Implementation Timeline.

The European Accessibility Act follows a step-by-step timeline with several important deadlines. Understanding these dates will help you plan how your organization will follow the rules.

These deadlines are the main milestones in putting the EAA into practice. Each phase has specific requirements for different groups involved in making things accessible.

April 17, 2019: The European Parliament and Council officially adopted the European Accessibility Act as Directive (EU) 2019/882. This was the start of the implementation process.

Key activities during this phase:

• Publishing the law in the Official Journal of the European Union.
• Raising awareness among EU countries.
• Early planning to put the law into national rules.
• Talking with interested groups at EU and national levels.

This phase created the foundation for a unified approach to accessibility across the European Union.

June 28, 2022: Deadline for EU Member States to put the EAA into their national laws. By this date, all EU countries had to adopt and publish the laws, rules, and procedures needed to follow the EAA.

What this means:

• Each member country created its own legal system for putting the EAA in place.
• Countries set up ways to enforce the rules.
• Specific national requirements may differ while still following the main EAA rules.
• Organizations should look at both the EU law and their specific national versions.

The process created a network of national laws that put the EAA's requirements in place while allowing for some country-specific adjustments.

June 28, 2025: The date when the accessibility requirements become fully required. From this date, all new products sold and services provided must follow the accessibility requirements of the EAA.

What this means:

• Products designed, made, and sold after this date must be accessible.
• Services provided to consumers after this date must be accessible.
• Authorities will start checking if products and services follow the rules.
• Products or services that don't follow the rules may be restricted or removed from the market.

June 28, 2030: End of the extra time period for service providers. Until this date, service providers can keep using products that were legally used before June 28, 2025.

Additional details:

• Service contracts signed before June 28, 2025, can continue unchanged until they end or for a maximum of 5 years.
• Self-service machines legally used before June 28, 2025, can continue to be used until the end of their useful life, but not longer than 20 years.

These transition periods give a gradual approach to full compliance, giving organizations time to adapt while ensuring progress toward accessible products and services.

Here's a practical guide to help your organization prepare for each phase of EAA implementation:

Now Until June 2025.

Assessment and planning phase:

• Make a list of all your products and services that the EAA covers.
• Check current accessibility levels against EAA requirements.
• Find gaps where your products or services don't meet the rules.
• Create a step-by-step plan to fix these gaps before June 2025.
• Start training staff on accessibility requirements and best practices.
• Begin updating design and development processes to include accessibility from the start.

June 2025 Milestone.

Full compliance deadline:

• All new products must meet accessibility requirements when placed on the market.
• All services must be accessible when provided to consumers.
• Products designed or made before this date but released later must still follow the rules.
• Have documentation ready that shows how you follow the accessibility requirements.
• Make sure your technical files and declarations are complete and accurate.

June 2025 - June 2030.

Transition management:

• Review service contracts signed before June 2025 and plan for updates when they expire (or by June 2030 at the latest).
• Start planning replacement of any non-accessible self-service terminals used before June 2025.
• Keep tracking and fixing accessibility issues that users report.
• Continue improving accessibility in all products and services.
• Check that suppliers and partners also follow the EAA requirements.

Beyond June 2030.

Full implementation:

• All services, including those using pre-2025 products, must be fully accessible.
• All service contracts must include accessibility provisions.
• Self-service terminals from before June 2025 should be replaced with accessible versions if they've reached the end of their useful life.
• Maintain ongoing compliance as accessibility standards and technologies evolve.