Guide · European Accessibility Act
The EAA microenterprise exemption: does it cover your Shopify store?
Last updated
General information, not legal advice. Laws differ by country; for your situation, ask a lawyer.
The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882, the EAA) has applied to online stores selling to EU consumers since 28 June 2025, with one big exception: very small businesses that provide services. For many Shopify merchants the first question is not "what do I fix?" but "does this apply to me at all?"
This guide covers the definition, how to count, the national twists and what to keep on file. Where the law is not settled, we say so.
In short
- A microenterprise employs fewer than 10 persons and has an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than €2 million (EAA Art. 3(23)).
- Microenterprises providing services, such as an online store, are exempt from the accessibility requirements for services and the obligations linked to them (Art. 4(5)).
- Staff are counted in annual work units, and the figures of partner and linked enterprises can count too (Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC).
- National laws differ in the details: Germany looks at two consecutive years, Austria's authority can ask for documents, Belgium's exemption ends on 28 June 2030.
- Keep a dated self-assessment with your figures. It is your answer if an authority asks.
What the directive says
The definition
Article 3(23) of the European Accessibility Act defines a microenterprise as "an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and which has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million".
Read the logic carefully, because it is easy to get wrong:
- The staff test is always required: fewer than 10 persons. Ten is already too many.
- On top of that, you need to pass one of the two financial tests: turnover of no more than €2 million, or a balance sheet total of no more than €2 million.
So a store with 7 people and €3.5 million in sales can still qualify if its balance sheet total stays at or below €2 million. A store with 12 people and €400,000 in sales cannot.
The exemption
Article 4(5) reads: "Microenterprises providing services shall be exempt from complying with the accessibility requirements referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and any obligations relating to the compliance with those requirements." Recital 70 gives the reason: for a microenterprise, even the paperwork of assessing whether accessibility work would be a disproportionate burden "would in itself constitute a disproportionate burden".
Two details matter for merchants. First, the exemption is about services. An online store is an "e-commerce service" under Art. 3(30) of the directive, so a small Shopify store is covered by it. Second, the exemption for products is different: microenterprises that manufacture, import or distribute the products listed in the directive (computers, e-readers, payment terminals and similar) get lighter duties, not a full exemption (Art. 14(4), recital 71). If you only sell clothes, cosmetics or furniture, this second part does not concern you.
How to count staff and turnover
The directive does not explain how to count. Recital 53 says microenterprises must "genuinely fulfil the requirements of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC", the EU's general SME definition. Germany's authority applies its method; whether every national authority does is not spelled out, so treat it as the default and check your country.
Staff: annual work units
Under Article 5 of the annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC, staff are counted in annual work units (AWU): one person working full-time for the whole year is one unit; part-time and seasonal work and people who joined during the year count as fractions.
- Counted: employees, people deemed employees under national law, owner-managers, and partners who work regularly in the business and receive financial benefits from it.
- Not counted: apprentices and students on an apprenticeship or vocational training contract, and time on maternity or parental leave.
Freelancers and agency staff count only if national law treats them as employees; check before assuming they are excluded.
Money: latest approved accounts, without VAT
Article 4 of the annex uses the figures of the latest approved accounting period, calculated on an annual basis, with turnover excluding VAT and other indirect taxes. A new business without approved accounts uses a good-faith estimate for the current year. A status changes only when a ceiling is crossed in two consecutive accounting periods, so one strong year does not end the exemption on its own.
Groups: partner and linked enterprises
This is where many founders get caught out. Under Article 6 of the annex, the data of linked enterprises (for example a parent company holding a majority of the voting rights) are added in full, and the data of partner enterprises (holdings of 25% or more) are added in proportion to the shareholding. A five-person store inside a larger group may not be a microenterprise, and recital 53 refers to case law "aimed at preventing the circumvention" of these rules. How this applies to your ownership structure is a question for your accountant or lawyer.
National twists
Each member state wrote its own law. The thresholds are the same, but some laws add rules on time limits, evidence or scope. This table covers the laws we reviewed, not all 27 countries.
| Country | Law | Microenterprise rule | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | BFSG § 2 Nr. 17, § 3 Abs. 3 | Requirements do not apply to microenterprises providing services | Authority (MLBF): class changes only after two consecutive years; evidence from the last two financial years |
| Austria | BaFG § 3 Z 19, § 6 Abs. 1 | Exempt from the requirements and all related obligations | The authority can demand all documents needed to check the exemption (§ 24 Abs. 2) |
| Belgium | Act of 5 Nov. 2023, art. 40 | Outside the law | Only until 28 June 2030; covers both the requirements and the information duty |
| France | Code de la consommation L. 412-13 | Exempt from the requirements and all linked obligations | Same thresholds, written into the article itself |
| Ireland | S.I. 636/2023, Reg. 5(4) | Requirements and the information duty (Reg. 14) do not apply | Exempts both duties expressly |
| Italy | D.lgs. 82/2022, art. 3 c. 3 | Exempt from the requirements | Fines provision excludes microenterprises (art. 24) |
| Spain | Ley 11/2023, art. 3.3 | Exempt from the requirements and any related obligation | Enforcement is regional |
| Netherlands | Civil Code art. 6:230fc | Art. 6:230fb (requirements and information) does not apply | Statute governs over paraphrases on authority pages |
| Sweden | Lag 2023:254, 2 §, 10 § | Services of microenterprises need not meet the requirements | Open: the information duty (25 §) is not expressly exempted |
Germany: two years, and paperwork
The German authority, the MLBF, explains on its page for companies that staff are counted in annual work units, that apprentices do not count, and that a business changes class only if it crosses the thresholds "in zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Geschäftsjahren" (in two consecutive financial years). It asks for evidence from the last two financial years. Our German guide BFSG für Shopify-Shops covers the rest of the German law.
