The ADA vs the European Accessibility Act: what US companies selling into Europe need
Gideon Awolesi ·
If you're a US company selling to consumers in Europe, you're now dealing with two accessibility laws: the Americans with Disabilities Act at home, and the European Accessibility Act in the EU. They work very differently. The good news is that if you build to WCAG 2.2 AA, one product can meet both.
01Side by side
| ADA (US) | European Accessibility Act (EU) | |
|---|---|---|
| Private businesses | Title III. No regulation sets a technical web standard | Covers listed services, like e-commerce and consumer banking |
| Standard | WCAG 2.1 AA for state and local government (Title II). DOJ points businesses to WCAG | EN 301 549, moving to WCAG 2.2 AA |
| Dates | Law since 1990. Title II web rule from 26 April 2027 | Applies since 28 June 2025 |
| Enforcement | Mostly private lawsuits | National authorities in each member state |
| What you publish | Nothing required | Accessibility information about the service |
02The ADA for private businesses
Title III of the ADA covers businesses open to the public. The Department of Justice's guidance of 18 March 2022 says it doesn't have a regulation setting out detailed web standards, points to WCAG and Section 508 as helpful guidance, and says businesses still have to make their online services accessible.
In practice, the ADA is enforced through lawsuits. Seyfarth Shaw counted 3,117 federal website accessibility lawsuits in 2025, up from 2,452 in 2024, and that doesn't include state courts or demand letters.
03The Title II rule, and its new dates
For state and local governments, the DOJ's 2024 rule under Title II sets WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard. In April 2026, an interim final rule moved the compliance dates: 26 April 2027 for governments serving 50,000 people or more, and 26 April 2028 for smaller ones. If you sell software to US public bodies, these dates apply to what you sell them.
04The European Accessibility Act
The Act covers listed products and services sold to consumers in the EU, including e-commerce, consumer banking, e-books, and transport booking. It applies to companies outside the EU too: what counts is where your customers are. Each member state enforces it through its own authorities and sets its own penalties. Germany, for example, allows fines of up to €100,000.
05One plan for both
WCAG 2.2 AA includes everything in WCAG 2.1 AA except one criterion that was removed as obsolete, so a product built to 2.2 AA meets what the ADA's Title II rule asks for and what the European standard is moving to. Build to 2.2 AA, test the key journeys by hand, and publish the accessibility information the EU asks for.
Our Accessibility Audit tests up to five key journeys against WCAG 2.2 AA in two weeks, from €2,500, and includes a draft accessibility statement you can publish for your EU customers.