office file formats published before the Directive's stated cut-off, online maps where essential navigational information is accessible digitally, third-party content outside the economic operator's funding, development, or control, and qualifying archives that are not updated or edited after the Directive's stated cut-off.

FAQEU

EU Accessibility Act FAQ Covered Products and Services

The EU Accessibility Act does not cover every product or every digital service. Article 2 lists specific consumer products, consumer services, and 112 emergency communications.

Use this page to separate product scope from service scope, check Article 3 definitions, and keep a narrow record of why a category is in scope, out of scope, or limited.

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Author

Sorena AI

Published

May 9, 2026

Updated

May 9, 2026

Questions

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata

Sorena AI

Published May 9, 2026

Updated May 9, 2026

Overview

Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/882 is the starting point for EU Accessibility Act scope. It covers named products placed on the market, named services provided to consumers, and answering emergency communications to 112. Article 3 then defines key terms such as product, service provider, economic operator, consumer, payment terminal, consumer banking services, e-commerce services, and passenger transport service categories.

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4 of 4 questions

Question 1

Which products are covered by Article 2?

The product list is closed and category based. A product is not covered merely because it has software, a screen, a web portal, or an accessibility feature. Check whether it fits one of the Article 2 product categories and then identify the product-side economic operator: manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, or distributor.

Article 3 defines a product as a good produced through a manufacturing process, excluding food, feed, living plants and animals, products of human origin, and products of plants and animals relating directly to future reproduction. That definition matters when a connected offer combines hardware, software, and an online service.

Consumer general purpose computer hardware systems and operating systems for those hardware systems.
Payment terminals and self-service terminals dedicated to covered services, including ATMs, ticketing machines, check-in machines, and interactive information terminals, with the vehicle, aircraft, ship, and rolling-stock integration limit stated in Article 2.
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.

Citations

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - Article 2 and Article 3

Primary legal source for the EAA product categories and the Article 3 definitions of product, economic operator, consumer, and payment terminal.

European Commission - European Accessibility Act

Commission overview summarising the EAA product examples, including computers, operating systems, ATMs, ticketing machines, check-in machines, smartphones, and TV equipment.

Question 2

Which services are covered by Article 2?

For services, the EAA focuses on consumer-facing categories. Article 3 defines a service provider as a natural or legal person that provides a service on the Union market or offers to provide such a service to consumers in the Union.

The service category is not always the same as the underlying sector label. For transport, Article 2 covers specific digital and terminal elements of air, bus, rail, and waterborne passenger transport services, with a narrower rule for urban, suburban, and regional transport services.

Electronic communications services, except transmission services used for machine-to-machine services.
Services providing access to audiovisual media services, including services used to identify, select, receive information on, and view audiovisual media services and related accessibility features.
Air, bus, rail, and waterborne passenger transport elements: websites, mobile device-based services, electronic tickets and ticketing services, transport service information including real-time travel information, and covered interactive self-service terminals.
Consumer banking services, including the Article 3 banking and financial service categories listed for consumers.
E-books and dedicated software.
E-commerce services, defined as services provided at a distance through websites and mobile device-based services by electronic means at the individual request of a consumer with a view to concluding a consumer contract.
Answering emergency communications to the single European emergency number 112.

Citations

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - Article 2 and Article 3

Primary legal source for covered consumer service categories, Article 3 service definitions, and the separate 112 emergency communications scope rule.

European Commission - European Accessibility Act

Commission overview listing service examples such as telephony, audiovisual media access, transport-related services, banking, e-books, and e-commerce.

Question 3

Where are the product-service boundaries and exclusions?

Mixed offers need two checks. Hardware and operating systems are product-side items when they are placed on the market. Online journeys, banking, e-books, ticketing, media access, electronic communications, and e-commerce are service-side items when provided to consumers. The same commercial offer can therefore need both a product scope record and a service scope record.

Article 2 also limits some website and mobile application content. These limits do not remove an entire covered service from scope; they identify content types that the Directive says it does not apply to.

