Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has applied across the EU. Plenty of people who run webinars have since wondered whether an accessible webinar is now a legal requirement or simply good practice. The honest answer is that it depends on your situation. This guide explains who the Act covers, which exemptions exist, what standard to work towards and what to check whatever your legal position.
What the European Accessibility Act does
The European Accessibility Act is Directive (EU) 2019/882. As a directive, it doesn’t apply on its own. Each member state has written it into national law, so the details and the enforcement bodies differ from country to country. You can read the directive itself on EUR-Lex.
The aim is that people with disabilities can use certain products and services without help from others. That includes people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing, have limited mobility or find text hard to process, and in practice a lot of older people too.
The Act lists specific products and services. Products include computers, smartphones, e-readers and certain self-service terminals. Services include electronic communications, consumer banking, e-books and e-commerce services. That last category is the one that matters for webinars.
Who the Act applies to
E-commerce services for consumers
Put simply, e-commerce services are services provided through websites and apps, at a consumer’s request, with a view to concluding a contract with them. An online shop is the textbook example, which is why the guide to webinars for online shops mentions the Act.
Consumers, not businesses
The Act is aimed at offers for consumers. If you only ever sell to businesses, you’re generally outside its scope. Do check whether your offer really only reaches businesses, or whether private individuals can also sign up and buy.
The microenterprise exemption
Microenterprises that provide services are exempt from the accessibility requirements. A microenterprise has fewer than ten employees and either an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2 million. The exemption covers services, not products.
Businesses outside the EU
The Act is about the EU market. A business based elsewhere, including in the UK, that sells to consumers in the EU may need to consider it as well. In the UK itself, general equality law already expects service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, so accessibility is worth taking seriously either way.
Does a webinar fall under the Act?
Webinars aren’t mentioned by name. Whether yours is covered depends on the role it plays in how you sell. Three common cases help.
A sales webinar for consumers with a buy option. The registration page, the webinar and the buy button together lead to a contract with consumers. There are good arguments that at least parts of this count as an e-commerce service, especially the sign-up and the route to purchase.
A free information webinar with no sale. If no contract is being prepared, the picture is less clear. A webinar that ends with an offer may be treated differently from a pure talk.
A webinar for businesses only. If the webinar clearly targets business customers and you only contract with businesses, the Act usually won’t apply.
If you run your webinar on someone else’s platform, its accessibility matters too. Ask the vendor what the player, registration pages and chat support. When you’re unsure whether you’re covered, get your case checked. Regardless of the law, a webinar more people can use can also bring more registrations and conversations.
What to measure against
The Act describes requirements in broad terms. In practice, two references do the heavy lifting. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) describe how to make web content perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. The European standard EN 301 549 builds on WCAG for web content. Level AA is the usual target.
There’s also an information duty. Businesses within scope must explain how their service meets the accessibility requirements. Many do this with an accessibility statement linked from every page.
A practical checklist for your webinar
This list covers the places where webinars often fall short. It isn’t a full WCAG audit, but it gets you a long way.
Registration page and forms
- Every form field has a visible label, not just grey placeholder text inside the field.
- Error messages appear as text next to the field and say what to do. A red border alone isn’t enough.
- The whole form can be completed and submitted with a keyboard.
- You can always see where the focus is when you tab through the page.
- Images have alt text, and purely decorative images are marked as such.
- The page works at 200% zoom and on narrow phone screens without sideways scrolling.
Contrast and readability
- Normal text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, large text at least 3:1.
- Information never relies on colour alone, as in “the green fields are required”.
- The language is plain and jargon is explained.
The webinar itself
- There are captions, properly checked. The guide to webinar captions shows how.
- Anything important on a slide is also said out loud. “As you can see here” is not a description. Build this into your script from the start.
- Nothing flashes more than three times a second.
- The player works with a keyboard, including volume and captions.
- Audio doesn’t start unexpectedly, or it can be turned down straight away.
Chat, countdown and purchase
- The chat works with a keyboard and a screen reader, and new messages are announced.
- Time-limited offers don’t pressure people who read or click more slowly. The guide to a fair countdown has more on this.
- The buy button has a clear label and can be reached by keyboard.
- Checkout works through to confirmation without a mouse and with zoom.
Emails
- Key information is in the email text, not only in images.
- Links say where they go instead of “click here”.
- The link to join the webinar is easy to find.
How to test it yourself
A few simple tests show quickly where the problems are.
- Keyboard test. Put the mouse aside and tab through the registration page, the webinar and checkout. Can you reach everything, and can you always see where you are?
- Zoom. Set the browser to 200% and look for text that’s cut off or overlapping.
- Screen reader. Every major operating system includes one. Have it read your registration page aloud and you’ll hear at once whether fields and buttons are named sensibly.
- Sound off. Watch the webinar muted with captions on.
- Contrast check. Free contrast checkers give you the ratio for any colour pair.
Automated testing tools only catch part of the problems. When it really matters, test with people who use assistive technology every day.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Act apply to my free webinar?
There’s no blanket answer. What matters is whether the webinar is part of a service meant to lead to a contract with consumers. A free webinar followed by an offer may be judged differently from a pure talk. If in doubt, get your case checked.
Am I exempt as a sole trader?
Not automatically. The exemption is for microenterprises providing services, meaning fewer than ten employees and no more than EUR 2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total. Many sole traders meet that, but check rather than assume.
What happens if a business doesn’t comply?
Enforcement is handled by national market surveillance authorities. They can require corrections, and member states set their own penalties for breaches. The details depend on the country you sell into.
Are captions enough to make a webinar accessible?
No. Captions help deaf and hard-of-hearing attendees. Blind attendees need spoken descriptions, and people with limited mobility need keyboard access. Accessibility covers the whole journey from invitation to purchase.
Final thought
Whether the European Accessibility Act covers your webinar depends on your offer and your customers. The checklist above is worth working through regardless, because it also makes your webinar easier for people on phones, with the sound off or with tired eyes. Start with the registration page and captions, where the gains are biggest.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
