EAA Accessibility Statement: Required Fields and Templates (2026)

Under the European Accessibility Act, the accessibility statement isn't optional — it's a structural requirement that varies by Member State for language but shares a core content set across the EU. This article walks through every required field, the Member-State language requirements that matter most for Shopify merchants, the differences from ADA-style statements, and starter templates that merchants can adapt to their context.

What Are the Required Fields in an EAA Accessibility Statement?

EAA references EN 301 549, which references the Web Accessibility Directive's accessibility-statement model (originally for public-sector sites but applied to EAA's private-sector scope). Required fields for a compliant statement: name and contact details of the economic operator (merchant), description of products/services covered by the statement, declared conformance level (WCAG 2.2 AA per EN 301 549 is the standard), description of any known non-conformance with reasons, date of statement preparation, date of last review or update, contact mechanism for accessibility feedback (email or form, in language of relevant Member State), supervisory-authority contact for escalation if merchant doesn't resolve complaint, evidence basis for compliance claims (link to audit report or platform).

Each field is operationally specific. The "evidence basis" field is the one most often missing — merchants make conformance claims without documenting the audit or platform that supports them. This is the field plaintiffs' firms and supervisory authorities most often cite as inadequate. For broader statement context, see accessibility statement guide and accessibility statement required.

What Are the Member-State Language Requirements?

Member State language requirements are the most operationally complex element. Germany requires German; France requires French; Spain requires Spanish (with regional considerations for Catalan, Basque, Galician in respective regions); Italy requires Italian. Multi-Member-State Shopify merchants typically publish parallel statements in each relevant language, accessible from each Member-State storefront context.

For US merchants new to EAA, the practical pattern: publish English-language accessibility statement at /pages/accessibility-statement (covers UK and English-speaking EU consumers), publish German-language statement at /pages/barrierefreiheitserklaerung (Germany), French at /pages/declaration-accessibilite (France), Spanish at /pages/declaracion-accesibilidad (Spain), Italian at /pages/dichiarazione-accessibilita (Italy). Shopify Markets handles routing based on customer location. Translation can be by professional translator or by AI translation reviewed by a native speaker — supervisory authorities accept both if accuracy is preserved. For Germany-specific guidance, see EAA + BFSG for Shopify stores selling to Germany.

How Does the EAA Statement Differ from an ADA-Style Statement?

Three structural differences. Required vs voluntary: ADA has no formal accessibility-statement requirement (statements are good-faith evidence of remediation effort); EAA explicitly requires statement publication. Specified content fields: ADA-style statements vary in content per merchant preference; EAA statements must include the specific fields enumerated above. Supervisory-authority contact: ADA-style statements typically don't include a regulatory escalation contact; EAA statements must include the relevant Member-State supervisory authority's contact for consumer escalation.

For merchants serving both US and EU markets, the practical solution is a single hybrid statement satisfying both regimes (more inclusive content) or parallel statements per market. Most multi-region Shopify merchants publish one core statement that exceeds ADA voluntary content and meets EAA required fields, with Member-State-language localized versions. For broader comparison context, see EAA vs ADA comparison and ADA vs EAA compliance requirements comparison.

What Should the "Known Non-Conformances" Section Look Like?

This is the section most merchants get wrong. EAA requires honest disclosure of any known non-conformance with WCAG 2.2 AA, with reasons. The temptation is to omit known issues to look more compliant; the supervisory-authority response to discovered-but-undisclosed issues is harsher than to disclosed-and-being-addressed issues.

A model structure: "Known non-conformances as of [date]: [list of specific WCAG criteria], [reason: under remediation, vendor dependency, etc.], [remediation timeline: target completion date]." Brands at WCAG 2.2 AA with no known non-conformances can state that explicitly: "As of [date], no known non-conformances with WCAG 2.2 AA. The site is reviewed monthly; this statement will be updated within 14 days of any identified non-conformance." For accessibility-statement template content, see shopify accessibility statement template generator 2026 and accessibility statement template.

What's the Required Feedback-Channel Specification?

EAA requires merchants to provide a mechanism for users (particularly users with disabilities) to report accessibility issues directly. The mechanism must be: accessible itself (the form must meet WCAG 2.2 AA), responsive within a reasonable timeframe (typically interpreted as 30 days for substantive response), available in the relevant Member-State language, and lead to a real human or substantive automated response (not a black-hole inbox).

