Do you actually have to comply? The EAA microenterprise exemption explained

The European Accessibility Act exempts microenterprises providing services, fewer than 10 employees and either annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million, from its service accessibility requirements. This is a real, legally recognised exemption, not a myth. But it's narrower than most business owners assume: it only covers services, not products; it's automatic but not permanent if you grow; and separately, larger businesses can claim a "disproportionate burden" exemption for specific requirements, which is a different, much more demanding test. Below is exactly how to work out where you stand.

If you've read our guide on does the EAA apply to my UK business, you'll know the EAA applies based on who you sell to, not where you're based. This guide answers the next question: does your size get you out of it?

The test, in plain terms

You qualify for the microenterprise exemption if both of the following are true:

You employ fewer than 10 people, and your annual turnover is €2 million or less, or your annual balance sheet total is €2 million or less.

Note the "or" in point 2, you only need to be under the threshold on turnover or balance sheet, not both. This definition comes from EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC and is written directly into the Directive at Article 3(23): "'microenterprise' means 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."

If you meet both conditions, Article 4(5) of the Directive exempts you: "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 explains the reasoning behind it plainly: the compliance burden for a business this size would, in general, represent a disproportionate share of its financial and human resources.

The catch: this only exempts services, not products

This is the single most common misunderstanding we see. The microenterprise exemption applies to services only. If your business manufactures or sells products that fall within the EAA's scope, things like self-service terminals, e-readers, or certain consumer electronics, you don't get a size-based exemption for those, regardless of how small you are. A microenterprise selling a covered product is only exempt from documenting its compliance assessment, not from actually complying.

For an ecommerce SME selling general merchandise through a website, this distinction usually resolves simply: you're a service provider, so if you qualify as a microenterprise, the exemption applies to you. But if part of your business also involves manufacturing or importing EAA-covered hardware, check that side separately.

The exemption is automatic, but check your numbers properly

There's no form to fill in and no register to join. If you genuinely meet both thresholds, the exemption applies without any application or assessment. But "automatic" cuts both ways, there's also no formal recognition confirming you're covered, so if a market surveillance authority or a customer ever questions it, the burden is on you to show your numbers.

A few things worth checking honestly before you rely on this:

• Use your most recent full-year figures, not a rough estimate.
• Check both employee count and turnover/balance sheet, a lean 4-person team with €3 million turnover doesn't qualify; the thresholds are cumulative on the employee side and either/or on the financial side.
• If you're close to either threshold, don't treat the exemption as a permanent feature of your business. There's no grace period built into the Directive for a business that grows past the limits, the exemption simply stops applying to whichever category or type of service takes you over.

Microenterprise exemption vs disproportionate burden claim

These are two genuinely different mechanisms, and content elsewhere online sometimes blurs them together. Here's how they differ:

In short: the microenterprise exemption is a size test you either pass or don't. The disproportionate burden claim is a much narrower, evidence-based argument that a specific requirement would cost more than the benefit it delivers, and it has to be documented, justified, and revisited, not just asserted.

Why exempt businesses often choose to align anyway

If you genuinely qualify for the exemption, you are not legally required to meet the EAA's service accessibility requirements. That's a real, defensible position. But a few practical reasons make partial alignment worth considering even so:

The UK's own Equality Act 2010 may still apply to you, independently of the EAA and regardless of your size, that's a separate anticipatory duty, not a size-gated exemption, and it's worth understanding on its own terms (we cover this in our guide comparing the two laws).

• Growth removes the exemption without warning. If you're a fast-growing SME, the exemption you rely on today may not apply next year, and retrofitting accessibility into a site that was never built with it in mind is slower and more expensive than building it in from the start.
• Accessible sites generally convert better and reach more customers, clearer navigation, better contrast, and properly labelled forms tend to help every visitor, not just disabled ones.
• Buyers, marketplaces, and larger partners increasingly ask about accessibility as part of procurement or partnership due diligence, even where it isn't strictly mandated.

None of this means an exempt microenterprise needs the full £1,500 Audit. If you want more than our free scanner without committing to that scope, a £350 Single Page Audit is often the more proportionate starting point: a reasonable, honest way to see where you'd stand if your circumstances changed.

Not sure where you stand?

Frequently asked questions

Does the microenterprise exemption apply automatically, or do I need to register somewhere?

It's automatic. There's no application, filing, or registration. If you genuinely meet both the employee and turnover/balance sheet thresholds, the exemption applies without any formal step.

I have 8 employees but €2.3 million turnover, am I exempt?

No. You need to be under the threshold on either turnover or balance sheet total, but the employee count and the financial test are both required, if either one fails, you don't qualify as a microenterprise under this definition.

We're not based in the EU, does an EU definition of "microenterprise" even apply to us?

Yes, if you're selling services to consumers in the EU. The EAA applies based on where your customers are, not where your business is headquartered, so the same EU-wide definition of microenterprise applies regardless of whether the seller is based inside or outside the EU.

If I'm exempt from the EAA, does that mean I don't need to worry about accessibility law at all?

Not necessarily. The EAA is one law among several. UK businesses are also potentially subject to the Equality Act 2010, which works differently and isn't size-exempt in the same way. Being outside EAA scope doesn't automatically mean you're outside all accessibility-related legal risk.

What happens if I qualify for the exemption now but grow past the thresholds later?

The exemption stops applying once you no longer meet both conditions. There's no transitional grace period specified in the Directive for this, it's worth reviewing your status at least annually if you're growing.

Is the disproportionate burden claim easier to use than the microenterprise exemption?

No, it's harder. It only applies to specific requirements you can genuinely justify as disproportionate, it requires documented evidence using defined criteria, and that documentation has to be kept and reassessed at least every five years. It's not a general size-based escape route the way the microenterprise exemption is.