Image description: Warning pop-up message displaying a yellow alert icon and text reading ‘Accessibility issues detected – Fix required under EU law with a blue button labeled "Fix now."
The EAA doesn’t send reminders
Reading Time: 8 minutes
When an organization fails to comply with the European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882) and receives a formal notice from authorities, it faces serious legal and business risks. This blog explains what a formal notice means under the EAA, outlines the complaint and enforcement process from user grievances to regulatory action, and examines how key EU countries like Germany, France, Italy and Austria enforce accessibility laws. While each country has its own regulatory body, they all enforce the unified standards set forth in Directive 2019/882. We also discuss the potential penalties – from fines to product withdrawal and exclusion from public contracts – and broader repercussions like reputational damage. The message is clear: early compliance and continuous monitoring are crucial.
What is a “formal notice” under the European Accessibility Act?
Under the EAA,specifically the framework established by Directive 2019/882, a formal notice is an official warning issued by a national enforcement authority to an organization that is breaching accessibility requirements. In effect, it is a legally binding notice of non-compliance that instructs the company to remedy specific accessibility failures within a given deadline. Receiving a formal notice means the authorities have investigated and confirmed that your product or service does not meet the EAA’s standards. It is the last chance to voluntarily comply before harsher measures ensue.
Legally, the EAA treats accessibility similar to other product compliance matters. Member States must empower regulators (often called “market surveillance authorities”) to check if companies follow the rules and to formally notify them of violations. For example, if a company sells a product or digital service that isn’t accessible as mandated, regulators can send a formal notice requiring corrective action. This notice typically cites the specific provisions violated (such as missing accessibility information or features) and sets a time limit to fix the issues. It is not merely a suggestion – it’s an enforcement action under law.
A formal notice under the EAA signifies that the compliance clock is ticking. It precedes sanctions: if the company fails to “put an end to the non-compliance” in time, authorities can escalate by imposing fines or even banning the product/service from the market. In other words, the formal notice is both a warning and a legal order to comply. It reflects the Directive’s enforcement philosophy: give businesses an opportunity to remedy accessibility gaps, but if they persist, ensure that inaccessible products or services cannot continue to be offered. Authorities are expected to act diligently – the EAA and its recitals require that every accessibility complaint or violation be decided upon within a reasonable time-frame as part of good administration.
From complaint to sanction
The European Accessibility Act establishes a complaint and enforcement process that empowers individuals and regulators to ensure organizations meet accessibility requirements. Below is a step-by-step overview of how a single user complaint can escalate into formal enforcement action:
User encounters a barrier and raises a complaint
The enforcement process derived from Directive 2019/882 empowers individuals and regulators to ensure organizations meet accessibility requirements. It often starts with a person with a disability experiencing an accessibility barrier in a product or service – for example, an e-commerce website lacking screen reader support or a banking app without text alternatives. Under the EAA framework, users are generally encouraged to first contact the company through an accessibility feedback channel or customer service to report the issue. National laws (and the EAA itself) require organizations to have an accessibility statement and feedback mechanism for this purpose. Companies should treat the complaint seriously and work to resolve it promptly, both to assist the user and to mitigate further action.
Escalation to national authorities
If the organization fails to respond or the user is dissatisfied with the response, the complaint can be escalated to the relevant national authority. Each EU Member State designates one or more bodies to handle accessibility complaints. For example, in France, users can first report accessibility issues to the Défenseur des droits. If the issue is ignored, they may file a formal complaint, and in persistent or commercial cases, the matter can be referred to the DGCCRF (Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes) – the French consumer protection authority — for further investigation. In Germany, if a website or app doesn’t address a complaint via its feedback mechanism, the user can escalate to regional or federal authorities. Italy’s process similarly requires users to first notify the provider, then allows formal complaints to AgID (Agency for Digital Italy) via an online form, with severe cases potentially escalated to the Ministry for Disabilities. In Austria, complaints would be directed to the authorities under the Federal Social Affairs Ministry. The key point is that no single EU-wide “accessibility police” exists – instead, your organization answers to national regulators in each country where you operate, and those regulators will follow their domestic procedures (aligned with the EAA’s minimum standards) to handle complaints.
Investigation by the enforcement body
Once a complaint is lodged with the authorities, they will investigate. The enforcement agency may request information or documentation from the company to assess compliance. Under Article 23 of Directive 2019/882, Member States must have procedures to verify the company’s conformity claims and corrective measures. Investigators might review the product/service against the EAA’s technical requirements (often referencing European harmonized standards like EN 301 549 or WCAG 2.2 for websites). They might also consider whether any exceptions apply. During this phase, regulators typically give the company a chance to explain their accessibility measures or to voluntarily fix issues. However, silence or evasiveness is dangerous – failure to cooperate can itself be a violation. Notably, the EAA obliges manufacturers and service providers to furnish compliance documentation on request to authorities.