Pre-recorded time-based media published before the Article 2 cut-off stated in the Directive.
Office file formats published before the Article 2 cut-off stated in the Directive.
Online maps and mapping services when essential navigational information is provided in an accessible digital manner.
Third-party content that is not funded, developed by, or under the control of the economic operator concerned.
Website and mobile application archives that only contain content not updated or edited after the Article 2 cut-off stated in the Directive.
Microenterprises providing services are addressed separately in the Directive; do not use the microenterprise concept to remove product-side scope without checking the product provisions.

Citations

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - Article 2 exclusions and Article 3 definitions

Primary legal source for product and service definitions, economic operator roles, website and mobile application content exclusions, and the microenterprise definition.

ETSI - EN 301 549 ICT accessibility standard overview

ETSI source explaining that EN 301 549 covers ICT products and services such as software, hardware, and combinations of hardware and software, which helps evidence mixed product-service assessments.

Question 4

Evidence records for a category decision

Keep evidence only for facts the scope conclusion actually depends on. A useful record should let a reviewer see the product or service facts, the Article 2 category, the Article 3 definition used, and the source relied on without reconstructing the project history.

Where a product or service is in scope, link the scope record to the accessibility requirements and evidence used for conformity work. Article 4 points covered products and services to Annex I accessibility requirements, while standards or technical specifications may be relevant when used to show how requirements are met.

Category conclusion: in scope, out of scope, limited content exclusion, or needs legal review.
Facts used: product model or service journey, consumer-facing status, Union market connection, economic operator role, and whether the item is product-side, service-side, or both.
Article mapping: Article 2 paragraph and category, Article 3 definition if relevant, and any Article 2 website or mobile application content exclusion relied on.
Evidence attachments: screenshots or journey descriptions, product specifications, operating-system or terminal classification, service terms, supplier inputs, accessibility test references, and standards mapping where used.
Review triggers: new product model, new consumer journey, change in service provider role, change in controlled third-party content, new transport or banking service element, or a change in the standard or technical specification relied on.

Citations

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - Articles 4, 13, 14 and Annex I

Primary legal source for linking Article 2 scope to Annex I accessibility requirements, service-provider conformity procedures, and fundamental-alteration or disproportionate-burden assessments.

European Commission - harmonised standards overview

Commission source for the role of harmonised standards in supporting EU product and service conformity assessments where such standards are used.

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Primary sources

References and citations

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - Article 2 and Article 3

eur-lex.europa.eu

Referenced sections

Primary legal source for covered consumer service categories, Article 3 service definitions, and the separate 112 emergency communications scope rule.

"services provided to consumers"

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - Article 2 exclusions and Article 3 definitions

eur-lex.europa.eu

Referenced sections

Primary legal source for product and service definitions, economic operator roles, website and mobile application content exclusions, and the microenterprise definition.

"does not apply to the following content"

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - Articles 4, 13, 14 and Annex I

eur-lex.europa.eu

Referenced sections

Primary legal source for linking Article 2 scope to Annex I accessibility requirements, service-provider conformity procedures, and fundamental-alteration or disproportionate-burden assessments.

"comply with the accessibility requirements set out in Annex I"

Directive (EU) 2019/882 - European Accessibility Act

eur-lex.europa.eu

Referenced sections

Primary legal source for Article 2 covered products and services, Article 3 definitions, Article 4 accessibility requirements, Article 14 limits, and Annex I.

"accessibility requirements for products and services"

ETSI - EN 301 549 ICT accessibility standard overview

etsi.org

Referenced sections

ETSI source explaining that EN 301 549 covers ICT products and services such as software, hardware, and combinations of hardware and software, which helps evidence mixed product-service assessments.

"ICT products and services"

European Commission - European Accessibility Act

commission.europa.eu

Referenced sections

Commission overview listing service examples such as telephony, audiovisual media access, transport-related services, banking, e-books, and e-commerce.