European Accessibility Act Compliance in Finland

Finland transposed the European Accessibility Act through a package of acts given on 19 January 2023. Most of them entered into force on 1 February 2023 and apply from 28 June 2025. The main instruments are laki eräiden tuotteiden esteettömyysvaatimuksista (102/2023), the Act on accessibility requirements for certain products, and a new Chapter 3 a inserted into laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta (306/2019), the Act on the Provision of Digital Services, known in Finland as digipalvelulaki. Together they cover e-commerce, consumer banking and payments, e-books, passenger transport services, communications services and access to audiovisual media.

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National law Finland transposed the EAA in a package of six acts, all given on 19 January 2023: laki eräiden tuotteiden esteettömyysvaatimuksista (102/2023), the Act on accessibility requirements for certain products; laki eräiden tuotteiden markkinavalvonnasta annetun lain 1 ja 4 §:n muuttamisesta (103/2023), amending the market surveillance act 1137/2016; laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta annetun lain muuttamisesta (104/2023), which inserted Chapter 3 a, "Eräiden digitaalisten palvelujen saavutettavuus" (accessibility of certain digital services), into laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta (306/2019); laki sähköisen viestinnän palveluista annetun lain muuttamisesta (105/2023); laki hätäkeskustoiminnasta annetun lain muuttamisesta (106/2023); and laki liikenteen palveluista annetun lain muuttamisesta (107/2023). Five of the six entered into force on 1 February 2023 and are applied from 28 June 2025. Act 106/2023, which covers access to the 112 emergency number, entered into force on 28 June 2025 itself. Three government decrees given on 16 February 2023 and in force on 20 February 2023 fill in the detail: valtioneuvoston asetus eräiden digitaalisten palvelujen saavutettavuusvaatimuksista (179/2023), valtioneuvoston asetus sähköisen viestinnän palvelujen ja audiovisuaalisiin sisältöpalveluihin pääsyn tarjoavien palvelujen esteettömyysvaatimuksista (180/2023), and valtioneuvoston asetus eräiden tuotteiden esteettömyysvaatimuksista (181/2023). Finland transposed late. The directive's deadline was 28 June 2022 and the Finnish acts were not in force until 1 February 2023, about seven months after it. Two later amendments matter: laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta annetun lain muuttamisesta (606/2024) and laki eräiden tuotteiden esteettömyysvaatimuksista annetun lain 18 §:n muuttamisesta (608/2024), both given 8 November 2024 and in force 1 January 2025, which moved digital service supervision to Traficom and widened the product sanction reference.

Web standard EN 301 549. Finland applies no national accessibility standard alongside it. Section 10 c of laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta ties conformity to the harmonised standards, or parts of them, whose references are published in the Official Journal of the European Union under Article 15 of Directive (EU) 2019/882, and to technical specifications set in Commission implementing acts. Section 7(2) of the same act, as amended by Act 606/2024, obliges the supervisory authority to keep official Finnish and Swedish translations of those standards publicly available on its website. Traficom does this at saavutettavuusvaatimukset.fi, where its guidance points to WCAG level A and AA and links the requirements to WCAG 2.1. The version of EN 301 549 that carries a presumption of conformity is whichever one the Official Journal cites at the time, so check the current citation before relying on a version number. Building to WCAG 2.2 level AA covers the level A and AA criteria of WCAG 2.1 and adds later ones. Valtioneuvoston asetus eräiden digitaalisten palvelujen saavutettavuusvaatimuksista (179/2023) adds requirements written into Finnish law rather than into the standard: section 3 requires that information about banking, payment and investment services be no more difficult than CEFR level B2, and section 4 sets e-book obligations covering synchronised text and audio, assistive technology compatibility, accessibility metadata and DRM that does not block accessibility features.

Enforcement Liikenne- ja viestintävirasto Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency) is the market surveillance authority for products under section 16 of Act 102/2023 and, since 1 January 2025 under Act 606/2024, the supervisory authority for digital services under section 12 of laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta. Digital service supervision previously sat with Etelä-Suomen aluehallintovirasto (Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland). Section 12 also tasks the supervisory authority with issuing general guidance and advice. Section 11 gives users a route: anyone may file a saavutettavuuskantelu (accessibility complaint) with Traficom about a provider that has not met the Chapter 3 or Chapter 3 a requirements, and such complaints are handled under the hallintokantelu rules in Chapter 8 a of the hallintolaki (434/2003). The penalty regime fixes no monetary amounts. Under section 12 Traficom can order a provider to bring a service into conformity within a reasonable period, and under section 14 it can back that order with an uhkasakko (conditional fine) whose size is set case by case under the uhkasakkolaki (1113/1990). For products, section 18 of Act 102/2023, as amended by Act 608/2024, points to Chapters 3 and 4 of laki eräiden tuotteiden markkinavalvonnasta (1137/2016), which allow orders to act, prohibitions, return procedures, export bans, having a measure carried out at the operator's cost, and destruction orders, again backed by a conditional fine. Misuse of the CE marking is a criminal offence punishable by a fine (sakko) under laki CE-merkintärikkomuksesta (187/2010). Neither act sets an administrative fine with a published ceiling.

