Starting June 28, 2025, online stores, banks, transport operators and other digital consumer services have to be usable by people with disabilities. The rule comes from Directive (EU) 2019/882, known as the European Accessibility Act, which Romania adopted as Law 232/2022. That leaves about nine months, which is enough time for a website if you start now.
What the law is and when it applies
The directive was adopted in 2019, and member states had until June 2022 to write it into national law. Romania did so with Law No. 232/2022, published in the Official Gazette on July 25, 2022. The law takes effect on June 28, 2025 and covers products placed on the market and services provided after that date.
There are transition periods. Service contracts signed before June 28, 2025 can continue unchanged until they expire, but for no more than five years. Self-service terminals already in place (ticket machines, check-in kiosks) can stay in use until the end of their useful life, up to 20 years after they were put into service.
Who it covers
On the product side: computers and their operating systems, phones, payment terminals, ATMs, ticket machines and e-readers.
On the service side, these are the ones that matter for websites and apps:
- e-commerce: any service a consumer uses to buy something remotely, through a website or a mobile app;
- consumer banking;
- e-books and the software built for them;
- electronic communications;
- passenger transport: websites, apps, e-tickets and travel information.
The directive defines e-commerce as a service provided at a distance, through a website or app, at the consumer's request, in order to conclude a contract. An online store, a paid booking on a website or a food order placed in an app all count. A brochure site with nothing for sale isn't on the directive's list. Accessibility still helps it, though: the same rules make any site easier to read on a phone, in bright sunlight, or for a 70-year-old visitor.
Who is exempt
Microenterprises that provide services are exempt from the accessibility requirements. The law defines them as companies with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros. The exemption covers services only. If you manufacture or import a product on the list, the rules apply to small companies too.
If you run an online store and you're above that threshold, you're covered. And if you're below it today, it's still worth building things properly now: reworking a checkout after the business grows costs more than getting it right the first time.
What "accessible" means for a website
The directive requires services to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. The technical benchmark used in Europe is the harmonized standard EN 301 549 (version 3.2.1, from March 2021). For web pages, it states that meeting WCAG 2.1 at Level AA is equivalent to meeting its web requirements.
Here are a few WCAG 2.1 criteria we often see broken:
| Criterion | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Text alternatives (1.1.1) | images that carry information have a description for screen readers |
| Contrast (1.4.3) | normal text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, large text 3:1 |
| Reflow (1.4.10) | content reads at a width of 320 px without horizontal scrolling |
| Keyboard (2.1.1) | anything you can do with a mouse also works with the keyboard alone |
On an online store, the trouble spots are usually the same: product filters, the cart, order forms and the payment step. The directive explicitly names identification, electronic signatures and payment as functions that must be accessible too.
What else the law asks for, beyond code
Service providers have to explain publicly, in writing, how their service meets the accessibility requirements, and that information has to be accessible itself. In practice, that means a clearly written page on your site, linked from the footer.
Enforcement depends on the sector. For e-commerce and e-books it's Romania's Authority for Digitalization (ADR). The consumer protection authority (ANPC) handles products and banking services, and ANCOM handles electronic communications.
What to do before June 2025
- List the services you offer: do you sell online? Take paid bookings? Have an app?
- Check whether you qualify as a microenterprise, based on headcount and turnover.
- Go through your site using only the keyboard, from the home page to a completed order. Wherever you get stuck is your first issue.
- Check color contrast and the text alternatives on your product photos.
- Prepare the page that describes how your service handles accessibility.
If you want to know where your site stands, our web services page lists what we check in an audit.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services, EUR-Lexthe list of products and services, the definitions of e-commerce and microenterprise, the service exemption, and the deadlines in Articles 31 and 32
- Law No. 232/2022 on accessibility requirements for products and services, Official Gazette No. 743/2022the June 28, 2025 effective date, the information duty in Art. 13 and the enforcement authorities in Art. 19
- EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (2021-03), ETSIthe equivalence between WCAG 2.1 Level AA and the web requirements in clause 9
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, W3Csuccess criteria 1.1.1, 1.4.3, 1.4.10 and 2.1.1
Checked: surse Xenia Pușcașu · editare Nora Vlăsceanu · SEO Mihnea Tăbăcaru