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The Signicat Blog
Thais Guillen

Expert writer on digital identity

European Accessibility Act (EAA) 2025: A B2B Guide to Compliance in 2026

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) has redefined the digital landscape. With the 28 June 2025 deadline having passed, enforcement is now a reality across the EU, and ensuring compliance is a critical business priority. This landmark legislation is not just a past hurdle; it is the current standard for digital innovation, market reach, and customer trust.

 

For businesses in the digital identity and trust services sector, understanding the ongoing obligations of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) is crucial. This guide explains the act's core requirements, its impact on your business today, and how Signicat’s solutions are your key enabler for sustained compliance and growth.

What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a directive from the European Union that has improved the functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services. Its core purpose is to remove and prevent barriers to digital access for people with disabilities and the elderly. By establishing a common set of accessibility rules, the EAA ensures that key digital products and services sold within the EU are compliant and usable for everyone.

What are the key requirements of the EAA for digital products & services?

The European Accessibility Act requirements are based on globally recognised guidelines to ensure a harmonised standard across the EU.

The technical specifications align with EN 301 549, the European standard for digital accessibility. This standard, in turn, is closely based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. These guidelines provide the detailed framework for accessible web content and digital products, covering aspects such as:

  • Perceivability: Information must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
  • Operability: User interface components and navigation must be operable by all users.
  • Understandability: Information and the operation of the user interface must be clear and predictable.
  • Robustness: Content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by assistive technologies.

Which products and services must now comply with the EAA?

The European Digital Accessibility Act applies to a specific range of products and services placed on the market since 28 June 2025. If your business manufactures, imports, or sells any of the following within the EU, your offerings must be compliant:

  • Computers and operating systems.
  • Smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
  • ATMs, ticketing machines, and payment terminals.
  • E-readers.
  • Consumer banking services.
  • E-commerce websites and mobile applications.
  • Access to audiovisual media services (e.g., streaming platforms).
  • Services related to transport, including websites and mobile apps.
  • E-books.

What are the regulatory deadlines and penalties of EAA

With the 2025 deadline past, the focus has shifted to enforcement. This is handled by individual member states, and penalties for non-compliance are significant. They can include:

  • Substantial fines.
  • Orders to withdraw non-compliant products from the market.
  • Bans on the sale of services until they are brought into compliance.

The risk of these penalties, combined with potential reputational damage, makes ongoing compliance a business-critical function.

Why the EAA continues to matter for B2B industries

The EAA's impact extends deep into the B2B landscape. If your business provides technology or platforms that your clients use to serve their own customers, your offerings must enable your clients to be EAA compliant. Failure to do so exposes both you and your clients to risk.

Beyond compliance, the business case for accessibility is stronger than ever:

  • Expanded market: An accessible product is usable by a wider audience, including the estimated 1 in 5 EU citizens with some form of disability.
  • Enhanced brand reputation: A clear and ongoing commitment to inclusivity builds trust and strengthens your brand.
  • Improved user experience for all: Features designed for accessibility have been proven to improve the user experience for everyone.

How the EAA impacts Signicat's B2B clients in 2026

As a provider of foundational digital identity technology, Signicat plays a key role in our clients' ongoing compliance. The European Accessibility Act 2025 requirements mean that the digital onboarding, authentication, and signing journeys you build with our tools must be fully accessible.

  • Financial Services: Customer-facing banking apps, online loan applications, and digital onboarding flows must all be compliant. This includes everything from initial Identity Proofing to authentication.
  • E-commerce: The entire customer journey, from account creation and login to checkout, must meet accessibility standards. This includes any electronic signature services used.
  • Telecommunications: Mobile apps for managing accounts and signing contracts must be operable by users with diverse abilities.

These are just some examples, however, this obligation applies to any business selling into the EU. If you have customers in the EU, the EAA applies to your business today regardless of the industry.

How Signicat is complying EAA

Established inclusive design practices

Our UX team has long prioritised intuitive and inclusive design, ensuring that our product interfaces are easy to navigate for all users. Meanwhile, our technical writers are continuously refining documentation to meet accessibility standards, making sure information is clear and accessible to diverse audiences. The Front-End Guild has standardised and refined key UI components, ensuring they meet accessibility requirements across platforms and touchpoints.

Ongoing collaboration and training

We foster a collaborative culture where cross-functional teams work together on accessibility goals. By upskilling employees, we ensure that all departments have the knowledge to contribute to compliance efforts, embedding accessibility as a shared responsibility throughout the organisation.

Proactive audits and testing

Signicat regularly conducts accessibility testing on its products and services, identifying areas for improvement. Our products have accessibility statements, providing transparency and demonstrating our commitment to continuous improvement. These statements outline compliance measures for users and regulators, highlighting our proactive approach to the EAA European Accessibility Act.

Signicat solutions for sustained EAA compliance

At Signicat, our commitment to universal access is an ongoing process. Our digital identity solutions are designed to help you meet and maintain your obligations.

Our core components (from Signicat’s eID hub to our electronic signature widgets) are built to comply with WCAG AA standards, ensuring a strong, accessible foundation for your user journeys. Our Signicat Mobile SDK Implementation provides clear guidance for building accessible mobile experiences.

Signicat's commitment to ongoing EAA compliance

Signicat has long-established processes to ensure our solutions remain compliant. Our UX team prioritises inclusive design, our technical writers refine documentation to meet accessibility standards, and our Front-End Guild maintains accessible UI components across all touchpoints.

We foster a collaborative culture and conduct regular accessibility testing on our products. Our accessibility statements are publicly available in our Signicat Accessibility Conformance Report, providing full transparency to users and regulators.

FAQ

  • Responsibility is shared, but the ultimate legal liability rests with the business placing the final product or service on the market. As a service provider, Signicat is responsible for ensuring our components (like an e-signature widget) are accessible. Your business is then responsible for ensuring that the final implementation of that component into your website or app is also accessible. This is why choosing a partner with a strong, pre-existing commitment to accessibility is critical.

  • Not automatically. The EAA primarily applies to new products and services placed on the market after 28 June 2025. However, the rules can apply to older products if they undergo a "substantial modification." What constitutes a substantial modification can be complex, but it generally refers to significant changes in design or functionality. It is best practice to create a roadmap for gradually bringing key legacy products into compliance to mitigate future risk.

  • Yes, penalties are actively being enforced by EU member states. They can include significant fines, the withdrawal of products from the market, and public disclosure of non-compliance, leading to reputational damage.

  • The EAA is the law for the European Union, while the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a US federal law. While both aim to prevent discrimination, they have different legal scopes and requirements. They are not interchangeable; businesses operating in both regions must comply with each law separately.

  • No, not directly. Post-Brexit, the European Accessibility Act UK implementation was not automatic. However, it is critically important for any UK-based business selling covered products or services into the European Union, as they must fully comply with the EAA to access the EU market.