Short version
Software like websites and apps need to be accessible by June 28, 2025.
Existing physical products sold/installed before June 28 2025 can remain in use 5-20 years.
The basics
We go through the basics of EAA in our article European Accessibility Act (EAA) – What you need to know.
For self-service terminals, we explain more here: European Accessibility Act (EAA) – Kiosks, touch screens and physical devices.
But in a nutshell:
- This EU directive was enacted 2019, and a grace period (let’s call it GP1) allowed EU countries until 2022 to enact this directive into local law.
- The law was to give another grace period (GP2) for companies to comply until June 28, 2025. This gave companies three years to make their products and services accessible.
- Since June 28, 2025, services like websites and apps, and digital products, like e-reader and TVs, must be accessible.
- Some extended grace periods exist:
- Self-service terminals like ticket machines that are in place and which cannot reasonably be made accessible are allowed to stay inaccessible until replaced, but at most 20 years (GP3).
- Inaccessible physical products used to provide services can be used for up to 5 years. For example old ATMs or POS systems installed before June 28 2025 (GP4).
- Existing contracts signed with consumers before june 2025 can stay in place unchanged for up to 5 years (GP5).
Especially grace periods GP3-GP5 cause a lot of confusion, so let’s clear it up!
And to be clear, we are not lawyers so this is not legal advice, but we do know digital accessibility!
The confusion
The grace periods that exist after 2025 do indeed offer deadlines farther into the future. But it’s important to understand why they exist, and when it is allowed to use them.
Websites and apps are not products!
Extended grace periods are available for “products used to provide services”. However, this only means physical products! Websites and apps are not products! They are considered part of the service being provided.
Definition of “product” from Article 3 (2) in the EAA
‘product’ means a substance, preparation, or good produced through a manufacturing process, other than food, feed, living plants and animals, products of human origin and products of plants and animals relating directly to their future reproduction;
Products in place before June 28 2025
Products that cannot reasonably be made accessible after they have been installed are allowed to stay inaccessible until they are replaced or reach their end-of-life. This is intended for things like payment terminals or physical kiosks like ticket-machines that don’t go through regular updates, and where a re-design would require replacing the whole machine. Doing so would mean “old” but still functioning machines would be destroyed, which would be economically and ecologically unwise. A grace period exists for 5 years for such products, or 20 years for self-service terminals.
No such grace periods exist for websites and apps used to provide services!
Grace period wording in the EAA
“In order to allow service providers sufficient time to adapt to the requirements of this Directive, it is necessary to provide for a transitional period of five years after the date of application of this Directive, during which products used for the provision of a service which were placed on the market before that date do not need to comply with the accessibility requirements of this Directive unless they are replaced by the service providers during the transitional period.”
and
“Given the cost and long life-cycle of self-service terminals, it is appropriate to provide that, when such terminals are used in the provision of services, they may continue to be used until the end of their economic life, as long as they are not replaced during that period, but not for longer than 20 years.”
Existing contracts
If an EU consumer signed a contract before June 28, 2025 to use a service covered by the EAA, the company is allowed to keep that contract in place unchanged for up to 5 years even if the contract would break the EAA after June 28 2025. This includes if the contracts format and formalities are not fulfilling EAA requirements, as well as if the service that the contract is for is inaccessble.
This clause was likely added to the EAA because the EU wanted to avoid forcing companies to immediately rewrite millions of existing consumer contracts on 28 June 2025.
Many accessibility obligations affect:
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terms & conditions
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onboarding and account information
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invoices, statements, contractual notices
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customer support channels
If this exception didn’t exist, telecoms, banks, transport operators, etc. would need to terminate or renegotiate all current consumer contracts — which would be disruptive and legally risky.
Confusion
“Contracts” only means contracts between the service provider and consumer! Contracts between the service provider and its suppliers and subcontractors are irrelevant!
So for example if you are a bank and allow your users in the EU to trade stocks using a 3rd party software integrated in your banking app – it doesn’t matter that you signed the contract with the trading platform before June 2025 – the platform still has to be accessible by June 28 2025! Otherwise you are not allowed to accept new customers!