Austria: the authority can check
Under § 24 Abs. 2 of the Austrian Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG), the Sozialministeriumservice can ask a business that relies on the exemption for all documents needed to check it, and not providing them is itself an administrative offence (§ 36 Abs. 3 Z 13). Being exempt does not mean being unable to prove it.
Belgium: a deadline, not a permanent exemption
Article 40 of the Belgian act of 5 November 2023 keeps businesses with fewer than ten employees and no more than €2 million turnover or balance sheet outside the law "until 28 June 2030". The federal economy ministry confirms this covers both the requirements and the information duty. A Belgian microenterprise should use the years until 2030 to prepare.
Where it is still open
Sweden's law does not say expressly that the information duty falls away for microenterprises. Ask a Swedish lawyer before relying on it, and read the national law of any country not listed here.
What to keep on file
No law asks you to file a form to claim the exemption. But Austria's authority can request documents, Germany's names the evidence it expects, and every authority can ask questions. A short, dated self-assessment takes an hour and answers those questions:
- The date of the assessment and the financial years it covers (ideally the last two).
- Headcount in annual work units, with how you counted part-time, seasonal and apprentice staff.
- Turnover (without VAT) and balance sheet total from your approved accounts.
- Your ownership structure: any shareholder with 25% or more, any company you control or that controls you, and whether their figures were added.
- The countries whose consumers you sell to, and any national rule that differs (Belgium's 2030 date, for example).
- A review date: repeat the check every year when your accounts are approved.
Keep the supporting accounts and payroll summary with it. If your store grows, the file shows when your obligations started.
Exempt, but still worth a look
The exemption removes a legal duty. It does not remove the customers. According to Eurostat, 23.9% of people aged 16 or over in the EU reported some or severe long-standing limitations in their usual activities due to health problems in 2024. Many of them shop online with a screen reader, a keyboard or a zoomed-in screen.
The most common barriers on Shopify stores are also some of the cheapest to fix. In our study of 5,463 EU Shopify home pages (HTTP Archive crawl of 1 September 2026, mobile, home pages only, automated checks only), 74.6% had text with insufficient colour contrast, 54.3% had links without an accessible name and 36.0% had images without alt text. Our guide to the most common Shopify accessibility fixes shows where each one lives in the theme. You can also run a free automated check to see what applies to your own store; automated checks find only part of the barriers, so a manual test with a keyboard and a screen reader is still worth doing. If you later grow past the thresholds, our guide to the accessibility statement for Shopify covers the information you will then need to publish.
How Testamur helps
Testamur is a Shopify app in development, built as an accessibility record rather than an overlay. The free check is available now. The app is designed to keep dated scans, suggest code-level fixes and draft country-specific accessibility information, so that you have a record of what you checked, fixed and published, with dates. It shows only what automated checks can detect and does not replace legal advice.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act): Art. 3(23), 3(30), 4(5), 4(6), 14(4); recitals 53, 70–72
- Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, Annex Arts. 3–6
- MLBF (Germany): information for companies
- BFSG § 2 and § 3
- Austria: Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG)
- Belgium: act of 5 November 2023, art. 40
- National texts: Ireland, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden
- Eurostat: Population with disability (2024 data)
- Testamur: EU Shopify accessibility study 2026 (HTTP Archive, crawl of 1 September 2026)
Check your store free
See which barriers an automated check finds on your own Shopify store: the home page and, where your robots.txt allows, collection, product and legal pages, mapped to WCAG and EN 301 549. Free, result by email. Automated checks find part of the barriers, not all of them.
Check your store freeFrequently asked questions
Does the EAA apply to my small Shopify store?
Not if your business is a microenterprise: fewer than 10 persons, and an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros. The exemption in Article 4(5) of the directive covers businesses that provide services, which includes an online store. Belgium only exempts microenterprises until 28 June 2030.
Is it 10 employees and 2 million euros, or 10 employees or 2 million euros?
Both tests must be met. You need fewer than 10 persons, and you must stay at or below 2 million euros on at least one of the two financial measures: turnover or balance sheet total. A store with 6 staff, 3 million euros turnover and a 1.5 million euro balance sheet still qualifies.
Do part-time staff, freelancers and apprentices count?
Under the EU SME definition that the directive points to, staff are counted in annual work units: part-time and seasonal work counts as a fraction, owner-managers count, apprentices on a training contract do not. Whether a freelancer counts depends on whether national law treats them as an employee. Germany's authority applies this method explicitly.
Do I need to publish anything if I am exempt?
The directive exempts microenterprises from the accessibility requirements and from the obligations linked to them, and most national laws follow that wording. Sweden is an open point: its law exempts the requirements but does not say so expressly for the information duty. Keep a dated self-assessment on file either way.
What happens when my store grows past the thresholds?
Under the EU SME definition, a business changes category only when it crosses a ceiling in two consecutive accounting periods. Germany's authority applies the same rule. Plan the accessibility work before you cross the line, not after, so that you are ready when the exemption ends.