IrelandEuropean Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023, accessibility, conformity assessment, CE marking and documentation duties of manufacturers and authorised representatives of products
S.I. No. 636 of 2023 Regs. 5(1) and (2), 8, 9, 13, 17 and 19, manufacturers and authorised representatives under the European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you are a manufacturer that places a product listed in Regulation 3(1) on the market on or after , design and manufacture it in accordance with the accessibility requirements of Part 1 of Schedule 1 and, unless it is a self-service terminal, Part 2 of Schedule 1 (Regs. 3(1), 5(1), 5(2) and 8(1)).
- Under Part 1 of Schedule 1, give the information on the product, and the instructions for use made available elsewhere (including the accessibility functions and their interoperability with assistive solutions), via more than one sensory channel, understandably and perceivably, in fonts of adequate size and contrast, in text formats that can generate alternative assistive formats, with an alternative to non-textual content and a description of the user interface, functionality and the assistive devices tested with the product; design the user interface so that it offers more than one sensory channel, alternatives to speech, colour and audible signals, flexible magnification, brightness and contrast, user control of volume and speed, alternatives to fine motor control and to biometric identification, enough time for interaction, protection of privacy when accessibility features are used, no triggering of photosensitive seizures, and software and hardware for interfacing with assistive technologies (Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraphs 1 and 2).
- Meet the sector-specific product requirements: self-service terminals provide text-to-speech, allow personal headsets, alert timed responses through more than one sensory channel and allow more time, and do not require an accessibility feature to be activated before a user can turn it on; e-readers provide text-to-speech; consumer terminal equipment for electronic communications services handles real time text with high fidelity audio, handles total conversation where it has video capability, and couples effectively to hearing technologies; and terminal equipment for accessing audiovisual media services makes the access components of the audiovisual media service available to persons with disabilities (Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2(i)(vii)).
- For products other than self-service terminals, make the packaging and the information in it accessible, and make instructions for installation, maintenance, storage and disposal that are not provided on the product publicly available, when it is placed on the market, in the same accessible forms (Schedule 1, Part 2).
- Before placing the product on the market, draw up the technical documentation under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2, carry out the conformity assessment procedure in Schedule 2 or have it carried out, and, once compliance is demonstrated, draw up an EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking (Reg. 8(2)(a) to (c)).
- Give the product a type, batch or serial number, indicate on it, or where that is not possible on its packaging or in a document accompanying it, your name, registered trade name or trade mark and your address, in a language easily understood by end-users and the market surveillance authority and indicating a single point at which you can be contacted, and supply instructions and safety information in the Irish and English languages or in English only, clear, understandable and intelligible (Reg. 8(2)(d) to (g)).
- Keep procedures in place so that series production stays in conformity, having regard to changes in product design or characteristics and in the harmonised standards or technical specifications by which conformity is declared (Reg. 8(3)).
- Keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 5 years after the product has been placed on the market (Reg. 8(4)(a)).
- If you consider or have reason to believe that the product is not in conformity, immediately take the corrective measures needed or, if appropriate, withdraw it; immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States where you made it available, with details of the non-compliance and the corrective measures; and keep a register of non-complying products and related complaints (Reg. 8(4)(b) to (d)).
- On a reasoned notice from the market surveillance authority, give it, in a language it can easily understand, all the information and documentation needed to show the product conforms, and cooperate with it on action to eliminate non-compliance; the authority may direct you to provide them if you do not (Reg. 8(4)(e) and (f) and 8(5)).
- Make the EU declaration of conformity state that fulfilment of the applicable accessibility requirements has been demonstrated and which requirements, if Regulation 15 was relied on, are subject to the exception; use the model structure in Schedule 5; keep it continuously updated; and translate it into both the Irish and English languages or English only when the product is placed or made available on the market in the State (Reg. 17(1)).
- For a product subject to more than one Union act requiring an EU declaration of conformity, draw up a single EU declaration of conformity that identifies the Union acts, with their publication references (Reg. 17(2) and (3)).
- Affix the CE marking visibly, legibly and indelibly to the product or its data plate, or, where that is not possible or warranted, to the packaging and accompanying documents, before the product is placed on the market, and do not affix any sign, marking or inscription likely to mislead third parties as to its meaning or form or to impair its visibility, legibility or meaning (Reg. 19(1) to (4)).
- On request from the market surveillance authority, identify any economic operator that supplied you with a product and any to which you supplied one, and be able to present that information for 5 years after the supply (Reg. 13(1) and (2)).
