The European Union has established standards to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities, notably Directive 2019/882, transposed in Portugal by Decree-Law 82/2022 and Ordinance 220/2023. From 28 June 2025, products and services such as computers, transport, banking services and e-commerce must comply with accessibility requirements based on the principles of perception, operability, comprehensibility and robustness. Exceptions are provided for in cases of disproportionate burden, and non-compliance may result in fines of up to EUR 44,891.81. Existing facilities and contracts have until 2030 to adapt.
With the aim of promoting a fair and inclusive society, the European Union has adopted a set of standards to ensure that people with disabilities have access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, transport, information and communications, including information and communication technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, digital or non-digital, both in urban and rural areas.
Within this set of standards, it is important to highlightDirective 2019/882 (also called the European Accessibility Act), which has standardised European accessibility requirements and removed barriers to the free movement of accessible products and services placed on the European Union’s single market.
The Directive was transposed into Portuguese law by Decree-Law 82/2022 of 6 December (Decree-Law), and by Ordinance 220/2023 of 20 July (Ordinance), which define the accessibility requirements and criteria for products and services, as well as establishing the criteria for assessing the possible “disproportionate nature” of compliance with these requirements by an economic operator. This legal framework came into force on 7 December 2022, but only applies from 28 June 2025 for products placed on the market and services provided to consumers from that date.
Service providers with facilities and equipment legally in use before the entry into force of the Decree-Law can continue to operate and must ensure they are accessible by 28 June 2030. The same term applies to service provision contracts entered into before the legislation entered into force. In turn, self-service terminals may be used until the end of their economic service life, with a maximum limit of 20 years after the date of commissioning.
Key Points of the Decree-Law and the Ordinance
The products and services covered by the scope of the Decree-Law and the Ordinance are as follows:
- Computers and operating systems;
- ATM;
- Smartphones;
- Televisions and related equipment;
- Telephone services and related equipment;
- Audiovisual media services such as television broadcasting and related equipment;
- Services related to air, land, rail and sea transport;
- Banking services;
- E-books and e-book readers;
- E-commerce services.
In order to ensure the accessibility of the services covered by the scope of the Decree-Law, the products used to provide those services with which the consumer interacts must also comply with the applicable accessibility requirements.
In the digital field, reference should be made to the four principles on which accessibility legislation is based:
- Perception: content must be easily visible, audible and comprehensible to all users, regardless of their sensory abilities;
- Operability: users must be able to browse and use content effectively, regardless of the technology or devices they use, e.g. keyboards, touch screens, voice commands, etc.;
- Comprehensibility: the content of digital products must be written in plain and clear language, ensuring that information is easily understood by all;
- Robustness: content must be robust and compatible with a wide variety of devices and operating systems. For example, clean coding practices should be adopted, which ensure that the website works correctly on different platforms, browsers and equipment.
Accessibility requirements only apply to the extent that meeting them (i) does not entail a fundamental change in the nature of a product or service or (ii) does not result in a disproportionate burden being imposed on economic operators.
Furthermore, it should be noted that non-compliance with the legal obligations imposed by the abovementioned legislation may lead to fines of up to EUR 3,740.98 for individuals and EUR 44,891.81 for legal entities.
With the approaching entry into force of the Decree-Law and Ordinance on 28 June 2025, it is important to highlight the need for companies to gradually start to adapt to the new accessibility requirements, by promoting inclusion and ensuring that their products and services are accessible to all on an equal basis.
