EAA Penalties: What Happens If Your Website Isn't Accessible

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) became enforceable in June 2025. Businesses that sell covered products or services through inaccessible websites now face real consequences. Not theoretical ones. The enforcement bodies are active and the penalty structures are in place.

Here is what actually happens when a business doesn't comply.

How EAA enforcement works

The EAA (Directive 2019/882) requires each EU member state to designate enforcement authorities and set penalty structures. The directive says penalties must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive." What that looks like varies from country to country.

Enforcement generally follows this path:

1. A consumer files a complaint, or the enforcement authority identifies a violation during market surveillance
2. The authority investigates and confirms the violation
3. The business receives a notice to correct the violation within a set deadline
4. If the business doesn't fix it, penalties follow

Most authorities start with a warning and a correction order. Fines come when businesses ignore the warning or repeatedly fail to comply. This isn't a system designed to punish people who are trying. It's built to catch those who don't bother.

Who enforces in each country

Every EU country appointed its own enforcement authority. Here are the key ones for businesses operating in Western Europe:

Netherlands: Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM). The ACM handles both consumer protection and EAA enforcement. They have experience with market surveillance and already enforce other consumer-facing regulations. They accept complaints through their website and conduct their own monitoring.

Germany: Marktüberwachungsbehörden (market surveillance authorities). Enforcement is split across the 16 federal states (Bundesländer), which makes the German system more fragmented. Each state has its own authority responsible for enforcement within its territory.

Belgium: SPF Economie / FOD Economie. The Federal Public Service for the Economy handles EAA enforcement in Belgium. They oversee both the product and service requirements.

France: ARCOM and DGCCRF. France split enforcement between the audiovisual regulator (ARCOM) for media services and the consumer protection directorate (DGCCRF) for other services and products.

Ireland: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). The CCPC handles EAA enforcement alongside its existing consumer protection mandate.

If you sell across borders, multiple enforcement authorities could theoretically look at your website. In practice, the authority in the country where your business is registered is the most likely to act first.

What the penalties look like

The EAA directive doesn't set specific fine amounts. It leaves that to each member state. Here is what the penalty structures look like in key markets.

Netherlands. The ACM can impose administrative fines and penalty payments for non-compliance. Under their general enforcement powers, fines can reach up to €900,000 per violation. For ongoing non-compliance, penalty payments (dwangsommen) of up to €10,000 per day are possible until the business fixes the problem. The ACM typically starts with a correction order and escalates if the business doesn't act.

Germany. Fines vary by state, but the German federal framework allows penalties up to €100,000 for serious violations. Given Germany's history with accessibility litigation (many disability organizations actively pursue legal action), the risk extends beyond government enforcement. Private organizations can also push for compliance through legal channels.

Belgium. The FOD Economie can impose fines and issue product withdrawal orders for non-compliant products. For services, correction orders and fines apply.

France. The DGCCRF can issue fines up to €150,000 for legal entities and €75,000 for natural persons per violation.

For most small businesses, a fine in the range of €5,000 to €50,000 is the realistic exposure. The maximum amounts are reserved for large companies with clear, willful non-compliance.

What triggers enforcement

Enforcement doesn't happen randomly. Specific events trigger investigations.

Consumer complaints. This is the most common trigger. A person with a disability tries to use your website, can't complete a purchase or booking and files a complaint with the enforcement authority. One complaint can open an investigation.

Market surveillance. Enforcement authorities conduct periodic checks of websites and products in their market. The ACM in the Netherlands has publicly stated they will monitor digital services proactively, not just wait for complaints.

Competitor reports. In some markets, competitors can report non-compliant businesses. This is more common in Germany, where the Abmahnung (formal cease-and-desist notice) culture extends to accessibility violations.

Disability rights organizations. NGOs and advocacy groups actively test websites and report violations. In Germany and France, organizations like Aktion Mensch and APF France handicap have track records of pushing for enforcement.

The disproportionate burden defense

The EAA includes a "disproportionate burden" clause. If making a specific change would impose costs that are genuinely disproportionate relative to the benefit, a business can claim an exception for that specific requirement.

