European Accessibility Act 2025: Supporting your document accessibility journey during the 5-Year transition period

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) aims to make digital content and services more inclusive for people with disabilities. From 28 June 2025, financial institutions have been reviewing how their investor communications align with the accessibility requirements set out under the European Accessibility Act, as the five-year transition period begins.

 At FE fundinfo, we’re here to support our clients in producing documents that align with evolving accessibility standards. While it’s ultimately the responsibility of the document owner to ensure compliance with the EAA, our document production service offers the technical capabilities and guidance to assist you in working towards your accessibility objectives.

Q: What does the EAA mean for investment documents?

The EAA requires that key investor documents — such as KIDs, KIIDs, factsheets, and other regulatory materials — be accessible to users with disabilities. This includes compatibility with screen readers and assistive technologies, and adherence to internationally recognised accessibility standards like PDF/UA.

Importantly, the EAA provides a grace period for existing products and services. While new documents and services introduced after 28 June 2025 must be compliant from day one, those already on the market before this date have until 28 June 2030 to meet the accessibility requirements.

Q: How has FE fundinfo prepared for the EAA, and how is accessibility supported across different document types?

Accessibility features are available within our document production service, and we’re ready to work with you on any changes you may require to support your accessibility objectives under the EAA.  This includes:

PDF/UA and PDF/A conformance

We support both PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) and PDF/A (Archival) standards. PDF/UA is the ISO standard (ISO 14289) for accessible PDF documents and is the recommended format for EAA compliance. PDF/A is used for long-term preservation.

Template-level accessibility

Accessibility features are built into the templates used to generate your documents. These templates are configured by your FE fundinfo Business Analyst (BA) based on your design specifications. While we provide the technical capability to support accessibility, the final output depends on how the templates are designed — including elements such as table structure, font usage, and colour contrast.

Output-specific support:  

a) Regulatory documents:

Accessibility updates for regulatory documents will be introduced as part of scheduled version updates over the coming years. Proactive changes are not currently recommended, given potential conflicts with existing regulatory design requirements.  

• KIDs and KIIDs: Can be generated in PDF/UA format (where configured), with tagging and logical structure to support screen reader compatibility.
• Templates: As the foundation of all outputs, templates are fully configurable to support accessibility. Clients are encouraged to confirm that their templates are set to output in PDF/UA where required.

b) Marketing documents:

Given fewer regulatory constraints, marketing materials present a more immediate opportunity for accessibility improvements.

Factsheets: Produced using templates that support both PDF/UA and PDF/A, with accessible tables, headings, and metadata.

Accessibility features

Our document engine supports:

• Tagged content for logical reading order
• Alternative text for images
• Accessible tables and headings
• Unicode-compliant fonts
• Machine-readable metadata

While we follow best practices to support accessibility, the design and structure of the content — and therefore its compliance — is ultimately determined by the client’s requirements.

Q: What level of PDF conformance should we use for EAA compliance?

For compliance with the EAA, we recommend using PDF/UA. This standard ensures that documents are compatible with assistive technologies.

FE fundinfo supports both:

• PDF/UA – for accessibility 
• PDF/A – for archiving

Clients should ensure their templates are configured to output in PDF/UA if accessibility is a requirement.

Q: Are there any actions required from us as a client?

Yes — to ensure your documents meet accessibility expectations, we recommend:

1. Confirm template configuration

Speak with FE fundinfo customer support  to double check that your templates are set to output in PDF/UA format.

2. Run accessibility checks (optional)

If you want to ensure the design of your documents post-production are compliant   with the EAA, we recommend using publicly available tools designed to run accessibility checks  to validate your final output.

3. Raise a change request if needed

If updates to your templates are required to meet accessibility needs, these can be managed through our standard change request process.

4. Stay informed

If you’re planning changes to your document layout or distribution strategy, let us know once your requirements are defined. We can support you in implementing those changes within your existing templates through our standard change request process.     

In summary 

FE fundinfo’s document production service is designed to assist clients in achieving their accessibility objectives in line with the European Accessibility Act. With built-in support for PDF/UA, configurable templates, and expert guidance, we offer the tools and expertise to help you produce accessible, investor-friendly documents. However, it’s important to note that responsibility for ensuring compliance with the EAA ultimately rests with the document owner.

Considering updates to your documents? Click here to request a template review or reach out to your Account Manager.