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The European Accessibility Act in the Netherlands: where do we stand in July 2026?

This article describes the situation in the Netherlands. The rules are European, the enforcement is national, so both the deadlines and the amounts differ per country.

This article was translated from Dutch. Where the two differ, the original is the one to go by. Read the authoritative version

Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA, also known in the Netherlands as the European accessibility law) has applied to a range of consumer-facing digital services, including online stores. In the Netherlands, the ACM supervises e-commerce services. We have been unable to find a published administrative fine under the accessibility law in any EU Member State (as at 4 August 2026). In the meantime, however, there has been plenty of activity. The ACM has investigated approximately one hundred of the largest Dutch online stores and websites of telecommunications and energy providers, and is actively approaching companies. In France, the first financial incentive came not from a regulator but from the court. And anyone who knows that their service does not meet the requirements has an obligation to notify the ACM.

Below is the current state of affairs, with a source for each claim.

Who does the law apply to?

The EAA affects consumer-facing digital services in the EU. These include:

There is an exception for micro-enterprises that provide services, and it works differently from what you often read. You are a micro-enterprise if you employ fewer than 10 people and your annual turnover or balance sheet total does not exceed 2 million euros. The number of employees is therefore a strict limit: from 10 employees, the exception no longer applies, no matter how small your figures otherwise are. For the financial threshold, either of the two figures can apply: if you have fewer than 10 employees and turnover of more than 2 million euros, you can still be a micro-enterprise if your balance sheet total remains below 2 million euros (Directive (EU) 2019/882, Article 3, point 23, and Article 4(5)). If you are unsure, calculate it using your annual figures and discuss it with your accountant.

What has the ACM done so far?

Regulators work in phases: first they investigate, then they address businesses, then they enforce. The Netherlands is in phase two.

In March 2026, the ACM published an investigation into around one hundred of the largest Dutch webshops and the websites of major telecoms and energy providers. The result: at 61%, it is not possible to place an order using assistive technology, for example because an order button cannot be operated with a keyboard or a captcha is inaccessible. At a further 33%, placing an order is possible, but requires considerably more effort. The ACM is not currently issuing fines, but is first pointing out areas for improvement to businesses; those that subsequently fail to improve or make insufficient improvements risk enforcement action (source: acm.nl, 24 March 2026).

“There have not yet been any fines” is therefore only half the story. It is true for administrative fines, but it is no longer true for the courts. On 4 June 2026, the Caen court ordered Carrefour France in summary proceedings to bring its e-commerce services into conformance with the accessibility requirements, subject to a daily penalty of 500 euros per day. That daily penalty will not start to accrue until six months after the ruling, so around 4 December 2026: Carrefour first has half a year to resolve the issues. The case was brought not by a regulator, but by two advocacy organisations, ApiDV and Droit Pluriel (tribunal judiciaire de Caen, summary proceedings, 4 June 2026, case number RG 25/00691). One month earlier, the Lille court had dismissed a similar case against Auchan. The situation is therefore evolving, and it does not necessarily start with the regulator.

The court also rejected some claims: suspending the site and the app went too far because this would also affect other consumers, and the court considered publication of the ruling on Carrefour's homepage disproportionate. Of the 50,000 euros in damages claimed, 10,000 euros was awarded. Moreover, this is an interim ruling in summary proceedings, provisionally enforceable, and not a final judgment in proceedings on the merits. And note the scope: Carrefour is subject to this French obligation partly because its turnover exceeds 250 million euros (Article 47 of the French law of 11 February 2005, alongside Article L 412-13 of the code de la consommation, which transposes the EAA). That threshold is French and says nothing about the scope of the EAA itself, which has no turnover threshold of that type.

What the case says about your accessibility statement

The figure at the heart of the case came from Carrefour's own accessibility statement: a 71.21% conformance level. The court's reasoning is that anyone who deviates from the European standard EN 301 549 is presumed not to meet the statutory accessibility requirements. You may rebut that presumption, but you must provide evidence to the contrary, and Carrefour did not do so. The ruling lists nineteen points of non-conformance: missing alt text, insufficient contrast, focus that is not visible, forms without labels, text that does not scale at 256 pixels, and an incorrect heading structure. In the words of the ruling (our translation from French): the online store concerned cannot be a little accessible; it must be fully accessible.

An accessibility statement is therefore not a licence to ignore the rules. What you publish about the accessibility of your service may later be read as evidence. That is no reason not to publish one, but it is a reason to ensure that what it says is accurate and that it is backed by an assessment and a plan.

The reporting obligation that almost nobody knows about

This is the least-known part of the law, and it is stated plainly on the ACM website: if you discover that your service does not meet the accessibility requirements, you must report this to the ACM yourself.

The deadlines depend on the impact of the problem:

In both cases, the following applies: if you resolve the problem within that period, you do not need to report it (source: acm.nl, reporting obligation when accessibility requirements are not met).

That changes the meaning of “we will look at it later”. Anyone who has their site assessed and finds problems is subject to a statutory deadline from that moment onwards. Not knowing where you stand feels safer, but it is not: the problem exists even without an assessment, and your room for action has only become smaller.

Why this is more than a legal issue

Two figures put the law into perspective:

The loss is therefore already occurring today, in revenue. The law is the baseline, not the reason.

What can you do now?

Start by understanding where you stand. An honest caveat: automated testing covers part of the standard. Our scanner automatically tests 30 of the 50 WCAG AA criteria, partly or fully (as at July 2026); the rest requires human evaluation, and we always make that clear.

An initial impression of your own site takes 60 seconds.

Start the free scan

Frequently asked questions

Have any EAA fines already been issued?
We have not been able to find any: as at 4 August 2026, we found no published administrative EAA fine in any EU Member State. That is not the same as saying that none exists. There has already been a court ruling with financial consequences: on 4 June 2026, the Caen court ordered Carrefour in summary proceedings to bring its e-commerce services into line with the accessibility requirements, subject to a daily penalty of 500 euros per day that will only start to accrue six months after the ruling. That case was brought by two advocacy organisations, not by a regulator. Regulators are meanwhile conducting investigations and holding discussions, not issuing fines.
Does the law also apply to my small business?
The micro-enterprise exemption applies to service providers employing fewer than 10 people, provided that either their annual turnover or their balance sheet total also remains below 2 million euros. From 10 employees onwards, the law applies in all cases. If you employ fewer than 10 people but generate more than 2 million euros in turnover, you can still be a micro-enterprise if your balance sheet total remains below 2 million euros (Directive (EU) 2019/882, Article 3, point 23).
What does “accessible” mean in practical terms here?
In practice, the European standard EN 301 549 is used, which refers to the international WCAG 2.1 guidelines, level AA, for websites. This includes sufficient contrast, working form labels and full keyboard operability.
Is an accessibility statement enough?
No. A statement describes the actual state of your service. A statement without an underlying assessment is itself a risk, because it creates an impression that you must be able to substantiate. In the Carrefour case, this went one step further: the court used the conformance level from the company’s own statement (71.21%) as evidence that the service did not meet the requirements.
What exactly do I need to report to the ACM?
That your service does not meet the requirements, as soon as you know this: within 1 week if the impact is “critical” or “serious”, and within 1 month if it is “moderate” or “minor”, unless you resolve it within that period.

Sources

Wexlo scans websites for accessibility and is transparent about what automated testing can and cannot detect. This article provides information, not legal advice.