The European Accessibility Act (EAA) officially became applicable across the EU in June 2025, and 2026 is the year enforcement is actually picking up. National authorities in several member states are now checking whether digital services, including online learning platforms, meet the new requirements. If you build or sell online courses, this isn't some abstract policy footnote. It directly affects how you publish video, structure text, and build interactive exercises.
What does the EAA actually require?
The EAA requires providers of certain digital services, think webshops, banking apps, and yes, e-learning, to make their product usable for people with disabilities. The technical baseline is WCAG 2.1 level AA, the same standard that has been the gold standard for accessible websites for years. In practice that means things like captions on video, screen-reader-friendly text structure, sufficient color contrast, and full keyboard control.
Does this even apply to a small training business?
Here's the nuance worth knowing. Microenterprises, companies with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet under 2 million euros, get a limited exemption when they provide services. A lot of independent trainers and small training institutes fall into exactly that bracket. The catch: the exemption is limited, doesn't apply identically in every EU country, and disappears if you've received funding specifically earmarked for accessibility. On top of that, you're almost certainly running on an LMS provider that does have to comply itself. So even with an exemption on paper, taking accessibility seriously is still the smarter move.
What actually changes in your course content?
A handful of fixes make most of the difference in practice:
- Add captions, and ideally a transcript, to every video.
- Use alt text on images and charts so a screen reader can describe what's there.
- Make sure every interactive exercise, quiz, and button works with keyboard navigation alone.
- Check the color contrast on your text and buttons, brand colors are often a touch too light to pass.
- Use real headings and a logical reading order in your materials instead of text blocks that only look right visually.
- Publish an accessibility statement explaining how your platform meets the requirements.
How do you tackle this without a dev team?
Start with a quick audit of your most-followed courses, not your entire catalog at once. Click through a few lessons using only your keyboard, then mute the sound to check whether your captions actually make sense on their own. Most modern LMS platforms already have built-in captioning and contrast-checking tools, so see what your current system supports before building anything yourself. For PDFs and worksheets, free checkers will flag the worst issues within a couple of minutes. Treat this as an ongoing habit for every new course you build, not a one-time project you tick off and forget.
Accessibility is just good instructional design
Here's the upside: accessible content tends to work better for everyone, not just the people it was designed for. Captions help deaf and hard-of-hearing learners, but they also help anyone watching on a noisy train with the sound off. Clear headings and structure help people with reading difficulties, but they also help busy learners who just want to scan for what's relevant. Investing in accessibility now usually pays off in wider reach and, quite often, in better completion rates too.
The bottom line
The EAA isn't a reason to panic, but it is a good prompt to take a hard look at your course platform. Start small, pick a few concrete fixes, and build accessibility into your normal workflow instead of treating it as a one-off project. Not sure whether the exemption applies to you? Check with your LMS provider or a legal advisor, the rules vary just enough between member states to make that worth doing.