Issuance of a formal notice
If the authority concludes that the product or service is not in compliance, it will issue a formal notice of non-compliance. This notice is usually a written administrative decision outlining the findings (e.g. which accessibility requirements are violated) and ordering the organization to correct them. A deadline for compliance will be set. The timeframe can vary – some national rules give companies a grace period. The formal notice serves as both a warning and a legal mandate: it puts the organization on record that it is in breach of the law and must take specific action by a certain date. In many jurisdictions, at this stage authorities may also inform the public or list offending companies in a registry, adding reputational pressure (France’s Decree 2023-931 explicitly allows public disclosure of violations alongside fines). Importantly, a formal notice under the EAA is not optional – ignoring it or failing to remedy in time paves the way for penalties.
Corrective action period
After receiving a formal notice, the organization is expected to implement the necessary fixes within the stipulated timeframe. This might involve making a website conform to WCAG 2.2 AA criteria, patching software or firmware for accessibility, improving customer support procedures, or even recalling a non-compliant product to retrofit accessibility features. During this period, the authority may require progress reports or an updated accessibility statement to verify that issues are being addressed. If the company successfully remedies all issues, the matter may be closed without further penalty (though the fact that it reached the formal notice stage will be on record). In contrast, if the company only partially fixes the problems or misses the deadline, the authority will deem the non-compliance to “persist” and move to enforce sanctions.
Sanctions and Penalties
Failing to comply with a formal notice triggers the punitive phase. National authorities have an array of enforcement tools under their national transposition of the Directive 2019/882. Common sanctions include:
- Financial penalties can be imposed, often scaled by the severity and duration of the violation. The EAA required Member States to set “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” fines, which has led to substantial amounts (detailed per country below). These fines can accrue per violation or per day of continued non-compliance in some cases.
- Market Restrictions: Regulators can take measures to restrict the availability of the non-compliant product or service. In practice, this could mean ordering a halt to sales, removal of a mobile app from app stores, or blocking an online service for EU users until it meets accessibility standards. The ultimate step is market withdrawal, where the company must withdraw the product from the EU market entirely if it cannot be made compliant.
- Additional Orders: Authorities might issue corrective orders alongside fines – for example, mandating that the company promptly provide an accessible alternative format, or requiring periodic accessibility reports. Some countries empower courts to impose injunctions (cease-and-desist orders) at the request of consumers or advocacy groups, effectively forcing the company to stop offering the service until it is fixed.
Throughout this process, timing and responsiveness are critical. The EAA’s recitals emphasize the need for swift handling of complaints and prompt decisions. Many countries have set specific timelines for each stage (for example, Spanish regulations suggest acknowledging a complaint within 7 days and resolving it within 3 months). This enforcement journey underscores that ignoring accessibility issues can quickly escalate from a single user complaint to significant legal troubles.
Avoiding formal notices and embracing accessibility
The best way to deal with an EAA enforcement action is to never receive a formal notice in the first place. Given the stakes outlined above, organizations should treat accessibility compliance as a proactive strategic priority. Waiting is a dangerous gamble – not only is the legal deadline active, but activist users and authorities are on the lookout for laggards. Early compliance allows you to avoid the scramble of last-minute fixes under threat of sanctions.
Key steps for proactive compliance include conducting thorough accessibility audits of your digital products and services, training your development and design teams on inclusive design, integrating accessibility checks into your product development lifecycle, and maintaining an up-to-date accessibility statement as required by law. Accessibility is not a one-and-done project – it requires continuous monitoring and improvement. Websites get updated, apps release new features, and content changes – all these need ongoing review to ensure new barriers aren’t introduced.
Crucially, compliance should not be viewed solely as a regulatory burden, but as a driver of innovation and inclusion. By making your products usable by all, you expand your potential customer base (there are around 87 million people with disabilities in the EU, not to mention an aging population). You also improve overall user experience – accessibility improvements often make products better for everyone, not just people with disabilities. In the long run, investing in accessibility can enhance your brand’s reputation, contribute to CSR goals, and reduce legal risks and development costs.
Conclusion
The European Accessibility Act cannot be ignored – neither legally nor ethically. A formal notice from an EU authority is a clear signal that your organization has fallen behind on its obligations, and it opens the door to fines, enforcement actions, and a host of negative repercussions. CEOs and decision-makers should heed the warning: accessibility compliance is now a critical compliance area, akin to data privacy in its importance and potential penalties. The good news is that by acting early and decisively, organizations can turn this compliance challenge into an opportunity – enhancing their products, reaching more customers, and reinforcing their brand values.
Directive 2019/882 and national laws provide the stick, but there is a carrot: an accessible business is a more resilient, innovative, and trusted business. By prioritizing accessibility today, you can avoid the formal notices and penalties tomorrow.
Read more about the accessibility services that we offer.
EAA has been effective since June 28, 2025.