- If you appoint an authorised representative by written mandate, let the mandate permit it, at least, to keep the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation at the disposal of the market surveillance authority for 5 years, to provide information and documentation on a reasoned request, and to cooperate on action to eliminate non-compliance; the mandate cannot cover the duties in Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a) (Reg. 9(3) and (4)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Failing to comply with Regulation 5(1), Regulation 17 or paragraphs (1) to (4) of Regulation 19, or affixing a CE marking that does not conform to the Regulations, is an offence (Reg. 32(1) and (2)); on conviction on indictment the penalty is a fine of up to EUR 60,000 or imprisonment for up to 18 months or both (Reg. 32(6)).
Penalty structure
Regulation 32(6) sets, for a person who commits an offence under the Regulations, a class A fine or imprisonment for up to 6 months or both on summary conviction, and a fine of up to EUR 60,000 or imprisonment for up to 18 months or both on conviction on indictment. The EUR 60,000 figure is the indictment ceiling. Regulation 32(7) tells the court to have regard to the seriousness of the failure to comply, the number of units of products or services to which it related and the number of persons affected.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 60,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the market surveillance authority for products to which the Regulations apply (Reg. 4(1))
What it reaches
Instrument type
a regulation made under an act
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- Any of
- Criteria
- a product listed in Regulation 3(1) placed on the market on or after
What this law does
Regulation 5(1) allows an economic operator to place a product on the market only if it complies with the accessibility requirements the Regulations specify for it, subject to Regulation 15. Regulation 8 gives effect to Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2019/882, under which manufacturers placing their products on the market shall ensure that the products have been designed and manufactured in accordance with the applicable accessibility requirements of the Directive.
Products must meet Part 1 of Schedule 1 and, unless they are self-service terminals, Part 2 of Schedule 1.
Regulation 3(1) applies the Regulations to products placed on the market on or after : consumer general purpose computer hardware systems and their operating systems, payment terminals, automated teller machines, ticketing machines, check-in machines, interactive self-service terminals providing information, consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability used for electronic communications services or for accessing audiovisual media services, and e-readers.
Interactive self-service terminals providing information are covered unless they are installed as integrated parts of vehicles, aircrafts, ships or rolling stock. Regulation 8(1) requires a manufacturer to ensure that a product it places on the market has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the applicable accessibility requirements.
Before placing a product on the market, a manufacturer must draw up the technical documentation, carry out the conformity assessment procedure in Schedule 2, draw up an EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking. The conformity assessment procedure in Schedule 2 is internal production control, by which the manufacturer ensures and declares on its sole responsibility that the product satisfies the requirements of the Regulations.
A manufacturer must keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 5 years after the product has been placed on the market. A manufacturer that considers or has reason to believe that a product is not in conformity must immediately take the corrective measures needed or, if appropriate, withdraw the product, and must inform the competent national authorities and keep a register of non-complying products and related complaints.
A mandate appointing an authorised representative cannot include the duties in Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a). An authorised representative performs only the tasks specified in the mandate it receives from the manufacturer.
Regulation 9(4) requires the mandate to permit the authorised representative to keep the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation at the disposal of the market surveillance authority for 5 years, to provide information on a reasoned request and to cooperate on action to eliminate non-compliance.
Regulation 17(1) requires the EU declaration of conformity to state that fulfilment of the applicable accessibility requirements has been demonstrated, to have the model structure in Schedule 5, to be continuously updated and, when the product is placed or made available on the market in the State, to be translated into both the Irish and English languages or the English language only.
Regulation 17(6) provides that the requirements on technical documentation do not operate to impose an undue burden on a microenterprise or on small and medium-sized enterprises. Products in conformity with harmonised standards whose references have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union are presumed to be in conformity with the applicable accessibility requirements in so far as those standards cover them.
Products in conformity with technical specifications are presumed to conform in the same way, in so far as those specifications cover the requirements.
A person who fails to comply with Regulation 5(1), Regulation 17 or paragraphs (1) to (4) of Regulation 19, or who affixes a CE marking that does not conform to the Regulations, commits an offence, punishable on summary conviction by a class A fine or imprisonment for up to 6 months or both, and on conviction on indictment by a fine of up to EUR 60,000 or imprisonment for up to 18 months or both. A class A fine is a fine not exceeding EUR 5,000.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app distributes a software product.
Back to the example · Lint your app
Page updated .