Conformity and Compliance.
Overview of Conformity and Compliance.
The European Accessibility Act requires businesses to ensure their products and services are accessible to people with disabilities. To demonstrate this, the EAA establishes specific conformity procedures and compliance documentation.
Conformity is the process of ensuring products and services meet the accessibility requirements set out in the EAA. Compliance refers to following all the procedural and documentation obligations required by the law.
This chapter explains the specific procedures, documentation, and standards that different business operators must follow to demonstrate conformity with the EAA's accessibility requirements.
Product Conformity.
For physical products, the EAA establishes a conformity assessment procedure similar to other EU product legislation. Key elements include:
- Technical documentation showing how the product meets accessibility requirements
- Internal production control (Module A) as described in Annex IV
- EU Declaration of Conformity formally declaring compliance
- CE marking applied to products that meet requirements
Service Conformity.
Service providers follow a different process than product manufacturers. Their key obligations include:
- Service assessment against the EAA's accessibility requirements
- Documentation explaining how the service meets requirements
- Public information about the service's accessibility features
- Ongoing monitoring to ensure continued accessibility
Documenting Conformity.
The EAA requires specific documentation to demonstrate conformity:
- EU Declaration of Conformity - A legal document stating that a product meets all accessibility requirements
- Technical documentation - Detailed records of how products meet the requirements
- CE marking - A visual indicator that a product complies with EU legislation
- Service accessibility statements - Information about how services meet requirements
These documents must be kept for at least 5 years after a product is placed on the market or a service is provided.
Standards and Guidelines.
The EAA works with harmonized standards to simplify conformity:
- Harmonized standards provide a presumption of conformity
- Technical specifications can be used when no harmonized standards exist
- International standards may be referenced where relevant
Products and services that follow these standards are presumed to meet the EAA requirements covered by those standards.
Enforcement and Monitoring.
The EAA includes mechanisms to ensure companies follow the rules:
- Market surveillance by national authorities
- Non-conformity procedures to address non-compliant products and services
- Penalties for serious or continuous non-compliance
- Conformity assessment procedures to verify accessibility