Conformity Under the European Accessibility Act

The European Accessibility Act establishes a framework for ensuring that products and services comply with accessibility requirements. The conformity assessment process verifies that economic operators have fulfilled their obligations regarding accessibility.

Conformity with the EAA is a comprehensive process that covers the entire product or service lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to placing on the market and continued compliance.

Products and services that conform to harmonized standards or parts thereof, the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, are presumed to be in conformity with the accessibility requirements covered by those standards.

When no harmonized standards have been published, products that comply with technical specifications adopted by the Commission shall be presumed to be in conformity with the accessibility requirements covered by those technical specifications.

The EAA provides for different conformity assessment procedures depending on the type of economic operator and product or service:

• Internal production control (Module A) - the manufacturer ensures and declares on their sole responsibility that the products concerned satisfy the applicable requirements.
• EU-type examination (Module B) followed by conformity to type based on internal production control (Module C) - for certain products, a notified body examines the technical design and verifies that it meets the requirements.
• Service providers must conduct their conformity assessment in accordance with Annex V of the EAA, which involves an evaluation of services against the accessibility requirements.

Economic operators must maintain comprehensive documentation to demonstrate conformity:

• Technical documentation - containing all relevant data or details of the means used by the economic operator to ensure the product or service meets accessibility requirements.
• EU Declaration of Conformity - a formal declaration that the product meets all the essential requirements of the EAA.
• CE marking - for products, indicating conformity with EU legislation and enabling free movement in the European market.
• Records of complaints and non-conforming products and services, along with product recalls and information provided to distributors.

Economic operators have ongoing responsibilities to ensure continued conformity:

• Market surveillance cooperation - providing all necessary information and documentation to demonstrate product conformity.
• Corrective measures - taking immediate action when a product or service is found to be non-compliant.
• Information provision - ensuring that competent authorities can obtain all information necessary to verify conformity.
• Sample testing - when appropriate, carrying out sample testing of products made available on the market.

The EAA recognizes certain exceptions to the conformity requirements:

• Disproportionate burden - if compliance would impose a disproportionate burden, economic operators may be exempted from specific requirements.
• Fundamental alteration - if compliance would require a fundamental alteration of the basic nature of the product or service.
• Microenterprises - service providers that are microenterprises are exempt from certain requirements but must notify the relevant authority if claiming this exemption.

Explore detailed information about specific aspects of conformity under the EAA:

• Harmonized Standards - Understanding the role of harmonized standards in ensuring conformity
• EU Declaration of Conformity - Requirements for the EU Declaration of Conformity document
• CE Marking - Rules for applying the CE marking to products under the EAA
• Conformity of Services - Specific conformity assessment procedures for services