Who has to comply in Finland

Chapter 3 a of laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta (306/2019) applies to businesses offering covered digital services to consumers in Finland: e-commerce, e-books, passenger transport services, consumer credit, payment and investment services, basic payment accounts, electronic money, communications services, and services giving access to audiovisual content. Section 10 f requires those providers to publish a saavutettavuusseloste (accessibility statement) that describes the service and explains how it meets the additional requirements of the directive. Section 10 b excludes services produced by micro-enterprises (mikroyritys), defined in point 2 of section 4 of Act 102/2023 as fewer than 10 employees and either an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2 million. The exemption covers services only, not products under Act 102/2023. Public sector bodies fall under a separate regime, Chapter 3 of the same act, which transposes Directive (EU) 2016/2102.

The deadlines that matter

28 June 2022

EU transposition deadline for Directive (EU) 2019/882, which Finland did not meet

19 January 2023

Finland's transposing acts 102/2023 to 107/2023 are given in Helsinki

1 February 2023

Acts 102/2023, 103/2023, 104/2023, 105/2023 and 107/2023 enter into force

20 February 2023

Government Decrees 179/2023, 180/2023 and 181/2023 enter into force

1 January 2025

Act 606/2024 moves digital service supervision from Etelä-Suomen aluehallintovirasto to Traficom

28 June 2025

EAA obligations begin to apply, and Act 106/2023 on emergency communications enters into force

28 June 2030

Outer limit for service contracts already running before 28 June 2025

WCAG 2.2 AA, EN 301 549

Prove your Finland compliance

Conforma tests your site against WCAG level A and AA and the EN 301 549 requirements that Chapter 3 a of laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta applies to covered services. It produces a draft saavutettavuusseloste for you to complete and publish, and a dated record of what was found and what was fixed. Conforma provides testing and evidence. Judging whether a service meets the legal requirements stays with the provider and its advisers.

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Finland EAA questions, answered

When did the EAA start to apply in Finland, and is there a transition period?

Most of the transposing acts entered into force on 1 February 2023 but only began to apply on 28 June 2025. Service contracts concluded before that date may continue unchanged until they expire, and in any case no longer than five years from 28 June 2025, which puts the outer limit at 28 June 2030. Self-service terminals in use before 28 June 2025 have 20 years from first use.

Is my small business exempt?

Section 10 b of laki digitaalisten palvelujen tarjoamisesta exempts services produced by micro-enterprises. Point 2 of section 4 of Act 102/2023 defines a micro-enterprise as one with fewer than 10 employees and either an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2 million. The exemption covers services only. Products placed on the market get no equivalent exemption.

Which standard applies, and is there a Finnish national standard?

Finland applies EN 301 549 and adds no national standard of its own. Traficom must publish official Finnish and Swedish translations of the binding harmonised standards, and its guidance points to WCAG level A and AA, currently referencing WCAG 2.1. Decree 179/2023 adds a Finnish requirement that information about banking, payment and investment services reach no higher than CEFR level B2 in difficulty.

Who enforces the rules and what are the penalties?

Traficom has been the market surveillance authority for products since 1 February 2023 and the supervisory authority for digital services since 1 January 2025. The acts fix no penalty amounts. Traficom issues orders and can back them with a conditional fine set case by case under the Act on Conditional Fines (1113/1990). For products it can also restrict, prohibit, withdraw or order the destruction of goods.

This page is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Check the cited national law for specifics.

Common fixes to check

Most sites fail the same WCAG checks first. Each guide has a plain-language fix and a before/after snippet you can copy.

WCAG 1.1.1 Images must have alt text Every meaningful image needs alt text so screen-reader users know what it shows. Decorative images get an empty alt attribute so they are skipped. WCAG 1.4.3 Text must have enough color contrast Text needs to contrast with its background so people with low vision can read it. The minimum is 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. WCAG 4.1.2 Form fields must have labels Every input, textarea and select needs an associated label so users know what to enter and screen readers can announce the field. WCAG 4.1.2 Links must have discernible text A link needs text that describes where it goes. An icon-only or empty link is announced as just “link”, so screen-reader users have no idea where it leads.

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