EAA compliance in the Netherlands: what organisations need to know

The ACM (Authority for Consumers and Markets) began active auditing following the June 2025 deadline and is progressing through its inspection programme.

The ACM has been contacting organisations directly as part of that programme.

Organisations that received ACM contact during the audit phase and have not responded should treat that as urgent.

The duty to report

The ACM says that if your e-commerce or electronic communications service is not accessible, you must fix it straight away. If you can’t, you must report it: within a week for critical or serious problems, within a month for moderate or minor ones. You send a plan for making the service fully accessible with the report. For financial e-commerce and banking services, the AFM takes these reports on the same terms.

A provider whose service is accessible has nothing to report. The ACM has an online form for reports.

The ACM's own audit data makes the scale of the problem clear: in 61% of the approximately 100 major webshops it tested, ordering was entirely impossible for users with disabilities. Not difficult. Entirely impossible.

The ACM approach to enforcement

The ACM has stated publicly that fines are not its primary goal. Its published position is that supervision is more than imposing a fine, and that it acts first through information and guidance. Its spokesperson has said that companies found failing are given a reasonable period to make changes, and that sanctions follow if they do not.

This remediation-first approach does not mean enforcement is soft. It means organisations that engage constructively, demonstrate active governance, and have a credible remediation plan are in a significantly better position than those that have done nothing. The ACM responds to evidence of genuine effort.

Financial services: AFM not ACM

For financial services organisations operating in the Netherlands, the relevant enforcement authority is the AFM (Authority for Financial Markets), not the ACM. The ACM names the AFM as the authority for financial e-commerce and banking services. If your organisation provides digital financial services to Dutch consumers, your regulator is the AFM.

This distinction matters. Engaging with the ACM when your authority is the AFM, or assuming the ACM's remediation-first approach applies equally to AFM enforcement, may lead to incorrect assumptions about your risk position.

Penalties

The ACM is the general market surveillance authority for the European Accessibility Act in the Netherlands, with sector regulators alongside it. Financial penalties have been legally available since June 2025. None has been issued. The ACM’s published posture is compliance first: it has been investigating and requiring remediation rather than penalising.

Fines are calculated per violation, not per organisation. An organisation with multiple inaccessible products or services could face separate penalty assessments for each.

What EAA compliance requires

For organisations operating in the Netherlands, EAA compliance comes down to four areas of work:

• Technical conformance against EN 301 549 (WCAG 2.1 Level AA) across all consumer-facing digital products and services.
• A published accessibility statement explaining how your services meet the accessibility requirements. Saying what is not yet accessible, and your plan, is good practice.
• Active governance with a named owner, a regular testing rhythm, and a process that survives team changes.
• Documentary evidence of ongoing management, ready for the ACM or AFM on request.

Knowing whether you have anything to report draws on all four: you can only report problems you have found, and the plan the ACM asks for comes out of the same work.

Which organisations are covered

Any organisation providing covered products or services to consumers in the Netherlands is in scope, regardless of where it is headquartered. A US company selling online to Dutch consumers, a UK e-commerce retailer shipping to the Netherlands, and a Dutch bank offering consumer banking services are all in scope, unless they are microenterprises providing services.

Microenterprises providing services (fewer than 10 persons, and an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million) are exempt from the accessibility requirements and the obligations that go with them (Article 4(5)).

Common questions

Does the EAA apply to my Dutch company?

If your organisation provides covered digital products or services to consumers in the Netherlands, it is in scope regardless of where it is headquartered. A US company selling online to Dutch consumers, a UK e-commerce retailer shipping to the Netherlands, and a Dutch bank offering consumer banking services are all in scope, unless they are microenterprises providing services.

Do I have to report to the ACM?

Only if your service is not accessible and you can’t fix it straight away. Then the ACM asks for a report within a week for critical or serious problems and within a month for moderate or minor ones, sent with a plan for making the service fully accessible. For financial services, the report goes to the AFM.

Which authority enforces the EAA for my organisation: ACM or AFM?

Most organisations fall under the ACM (Authority for Consumers and Markets). Financial services organisations, including banking, insurance, investment platforms, and payment services, fall under the AFM (Authority for Financial Markets) instead. Assuming the wrong authority applies to your organisation can lead to incorrect assumptions about your risk position.

How much could a Dutch EAA fine actually be?

The ACM is the general market surveillance authority for the European Accessibility Act in the Netherlands, with sector regulators alongside it. Financial penalties have been legally available since June 2025. None has been issued. The ACM’s published posture is compliance first: it has been investigating and requiring remediation rather than penalising.

Has anyone actually been fined yet in the Netherlands?

We have found no EAA administrative fine in the Netherlands, or in any of the seven markets we monitor. That does not mean enforcement is inactive: the ACM has already audited approximately 100 major webshops, finding that 61% made ordering entirely impossible for disabled users. The absence of a published fine reflects enforcement timing, not enforcement absence.