Compliance of Services

Under the European Accessibility Act, service providers must ensure their services comply with the applicable accessibility requirements. The approach to compliance for services differs from that for products, as services do not undergo CE marking but still require conformity assessment.

The compliance framework for services aims to ensure that persons with disabilities can access and use services on an equal basis with others, while providing a flexible and proportionate approach for service providers to demonstrate conformity.

Service compliance is essential to achieving the EAA's goal of improving the functioning of the internal market for accessible services while ensuring consistent accessibility standards across all Member States.

According to the EAA, service providers demonstrate compliance through:

• Providing information in general terms and conditions, or equivalent documents, explaining how the service meets the applicable accessibility requirements
• Describing the applicable accessibility requirements and how they are met in the service's documentation
• Preparing and maintaining detailed technical documentation regarding the service's accessibility features
• Making this information available to the public in written and oral format, including in a manner accessible to persons with disabilities
• Retaining this documentation for a period of five years after the service was last provided

This documentation-based approach allows service providers to self-assess and demonstrate their compliance without requiring third-party certification in most cases.

Service providers can use various methods to assess and ensure compliance with accessibility requirements:

• Self-assessment - Evaluating the service against the applicable accessibility requirements and documenting the results
• User testing - Involving persons with disabilities in testing and providing feedback on accessibility features
• Expert evaluation - Engaging accessibility experts to review and assess the service against requirements
• Conformity with standards - Demonstrating compliance with harmonized standards or technical specifications to create a presumption of conformity
• Continuous monitoring - Implementing ongoing processes to maintain accessibility as the service evolves

Service providers should document these assessment activities and their results as part of their compliance documentation.

Member States are responsible for checking compliance of services with the EAA requirements:

• Member States must designate authorities responsible for checking compliance of services
• These authorities verify that service providers have conducted appropriate assessments of their services
• They check that documentation demonstrating compliance is accurate and complete
• Authorities follow up on complaints or reports related to non-compliance
• They verify that any claimed exceptions based on disproportionate burden are properly documented and justified
• Where non-compliance is found, authorities ensure that corrective action is taken

The EAA recommends that Member States establish clear procedures for checking compliance of services and ensure that authorities have sufficient resources to carry out their tasks effectively.

When non-compliance is identified, service providers must take appropriate corrective actions:

• Take immediate corrective measures to bring the service into conformity with applicable accessibility requirements
• Cease provision of the service if it presents a risk related to accessibility (where appropriate)
• Inform the competent national authorities about the non-compliance and corrective measures taken
• Cooperate with authorities on any measures to ensure compliance
• Document the corrective measures taken and their outcomes
• Implement preventive measures to avoid similar non-compliance issues in the future

Authorities may require additional corrective measures if those taken by the service provider are deemed insufficient to address the non-compliance.

The EAA provides for certain exceptions to service compliance requirements:

• Disproportionate burden - Service providers may be exempt from meeting certain requirements if they can demonstrate this would impose a disproportionate burden
• Fundamental alteration - Requirements need not be met if they would require a fundamental alteration in the nature of the service
• Microenterprises - Service providers that are microenterprises (fewer than 10 persons and annual turnover or balance sheet not exceeding €2 million) are exempt from compliance requirements

Even when claiming an exception, service providers must document their assessment of disproportionate burden or fundamental alteration, and microenterprises must notify authorities if requested.

For more information about disproportionate burden assessments, see theAnnex IV: Disproportionate Burden Assessment page.