The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) isn't a vague technical debt hanging over e-commerce: it's a series of precise dates, transposed into French law by the 2023 texts. Knowing which one concerns you, and when, changes your whole planning. Here's the timeline, deadline by deadline.
28 June 2025 — entry into application
This is the cut-off date. Any new e-commerce service brought online — or substantially modified — from 28 June 2025 must comply with RGAA 4.1 immediately, with no grace period. Concretely: if you launch a store or rebuild a PrestaShop or WooCommerce theme after this date, the obligation applies on the day you go live.
What counts as a "substantial modification"?
The term has no numeric definition, but practice settles on: a theme rebuild, a change of checkout funnel, a major version migration (PrestaShop 1.6 to 8, for example), adding a payment or customer-account feature. A simple security patch or a product addition doesn't count. When in doubt, treat any rebuild visible to the customer as substantial.
2025 – 2030 — the transition period for legacy sites
Services already online on 28 June 2025 get a transition period running up to 28 June 2030. But — crucially — this delay is not a right to do nothing. It covers a gradual, documented path to compliance: a dated initial audit, a prioritised action plan, tracked fixes. A legacy site that has started nothing doesn't "benefit" from the transition; it's simply non-compliant and exposed the moment a complaint arrives.
// The transition has to be earned
The best protection during 2025-2030 isn't to wait until 2030, it's to be able to prove an active approach at any moment: a timestamped audit plus a remediation plan are enough to demonstrate good faith to an authority.
28 June 2030 — end of the transition
On that date, every e-commerce service concerned must be fully compliant. The transition period ends and sanctions become fully applicable, including against legacy sites. 2030 sounds far off; on the scale of a product roadmap, where a single accessibility sprint takes months, it's tomorrow.
The special case of kiosks and terminals
For self-service physical terminals already installed (collection kiosks, self-checkouts, dispensers), the directive allows a tolerance of up to 20 years after they enter service, or the end of their useful economic life. This tolerance does not apply to your website: an e-commerce site stays on the 2025-2030 timeline.
The microenterprise exemption
⚠ An exemption worth knowing
Microenterprises with fewer than 10 employees AND less than €2M in turnover (or balance-sheet total) can be exempted — but only for services, and only if they document and can justify the thresholds. Failing to document the exemption amounts to being targeted like everyone else.
What to do, deadline by deadline
- 01Before any rebuild: bake RGAA compliance into the spec, not as an afterthought
- 02Today, if the site is legacy: run an initial audit to set a dated starting point
- 03Within 3 months: publish an honest accessibility statement, even a partial one
- 04Every quarter: re-audit to measure progress and document the follow-up
- 05Before June 2030: aim for full compliance or duly justified exceptions
Frequently asked questions
My site has existed since 2020: am I safe until 2030?
No. You have a window to bring yourself into compliance, not a dispensation. If a complaint is filed in 2027 and you've started nothing, the lack of action is held against you. The transition protects those who move, not those who wait.
Does a theme rebuild restart the immediate obligation?
Yes. A rebuild is a substantial modification: the "rebuilt" site is treated as a new service and must comply the moment it goes live, with no benefit from the transition.
Is the microenterprise exemption automatic?
No. It must be determined, documented (a dated internal note justifying the thresholds), kept for at least 5 years and produced on the authority's request. With no file, the exemption doesn't exist in practice.
EAA, RGAA, WCAG: which standard covers what?
The EAA is the law (the "why"). RGAA 4.1 is the French assessment framework (the "how to check"). WCAG 2.1 AA is the underlying international standard. A serious audit measures the RGAA while staying aligned with WCAG for cross-European sites.
Set your dated starting point before the next complaint arrives:
→ Run an audit