# EAA Penalties and Enforcement

> What happens if you don't comply? An overview of member state enforcement mechanisms, penalties, and the complaint process.

https://rankproof.eu/guides/eaa-penalties-enforcement

## Short answer

The EAA leaves penalty levels to each member state: Article 30 requires them to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, so amounts differ by country. Enforcement runs through national market-surveillance authorities, which act on complaints and can require a service to be brought into conformity or withdrawn.

- **Penalties article**: Article 30
- **Amounts set by**: National law
- **Enforced by**: Market-surveillance authorities
- **Enforceable since**: 28.06.2025

## EAA Penalties and Enforcement

The European Accessibility Act became enforceable on **28 June 2025**. Non-compliance carries real consequences. Here's what you need to know.

## How is the EAA enforced?

Unlike some EU directives, the EAA uses a **market surveillance** model. Each member state must:

1. **Designate a market surveillance authority** responsible for monitoring compliance
2. **Establish complaint procedures** for consumers and organisations
3. **Define penalties** that are "effective, proportionate, and dissuasive"
4. **Report to the European Commission** on enforcement activities

## What penalties can be imposed?

The EAA leaves penalty specifics to member states, but penalties must be **effective, proportionate, and dissuasive** (Article 30). Common penalty types across member states include:

### Financial penalties
- **Fines** — ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of euros depending on the member state, severity, and duration of non-compliance
- **Daily penalties** — ongoing fines until compliance is achieved
- **Revenue-based fines** — some member states set fines as a percentage of annual turnover

### Non-financial penalties
- **Product withdrawal** — removal of non-compliant products from the EU market
- **Service restriction** — orders to cease offering non-compliant services
- **Public naming** — publication of non-compliant operators ("name and shame")
- **Corrective action orders** — mandated remediation with deadlines

## Member state examples

| Country | Enforcement body | Penalty approach |
|---------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Germany | Bundesnetzagentur | Fines up to EUR 100,000 |
| France | ARCOM / DGCCRF | Fines up to EUR 50,000 per violation |
| Netherlands | Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure | Administrative fines, product withdrawal |
| Spain | Ministry of Social Rights | Fines ranging EUR 301 to EUR 1,000,000 |
| Italy | AGID / AGCOM | Administrative penalties |

*Note: These are illustrative and may have been updated by national transposition. Check your specific member state's implementation.*

## The complaint process

Any person or organisation can file a complaint about non-compliance:

1. **Consumer complaint** — filed with the national market surveillance authority
2. **Organisation complaint** — disability organisations can act on behalf of consumers
3. **Cross-border complaints** — the EU's mutual assistance mechanism allows authorities to cooperate across borders

### What happens after a complaint

1. Authority reviews the complaint
2. If valid, authority contacts the operator and requests information
3. Operator has a period to demonstrate compliance or remediate
4. If not resolved, formal proceedings begin
5. Penalties are imposed if non-compliance is confirmed

## Risk factors that increase scrutiny

Certain factors make enforcement action more likely:

- **High-traffic consumer services** (e-commerce, banking, transport)
- **Known accessibility barriers** that have been publicly reported
- **Failure to have an Annex V declaration** (easy to detect, clear violation)
- **Repeat offenders** who have been previously notified
- **Consumer complaints** from individuals or disability organisations

## How to protect your organisation

1. **Publish an Annex V declaration** — even an honest declaration showing partial compliance demonstrates good faith
2. **Run regular accessibility audits** — document your compliance efforts
3. **Establish a feedback mechanism** — make it easy for users to report issues
4. **Create a remediation roadmap** — show that you're actively working towards full compliance
5. **Retain compliance records** — keep declarations and audit reports for as long as the service remains available (Article 13(2))

## The cost of non-compliance vs compliance

| Non-compliance costs | Compliance investment |
|---------------------|---------------------|
| Fines (EUR 10,000 - 1,000,000+) | Accessibility audit (EUR 2,000 - 10,000) |
| Legal fees | Developer training (EUR 500 - 2,000) |
| Reputation damage | Remediation work (varies) |
| Lost EU market access | RankProof's free accessibility tools (EUR 0) |
| Complaint handling costs | Ongoing monitoring |

**The math is clear:** investing in compliance is significantly cheaper than dealing with enforcement actions.

## Start now

The EAA enforcement date has passed. If you haven't started:

1. **Scan your website** with our free tool to identify current issues
2. **Prioritise high-impact fixes** — start with the most critical WCAG violations
3. **Generate your Annex V declaration** — even partial compliance should be documented
4. **Set up monitoring** — catch regressions before enforcement authorities do

## Primary sources

- [Directive (EU) 2019/882 — EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/882/oj)
- [EN 301 549 — ETSI](https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/301500_301599/301549/)
- [WCAG 2.1 — W3C](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/)