Conformity Under the European Accessibility Act.

The European Accessibility Act creates rules to make sure products and services are accessible. The conformity process checks that businesses have followed these accessibility rules.

Conformity with the EAA covers the whole product or service life. This includes design, manufacturing, sale, and ongoing checks.

Products and services that follow official EU standards are assumed to meet the accessibility requirements. These standards are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

When no official standards exist, products that follow technical rules created by the Commission are assumed to meet the accessibility requirements.

The EAA has different ways to check conformity based on the type of business and product or service:

• Internal production control. The manufacturer checks their own products and declares they meet the requirements.
• EU-type examination. For some products, an official body checks the design and verifies it meets the requirements.
• Service providers. They must check their services against accessibility requirements following the rules in Annex V of the EAA.

Businesses have ongoing responsibilities to ensure continued conformity:

• Market surveillance cooperation. Providing all needed information to show product conformity.
• Corrective measures. Taking immediate action when a product or service does not meet requirements.
• Information provision. Making sure authorities can get all information needed to verify conformity.
• Sample testing. Testing products in the market when needed.

The EAA allows some exceptions to the conformity requirements:

• Disproportionate burden. If meeting requirements would cost too much, businesses may be exempt from specific rules.
• Fundamental alteration. If meeting requirements would change the basic nature of the product or service.
• Microenterprises. Very small service providers are exempt from some requirements but must notify authorities if using this exemption.