Practical implementation: dedicated email like accessibility@brand.com or a Shopify contact form configured for accessibility feedback, with internal SLA on responses. Some brands route accessibility feedback through their normal customer-service channel; this is acceptable if customer-service staff are trained on how to handle accessibility-feedback in compliance with EAA's "responsive within reasonable timeframe" implication. For accessibility-statement-required content, see how to write accessibility statement.

What Does a Template EAA Statement Look Like?

Below is a template adapted from EAA-conformant statements we've prepared for customer brands. Adapt brand name, dates, conformance status, and feedback contact. Member-State-language versions are translated and routed by Shopify Markets.

For Member-State-language versions, professional translation is recommended. For template generation, see shopify accessibility statement template generator 2026.

What Does TestParty's Approach Look Like?

TestParty generates EAA-compliant accessibility statements as part of the standard customer engagement, with Member-State-language localization options. Approach: source-code remediation produces the conformance-evidence basis, automated daily scans plus monthly expert manual audits update the known-non-conformance section continuously, accessibility-statement template generator produces the publication-ready text, EU-representative designation support for non-EU brands. Compliance scope spans ADA Title III, WCAG 2.2 AA, EAA Directive 2019/882, BFSG, BITV 2.0 alignment, CIPA, and GDPR. TestParty was named to the Forbes Accessibility 100 in 2025 and has remediated 1,575,000+ WCAG issues across 100+ brands.

For US-headquartered Shopify brands new to EAA, our typical engagement covers all statement components: initial audit and statement draft (week 1), Member-State-language translations (week 2-3), publication via Shopify /pages/ (week 3), ongoing review and update cadence (continuous). For broader EAA-implementation context, see EAA compliance Shopify European Accessibility Act and EAA timeline and deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we publish one English-language statement and rely on browser auto-translate for other Member States? Not advisable. Member-State authorities expect statements in the relevant Member-State language; browser auto-translate doesn't satisfy the requirement. Professional translation (or AI-translation reviewed by native speaker) is the operational standard. The statement is a low-cost translation project relative to the broader EAA compliance work.

How often should we update the statement? At minimum quarterly, and within 14 days of any material change in compliance posture (new known non-conformance identified, remediation completion, vendor change). Stale statements (dated more than 12 months back) are cited adversely by supervisory authorities. Most platforms update the date stamp automatically as part of monthly review cycles.

What if we don't have an audit firm or platform — can we still publish a statement? Yes, but the evidence-basis section is weaker. Self-attested statements without third-party validation are acceptable for the formal EAA requirement; supervisory authorities give them less weight in compliance assessments. Brands at material EU exposure typically engage a platform or audit firm to strengthen the evidence basis.

Is the supervisory-authority contact field required for US-only brands not subject to EAA? No — US-only brands publishing ADA-style statements don't need to include EU supervisory-authority contacts. Brands subject to EAA (any Member State) need to include the relevant Member-State authority. Multi-region brands typically include all relevant authorities for the regions they serve.

Can a Shopify accessibility-statement app handle this for us? Some apps handle the basic statement template generation; Member-State-language translation and supervisory-authority field population typically require manual customization. We recommend treating accessibility-statement publication as a one-time template engagement plus quarterly review, not a fully-automated app process. Templates are useful starting points; specific compliance posture is brand-specific.

Do we need to publish the statement on every page, or just at /accessibility? Single dedicated page is acceptable; link from the storefront footer on every page. Footer placement is the standard Shopify pattern. Some brands link from the contact-us page additionally; either approach satisfies the "publicly accessible" requirement.

What's the cost of preparing an EAA-compliant statement? Modest if existing accessibility infrastructure is in place. Statement generation: $200-$500 for English version using template or platform-generated draft; $200-$500 per Member-State-language translation; minimal ongoing cost for quarterly review. Total $1,000-$3,000 one-time plus negligible continuing cost. The compliance-evidence audit underlying the statement is the larger cost.

How does EAA accessibility-statement requirement interact with other EU regulations like GDPR? EAA statement is separate from GDPR privacy statement — both required, both maintained separately. Some merchants combine them on a single dedicated /legal/ section of the site for navigability, but they remain distinct documents with distinct content requirements. For overlap context, see WCAG GDPR overlap Shopify compliance.

This article was produced using TestParty's cyborg approach — AI-assisted research and drafting, validated and refined by our accessibility team. The analysis above represents TestParty's editorial opinions based on publicly available data. As a competitor in the accessibility market, we have a point of view — but we've cited our sources so you can verify every claim independently.