Captions and accessibility for video courses: what to know
Why caption a video course, what the European Accessibility Act requires since 2025, the micro-enterprise exemption and a practical checklist.
A video course without captions shuts out people who can't hear, people watching on a train without headphones, people following in a second language. Making it accessible takes a little extra time per lesson and improves the experience for everyone.
Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has also applied in the EU. This guide explains who it applies to, what it requires and why, even when you aren't obliged, it's worth following its spirit.
What is the European Accessibility Act?
Directive (EU) 2019/882 on accessibility requirements for products and services. Member States had to transpose it by 28 June 2022 and apply it from 28 June 2025. Consumer services in scope include e-commerce services and services providing access to audiovisual media services, as well as others such as e-books.
For all in-scope services, Annex I requires websites and mobile apps to be accessible, that is, perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
Are creators exempt?
Many are. Article 4(5) exempts micro-enterprises providing services from the accessibility requirements. Article 3 defines a micro-enterprise as one employing fewer than 10 people with annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million.
| Exempt from the requirements | |
|---|---|
| Solo creator, turnover under €2 million | Yes |
| Small team under 10 people, under €2 million | Yes |
| 10 people or more | No |
| Selling through a third-party platform | Check |
Our summary of Articles 3 and 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/882. National transpositions may add detail: not legal advice.
If you sell through a third-party platform, its obligations depend on its size, not yours: ask how it handles accessibility of the video player and checkout.
What does it require for audiovisual content?
Annex I, section IV, requires for services providing access to audiovisual content that access services, such as subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, audio description, spoken subtitles and sign language interpretation, are fully transmitted with adequate quality, synchronised with sound and video, and allow user control of their display and use.
For an exempt creator it's not an obligation, but it's a good checklist: complete, synchronised captions that users can switch on and off.
Why caption even if you don't have to?
Because captions serve far more people than you'd think: people who can't hear well, people watching without sound, non-native speakers, people revising by reading. They also let you search a word across lessons and produce text for the course page, useful for being found by search engines and AI assistants, as we explain in how to get recommended by ChatGPT.
A method example
A creator has a 30-lesson course of 10-12 minutes each, about five and a half hours of video. He generates automatic captions with his platform's tool, then proofreads them lesson by lesson at double speed, fixing technical terms, software names and punctuation: about 15 minutes per lesson, seven and a half hours in total, spread over two weeks. Meanwhile he adds a downloadable transcript to each lesson and checks that the player lets viewers switch captions on and off. He also redoes the slides with stronger contrast and adds a spoken description wherever he pointed at something on screen without naming it. After the update, several students write that they use the transcripts to revise. In practice, accessibility improved the course for everyone, not just those who needed it. The times are our example.
A practical checklist for an accessible video course
- Captions for every lesson, proofread and synchronised.
- A transcript to download, useful for revision too.
- Spoken description of what you show on screen ("I click the File menu, top left").
- High-contrast slides with large text.
- A sales page with alt text on images and keyboard-usable buttons.
- A checkout that works with assistive technology; see abandoned checkout for online courses.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Unproofread auto-captions. They get technical terms wrong.
- Pointing without naming. "Click here" means nothing to someone who can't see the screen.
- Information only in images. Price and curriculum must also be text.
- Low-contrast slides. They tire everyone.
- Assuming you're exempt. Check size and turnover, and what your platform does.
Key terms. Accessibility means everyone, including people with disabilities, can use a product or service. A micro-enterprise, for the directive, has fewer than 10 people and turnover or balance sheet up to €2 million. Audio description is a spoken account of what appears on screen.
How we checked. We found no national transposition text we could read for this article, so we cite only the directive. We read Directive (EU) 2019/882 on EUR-Lex (Articles 2, 3, 4 and 31, Annex I). We didn't read national transpositions or non-EU accessibility laws. Not legal advice. Contact: hi@heytea.app. Editorial note: we check every figure against the sources listed below and correct mistakes openly.
Frequently asked questions
Does the European Accessibility Act apply to creators?
Directive (EU) 2019/882 applies, from 28 June 2025, to several services offered to consumers, including e-commerce services and services providing access to audiovisual media services. Micro-enterprises providing services, meaning fewer than 10 people and annual turnover or balance sheet up to €2 million, are exempt from the accessibility requirements.
If I'm exempt, should I still add captions?
Yes. Captions help deaf and hard-of-hearing people, people watching without sound, non-native speakers and anyone revising. They make the course easier for everyone and let people search the text of your lessons.
What does the directive require for audiovisual content?
Annex I of Directive 2019/882 requires, for services providing access to audiovisual content, that access services such as subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, audio description, spoken subtitles and sign language interpretation be fully transmitted with adequate quality, synchronised and with user control of their display.
Are auto-generated captions enough?
They're a good starting point, but they need proofreading. Automatic systems get technical terms, names and punctuation wrong, exactly the parts that matter most in a course. A quick review of each lesson makes captions reliable.
What makes a sales page accessible?
Readable text with good contrast, images with alt text, buttons usable by keyboard, captioned videos and a checkout that works with assistive technology. The directive requires websites of in-scope services to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services. Accessed 19 October 2026. eur-lex.europa.eu