The EU Accessibility Act: a plain-language guide for Shopify merchants

Last updated: July 2026.

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) became enforceable on June 28, 2025. If you run a Shopify store and sell to consumers in the EU, it likely applies to you — regardless of where your business is based. This guide explains what it requires, in plain language, and where the real exemptions lie.

Who does the EAA apply to?

The EAA applies to businesses that sell products or services to consumers in the EU. It doesn't matter where your company is registered or where your servers are — what matters is whether EU consumers can buy from your store. For an online store, this generally means your website and checkout process need to meet recognized accessibility standards (in practice, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the reference point most commonly cited).

What happens if you don't comply?

Enforcement varies by EU member state, since each country implements the EAA through its own national law. Germany, for example, has set penalties reaching up to €100,000 for non-compliance. France separately penalizes stores that fail to publish an accessibility statement, independent of the underlying accessibility of the site itself. Enforcement is still ramping up through 2026, and audit activity is increasing.

The microenterprise exemption — and its fine print

The EAA includes an exemption for microenterprises: businesses with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance-sheet total under €2 million. The catch that trips people up: this exemption only covers businesses that provide services. If your store sells physical products, the microenterprise exemption doesn't apply to you, even if you're a one-person shop.

That means most Shopify merchants selling physical goods are in scope regardless of size. Merchants selling digital services (subscriptions, downloads, consulting booked through their store) may qualify if they're small enough.

What about US merchants?

The EAA is an EU regulation, but it applies based on who you sell to, not where you're based — a US-based Shopify store selling to EU consumers is still in scope. Separately, the US ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) has no small-business or size-based exemption at all for web accessibility; ADA lawsuit volume against small e-commerce stores has been rising in recent years, and these are two separate legal frameworks that don't offset each other.

Check where you stand

We built a free, four-question tool that walks through the EAA's actual exemption criteria and gives you a plain-language read on where you likely stand: try the EAA exemption checker. It's not legal advice — for a decision that matters, talk to a qualified lawyer — but it's a faster starting point than reading the regulation cold.

AbleFix also generates an accessibility statement for your storefront, which several EU jurisdictions require independently of your underlying accessibility work.