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EAA notifications

Under the provisions of the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882, hereinafter: EAA), companies should notify the supervisory authority if they are not compliant with the European Accessibility Act or in the event they invoke an exception. Companies can submit these notifications using the AFM’s EAA page. This is part of the AFM portal that companies with an AFM licence are already able to access.

Who can submit a notification?

Anyone who is a legal representative/director is, in principle, authorised to submit EAA notifications. You must personally authorise anyone else in your organisation who will be submitting EAA notifications. You can do this in the AFM portal by going to the authorisation management function and select the individuals within your organisation who are authorised to submit EAA notifications. If you are unable to access the EAA page, it is important that you notify this in a timely manner so that you will be able to submit the mandatory notifications via this portal.

When should you submit a notification?

You must submit a notification to the AFM if you are not compliant with the requirements of the European Accessibility Act, resulting in non-conformity (Article 13(4) of the EAA). You must also submit a notification to the AFM in the event you invoke an exception to the European Accessibility Act. This is possible if compliance with the requirements results in the imposition of a disproportionate burden (Article 14(1)(b) of the EAA) or requires a significant change in a service that results in the fundamental alteration of its basic nature (Article 14(1)(a) of the EAA). The Act outlines specific requirements that apply when any of these exceptions is invoked. Further information on these requirements is set out under ‘requirements in the event of a notification concerning exceptions’ at the bottom of this page.

Timeframe for submitting a notification

The permissible timeframe for submitting a notification depends on the impact of the accessibility issue on consumers. The AFM distinguishes four levels of impact on consumers: critical, significant, moderate and minor.  

  • Critical: a critical accessibility issues makes it impossible for consumers with a disability to use the service. These critical accessibility errors cannot be circumvented by consumers. The only option is to close and leave the website.   
  • Significant: a significant accessibility issue makes it very difficult for consumers with a disability to use the service. These are major accessibility errors that consumers can only circumvent with considerable effort.   
  • Moderate: a moderate accessibility issue makes it harder for consumers with a disability to use the service, but this is no longer (partially) impossible.
  • Minor: minor accessibility issues can be easily circumvented by consumers, allowing them to use the service.
Once non-conformity is established, service providers must immediately take corrective action. If the non-conformity cannot be remedied, this must be reported to the AFM within the following timeframes:
  • Non-conformity with critical and significant impact levels must be reported no later than one week after detection, unless the non-conformity has already been corrected at that point.
  • Non-conformity with moderate and minor impact levels must be reported no later than one month after detection, unless the non-conformity has already been corrected at that point.
If a company invokes an exception on the ground of a disproportionate burden or fundamental alteration, a service provider must notification this within one week of completion of the assessment showing this to be the case.

What information should you report?

You should answer the following questions in the notification form.  

Does this notification concern (option):  

  • Non-conformity (Article 13(4) of the EAA)?
  • Disproportionate burden (Article 14(1)(b) of the EAA)?
  • Fundamental alteration (Article 14(1)(a) of the EAA)? 
Which part of the service does this notification concern? (For example, which services/financial products, which process stages, which trade name, etc. (description) 

Answer only in the event of a notification concerning non-conformity or disproportionate burden:  
  • In what manner are the services you provide not in conformity with the requirements specified in the EAA? (description)
  • How many consumers may be affected as a result of this? (estimated number) 
  • What is the associated level of impact on consumers? (critical, significant, moderate or minor)  

Answer additionally only in the event of a notification concerning non-conformity:  

  • What action is being taken to correct the non-conformity (description)
  • When do you anticipate the non-conformity to be corrected? (date)  
  • Are there equivalent accessible alternatives that can be employed to use the service (e.g. an email address)? (yes/no/partly, with optional explanation) 

What are the requirements regarding a notification concerning exceptions?

Please be aware that if you submit a notification concerning a disproportionate burden, the European Accessibility Act requires that your company shall: 
  • comply with the accessibility requirements to the extent that they do not result in the imposition of a disproportionate burden; 
  • have done the assessment using the criteria set out in Annex VI of the EEA; 
  • have documented this assessment; 
  • keep all relevant results for a period of five years after the service was last provided on the market; 
  • provide the assessment upon request from the AFM; 
  • renew the assessment when the service offered is altered or when requested to so by the AFM and at least every five years; and
  • not receive funding from other sources than your own financial resources for the purpose of improving accessibility. 
Please be aware that if you submit a notification concerning a fundamental alteration, the European Accessibility Act requires that your company shall:  
  • have carried out an assessment of whether compliance with the accessibility requirements would introduce a fundamental alteration; 
  • have documented this assessment; 
  • keep all relevant results for a period of five years after the service was last provided on the market; and
  • provide the assessment upon request from the AFM.

Is it possible to group notifications?

Upon entry into force of the European Accessibility Act, companies can combine multiple cases of non-conformity in a single notification. The notifications can be grouped according to the impact level. Any further instances of non-conformity will require new notifications to be created and submitted.

More information

Your notification will always be treated confidentially. A notification of non-conformity with the accessibility requirements or invocation of an exception on the ground of a disproportionate burden or fundamental alteration may prompt the AFM to commence an investigation. As a general rule, the AFM will not contact you after a notification is submitted, unless we have specific questions regarding the notification or its content. For more information, please contact the Business Desk.