If you have a webshop where a 3rd party chatbot handles customer questions – and you signed the deal for the chatbot in 2024 – that doesn’t matter. The chatbot still must be accessible by June 28, 2025!
Here is a statement from the Swedish auditing agency PTS about their interpretation of this clause:
“Our interpretation is that transitional provision 4 refers to agreements between the service provider and the consumer, which I also understand to be your interpretation. This means that other agreements, for example an agreement between a service provider and a subcontractor, are not covered by the transitional provision according to our assessment.”
If you have an old service that you no longer offer to new customers after June 28 2025 – one that you make no updates for – then you are allowed to keep providing that inaccessible service for those customers who signed up before June 28 2025 until the contract ends, but at most 5 years. But you are not allowed to offer this service to new customers! So this exception is likely not for you!
Lets look at some cases to make it more concrete:
E-commerce website
Case: The website “fashion-lab” sells clothes online. The website was build 2024 and has not changes since. Ana from Spain buys a T-shirt there in August 2025.
Question: Does the website have to be accesible?
Answer: Yes! The website is providing a service (e-commerce) which is a service covered by the EAA. Ana is an EU consumer so she is covered. The purchase means a new contract or transaction is made after june 28 2025. This means “fashion-lab” cannot claim the grace period that allows existing contracts for use of inaccessible products or services to stay in place even after 2025. They cannot claim any of the grace periods for products since a website is not considered a product.
Banking app
Case: A banking app uses 3rd party software for some of the features they provide to consumers on the EU. They signed a contract for a trading platform and a peer-to-peer lending platform 2024, and provide access to these services through their own app. They are not accessible yet, but the bank accepts new customers daily.
Question: Does the app, including the trading and peer-to-peer lending features have to be accessible, and when?
Answer: The app provides banking services to EU consumers which means the service is covered by the EAA. For existing customers the app is allowed to keep providing these services until the next major release. However, since it’s not impossible to make the next release accessible (let someone audit and find issues, then fix them) there is no grace period that allows them to wait until 2030 to make the app accessible. And since there is no existing contract from before June 2025 with any new users – those have to be offered an accessible service from the day they sign up.
Parking tickets, machine and app
Case: A parking company allows users to pay with an app, or use a physical self-service machine that takes card or coin payments. The machine has a touch-screen and buttons, but they are not reachable for wheelchair users, and the touch screen doesn’t conform with the EAA regulations. The app is not accessible.
Question: Is the company allowed to keep the machines installed and in use, and for how long?
Answer: Yes! Ticket machines are considered “Self-service terminals” and they have a grace period until end of life, at most 20 years. The next time the physical machine is replaced, the new version must conform with accessibility requirements. If a new release of the software is made for the machine, it needs to be accessible in the ways that it’s possible.
Question: Are they allowed to let their app be inaccessible, and for how long?
Answer: No! Apps are services, not products, and all services must be accessible from June 28, 2025. Technically they are allowed to keep pre-deadline users using the inaccessible app. But if they accept new users – they have to get an accessible version directly – so that exception is likely not relevant for most companies.
Question: If the app is made accessible, can they then keep installing new inaccessible machines after June 2025 since they provide an accessible option?
Answer: No! There is no exception for new self-service machines placed on the market after June 28 2025. Having an accessible app is great, and often the best way to allow users to use their own device and assistive tech to make sure they can use your services. But there is no exception for “equivalent accessible service” in the EAA.
Summary
Websites and apps used to deliver services covered by the EAA have to be accessible now. Even if you have supplier contracts signed before 2025 for software that you use.
And even though you are allowed to provide inaccessible experiences to existing customers for the remainder of their contracts signed before june 2025, you are still not allowed to sign up new customers for inaccessible services.
So if you havn’t started your accessibility journey yet – it’s probably time! Feel free to reach out and we’ll happily give you some suggestions on what you can do yourselves, and when it is appropriate to involve a specialist like Axess Lab.
If you have a case not covered by this post, let us know and we will make updates continuously!