Disclaimer
The information in this section should not be taken for legal advice and is intended to be used for information purposes only. The examples provided are not intended to be recommendations, nor is the NDA in the position to provide legally verifiable pathways to comply with the European Accessibility Act.
Overview
The EAA’s accessibility requirements include general requirements for all the products and services covered by the Act, and requirements that are specific to certain products and services.
If an aspect of the product or service is not explicitly covered by the accessibility requirements, but is still in the scope of the EAA, then that aspect must still satisfy the functional performance criteria.
The EAA’s accessibility requirements outline what economic operators must do to comply with the EAA, but they do not specify how a economic operator must do this.
While economic operators can decide how to comply with the requirements, Annex 2 of Directive 2019/882 provides examples of solutions for most of the accessibility requirements to help guide the process.
Where do I find the accessibility requirements?
The European Accessibility Act is a European directive (Directive 2019/882) that is required to be implemented in each EU Member State. Each country’s transposed instrument will contain information, such as enforcement and penalties, relevant to that country. The Directive contains additional instructive recitals and an Annex with examples of solutions for the accessibility requirements. Irish economic operators will find information relevant to Ireland in S.I. 636/2023.
You can find the accessibility requirements in the European Directive 2019/882 in Annex 1 and in the transposed Irish Statutory instrument (S.I.) 636/2023 in Schedule 1. There are no substantive differences between Annex 1 and Schedule 1.
Next steps:
If you are unsure where to start, consider the following guidance:
- Compare your product or service to the scope and definitions in S.I. 636/2023.
- If your product or service is in scope, determine which accessibility requirements apply to your product or service. This is a scoping activity each economic operator must undertake individually.
- Consider the end-to end chain: Consider the consumer journey from start to finish. Assess whether a diverse range of users can:
- Access and understand information about the product before they buy it?
- Perceive and understand any instructions for use?
- Perceive and understand information on disposal when they’re done with the product?
- Access, understand, and use your support services?
- Implement the accessibility requirements in the design and development process. As you implement the requirements, involve users in the design and development process according to the European standard EN17161 . It is important to note that EN 17161 is currently being updated to be harmonized with the European Accessibility Act.