This is not a blanket exemption. You can't wave away all accessibility obligations by claiming cost. The exception works requirement by requirement. You need documentation to support your claim.

To use the disproportionate burden defense, you must:

• Document the specific costs of compliance for each requirement
• Explain why those costs are disproportionate relative to your resources
• Show what alternative measures you've taken to make the service as accessible as possible
• Review and update this assessment regularly

Enforcement authorities can challenge your assessment. If they disagree, you'll need to comply or face penalties.

In practice, this defense is most relevant for complex technical changes like rebuilding custom web applications from scratch. It doesn't apply to basics like adding alt text to images or fixing color contrast.

Beyond fines: the business cost of non-compliance

Fines are the obvious risk. But they're not the only cost.

Lost customers. About 16% of the global population has a significant disability. In the Netherlands alone, 4.5 million people have some form of disability. If they can't use your webshop, they'll buy from someone whose site they can use.

Negative publicity. Enforcement actions are often published. The ACM publishes its decisions. Being named as a business that discriminates against people with disabilities is terrible press, especially for consumer-facing businesses.

Litigation risk. In several EU countries, individuals and disability organizations can take private legal action against businesses with inaccessible services. This can lead to court-ordered compliance plus damages and legal costs, separate from any government fine.

Remediation under pressure. Fixing accessibility issues after an enforcement deadline costs more than doing it proactively. Rush jobs are expensive. Developers charge premium rates for urgent compliance work. And you'll likely need to hire a specialist to verify the fix, adding more cost.

What compliance looks like

Meeting the EAA requirements for your website means following WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. You don't need to achieve perfection. You need to meet the standard.

The most common issues enforcement authorities look for:

• Can a keyboard user complete the main tasks on your site (browse, search, purchase)?
• Do images have alternative text?
• Is the text readable against its background?
• Do forms have proper labels and error messages?
• Can a screen reader make sense of the page structure?
• Is there an accessibility statement explaining your compliance status?

If your website passes on these points, you've covered the majority of what enforcement authorities check.

Run a free accessibility scan on your website to see where you stand on the automated checks. Fix those first. Then do manual keyboard and screen reader testing to catch the rest.

What to do right now

If you think the EAA applies to your business (check our guide on EAA scope if you're not sure), here is the priority order:

1. Scan your website for automated accessibility issues. Fix what comes up.
2. Test your checkout or booking flow with keyboard-only navigation.
3. Write and publish an accessibility statement.
4. Set up a feedback channel so users can report accessibility problems.
5. Document your compliance efforts. If enforcement comes knocking, you want a paper trail showing you took it seriously.

Starting now, even imperfectly, puts you in a much better position than doing nothing and hoping nobody notices.

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Check your website now. Scan your website for accessibility issues and get a clear picture of where you stand. Free, takes 2 minutes.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I be fined immediately or do I get a warning first?

Most enforcement authorities start with a correction order and a deadline to fix the problem. Fines typically follow if you ignore the correction order or fail to meet the deadline. The ACM in the Netherlands has publicly stated that their approach starts with guidance and warnings before escalating to fines.

Does the microenterprise exemption protect me from EAA penalties?

If your business has fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million annual turnover, you're exempt from the EAA service requirements. But this exemption only applies to services, not products. And other Dutch laws on equal treatment and non-discrimination still apply.

What if I'm working on accessibility but haven't finished yet?

Document your progress. Enforcement authorities look at whether a business is making genuine efforts. Having an accessibility statement that honestly describes your current status, a roadmap for improvements and evidence of completed fixes works strongly in your favor compared to having done nothing at all.

Are accessibility overlay tools enough to comply with the EAA?

No. Overlay tools (like AccessiBe, UserWay and similar products) add a widget to your website that claims to fix accessibility issues automatically. Most accessibility experts and enforcement authorities don't consider overlays sufficient for compliance. They often create new problems while failing to fix the underlying issues. Fix your actual website code instead.

My website was built before June 2025. Do I still need to comply?

Services that existed before June 2025 have a transition period until June 2030. But this only covers the service as it was. Any significant update to your website after June 2025 triggers immediate compliance obligations for the updated parts. And June 2030 is a hard deadline with no further extensions.