A practical, defensible way to decide whether the DSA applies to you - and which layer applies.
Use this test to create a scope memo and start a compliance program with the right workstreams.
Structured answer sets in this page tree.
Cited legal and guidance references.
"Does the DSA apply to us?" is rarely a yes/no question. Most teams need a layered answer: which service type(s) are in scope (hosting/platform/marketplace/search), what obligations attach to each service, and whether VLOP/VLOSE systemic-risk obligations could apply. This applicability test walks you through the questions that produce an audit-ready output.
By the end of this applicability test you should have a 1-2 page scope memo per service, plus an obligation map you can hand to owners.
That output becomes the backbone for your DSA checklist, roadmap, and reporting cadence.
The DSA applies to services offered to recipients in the Union. For many companies, the "EU offering" determination is practical: can EU users access, use, or be targeted by the service?
Document the facts that show EU offering (or lack thereof).
If you transmit, cache, or host information provided by recipients, you're in intermediary service territory and inherit baseline obligations (e.g., terms transparency, points of contact).
If you host user-provided information, you should plan for notice & action mechanisms.
Hosting services have a dedicated DSA layer that includes notice & action mechanisms (Article 16) and statements of reasons for restrictions (Article 17).
This is often the first "real engineering work" layer.
Online platforms typically involve dissemination of information to the public (or to other recipients) at the request of the user/recipient who provided it.
Online platform status adds user redress and transparency obligations (e.g., Article 24 for platform transparency reporting).
If consumers can conclude distance contracts with traders on your platform, you likely trigger marketplace obligations: trader traceability, compliance-by-design, and consumer notifications for illegal products/services.
This is a high-risk area for enforcement because it directly affects consumer harm.
VLOP/VLOSE status is a designation outcome tied to average monthly active recipients (AMAR) in the EU and a Commission decision (Article 33).
If you are near the threshold, build the systemic-risk layer early: it's the largest program expansion (risk assessment, mitigation, audit, enhanced transparency).
Some DSA sections exclude micro and small enterprises, but the exclusions are partial and have overrides for VLOPs/VLOSEs.
Make this a documented legal determination and revisit it annually.
Assessment Autopilot can take EU Digital Services Act (DSA) Applicability Test from deciding whether these obligations apply in practice to a reusable workflow inside Sorena. Teams working on EU Digital Services Act (DSA) can keep owners, evidence, and next steps aligned without copying this guide into separate documents.
Start from EU Digital Services Act (DSA) Applicability Test and turn the guidance into owned tasks, evidence requests, and review checkpoints.
Review your current process, evidence gaps, and next steps for EU Digital Services Act (DSA) Applicability Test.