AccessProof · UK sellers
Since 28 June 2025, EU-facing e-commerce must meet WCAG 2.1 AA and publish an accessibility statement.
🌍 Short answer: Since Brexit, UK businesses are treated as outside-the-EU sellers — so EU rules apply to you whenever you sell into the EU, on top of the UK's own (often closely-related) domestic regime.
Mind the two-tier picture: the UK usually has its own version for your domestic sales (e.g. UK GDPR, UK product-safety rules), while the EU version applies to your EU-facing sales. This page is about the EU rule — check the UK equivalent separately for domestic.
As a UK seller, this rule generally applies once you run an online shop that serves customers in the EU and sell to, ship to, or target customers in the EU. Sell online to EU customers? Since June 2025 your site must be accessible (WCAG 2.1 AA). Not sure? The free checker tells you in about a minute — no signup.
If you're in scope, you need to be able to answer "yes" to each of these — the points sellers most often get caught on:
⚠️ Exposure: market withdrawal + member-state fines · Status: Since Jun 2025. EU regulators can act against non-EU sellers who reach EU customers.
Compare the penalty for every rule →
Since Brexit, UK businesses are treated as outside-the-EU sellers — so EU rules apply to you whenever you sell into the EU, on top of the UK's own (often closely-related) domestic regime.
Most businesses selling products or services online to EU consumers, since 28 June 2025. Some exemptions apply to microenterprises providing services.
In practice, WCAG 2.1 level AA — covering alt text, keyboard access, colour contrast, labeled forms, captions, and proper structure.
Yes — publish a statement describing your level of conformance and how users can report accessibility barriers.
RuleGoose checks this against the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) / WCAG 2.1 AA. Read it yourself: EUR-Lex — Directive (EU) 2019/882 →
or get one RuleGoose Score across every EU rule that reaches your business.
EU Accessibility Act (WCAG) is one of several EU rules that can reach a UK business. See the full EU compliance guide for UK sellers →, or read the platform-neutral EU Accessibility Act (WCAG) guide.
Informational only, not legal advice, and not affiliated with the EU. Territorial scope can be fact-specific — confirm against the cited source. Last reviewed 2026-06-30.