The EAA accessibility statement: content, structure and mistakes
Updated October 12, 2026 · 3 min read
Under the European Accessibility Act, a covered service provider must publish information on how its service meets the accessibility requirements (Article 13 and Annex V of Directive 2019/882). It belongs in the general terms and conditions or an equivalent document, in an accessible format. In Germany the same duty is in §14 and Annex 3 of the BFSG, and shops often publish it as a separate "Barrierefreiheitserklärung" page.
Who needs one
Only providers of covered consumer services that are not micro-enterprises — for example, an online shop with 10 or more employees selling to consumers in the EU. If the EAA does not apply to you, you have no legal duty, although a short page about accessibility can still help customers. Check with the three-question filter.
What Annex V asks for
The information must include, as a minimum:
- A general description of the service in accessible formats.
- Descriptions and explanations needed to understand how the service works.
- A description of how the service meets the relevant accessibility requirements.
National laws may add details, so check the law of the countries where you sell: Germany, Poland, Czechia, Romania.
A practical structure
| Section | What to write |
|---|---|
| About the service | What you sell, through which channels (website, app, phone, email), in which countries |
| How the service works | How customers find products, order, pay, receive confirmations and get support |
| Accessibility features | What you have done: keyboard access, contrast, labelled forms, text alternatives, captions, alternative contact channels |
| Standard used | The standard you measure against, e.g. EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.2 AA |
| Known limitations | Areas that are not yet accessible and when you plan to fix them |
| Feedback and contact | How customers can report a barrier and get help |
| Supervisory authority | The authority responsible in your country, if your lawyer recommends naming it |
| Date | When the information was last reviewed |
Where to publish it
Annex V says the information goes into the general terms and conditions or an equivalent document. Many shops add a dedicated page and link it from the footer and from the terms. Whatever you choose, the information itself must be accessible — an image of text or an untagged PDF is not.
Common mistakes
- Copying a public sector template. The statement under Directive 2016/2102 is for public bodies and has a different structure.
- Claiming full conformance after an automated scan. Automated tools find only part of the issues.
- Listing only scan errors. Annex V asks for a description of the service and how it meets the requirements, not a bug list.
- No date and no owner. The statement goes out of date with every redesign.
- No contact route. Customers need a way to report barriers and get the service another way.
- Wrong language. Publish it in the languages your shop uses.
How our draft generator works
A scan cannot write this text, because it must describe your service. We therefore ask 10–15 questions about your service: channels, support options, alternative ways to order, existing accessibility features and who is responsible. Your scan results feed only the "known limitations" section. You get a draft in the language of your country, marked as a draft for your lawyer. It is not legal advice, and our scan is an automated check, not a full audit.
Related reading: EAA guide, WCAG 2.2 checklist. Start with a free check.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2019/882, Article 13 and Annex V, EUR-Lex: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/882/oj
- BFSG §14, gesetze-im-internet.de: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bfsg/__14.html