EU Digital Services Act · Regulation 2022/2065

Check your DSA tier and Article 30 trader duties

Answer the conditional wizard below. The cascade then surfaces your tier, SMB carve-out, applicable articles, your responsible Digital Services Coordinator, and the Art. 52(3) penalty ceiling — all stamped with the rules version they were computed against.

Role classificationReg. (EU) 2022/2065

Tell us about the service

Which category does the service fall under?

Your DSA classification

  1. Mere conduitSection 1
  2. CachingSection 1
  3. HostingSections 1–2
  4. Online platformSections 1–3
  5. Online marketplaceSections 1–4
  6. VLOPSections 1–5

DSA tier

Hosting

SMB exemption: Yes — Sections 3 and 4 disapplied (Art. 19(1))

Responsible Digital Services Coordinator: Bundesnetzagentur

Max penalty exposure (Art. 52(3)): €90,000

Applicable articles (8)

  • Art.11
  • Art.12
  • Art.13
  • Art.14
  • Art.15
  • Art.16
  • Art.17
  • Art.18

Struck articles fall under Sections 3 / 4 — disapplied by Art. 19(1) for SMBs.

Computed against DSA ruleset version 2026.06, verified 2026-06-12.

Role tiers
4
Cumulative: each inherits the duties below it
VLOP threshold
45M
EU monthly active recipients (Art. 33)
Penalty cap
6%
Of worldwide annual turnover (Art. 52(3))
Full application
2024
All intermediary services since 17 Feb 2024

The EU Digital Services Act (Regulation 2022/2065) has applied in full to all intermediary services since 17 February 2024. A service is a Very Large Online Platform or Search Engine (VLOP/VLOSE) once it averages 45 million or more monthly active recipients in the EU and the Commission designates it under Art. 33; non-compliance fines reach up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover under Art. 52(3).

Primary sources: EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (consolidated) (verified 2026-06-12) · European Commission — DSA: Very large online platforms and search engines (verified 2026-06-12) · European Commission — Digital Services Coordinators register (verified 2026-06-12)

Page last updated: · Rules verified: · DSA ruleset version 2026.06, verified 2026-06-12.

This tool is an orientation aid. It is not legal advice. Final classification depends on Commission designation decisions, national DSC interpretations, and case-specific facts. Consult qualified EU regulatory counsel before acting on these results.

How the DSA cascade works

The DSA stacks obligations by service type. Each rung inherits everything below it: a marketplace is also an online platform, a hosting service and an intermediary, so it carries Section 1 through Section 4. VLOP duties (Articles 34–43) sit on top of whatever tier the service already occupies.

Mere conduit, caching (Art. 3(g)(i)–(ii))
Pure transmission or automatic, intermediate caching. Only Section 1 baseline duties apply (Art. 11–15): a point of contact, legal representative if non-EU, terms-of-service transparency, and annual transparency reporting.
Hosting (Art. 3(g)(iii))
Storing user-supplied content. Adds Section 2 (Art. 16–18): notice-and-action mechanisms, statements of reasons for content moderation, and notification of suspicions of criminal offences.
Online platform
Hosting that disseminates information to the public. Adds Section 3 (Art. 20–28): internal complaint-handling, out-of-court dispute settlement, trusted flaggers, measures against misuse, advertising transparency, and protection of minors. Micro and small enterprises are carved out of Sections 3 and 4 (Art. 19) unless designated as a VLOP.
Online marketplace
A platform that enables consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders. Adds Section 4 (Art. 29–32): traceability of traders (KYBC, Art. 30, in force 17 Feb 2024), compliance-by-design, and the right to information.
VLOP / VLOSE
45 million-plus EU monthly active recipients and a Commission Art. 33 designation. Adds Section 5 (Art. 34–43): systemic risk assessment and mitigation, independent audits, recommender-system transparency, an ad repository, data access for researchers, and a compliance function — supervised directly by the Commission with the 6% penalty ceiling.

This tool screens which rung and obligation sections apply to a given service. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the Regulation text or qualified counsel — confirm every result against EUR-Lex and the Commission DSC register before acting.

DSA classification — frequently asked questions

When did the DSA start applying?

The Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) entered into force on 16 November 2022. Its obligations for VLOPs and VLOSEs began four months after their designation in April 2023, and the Regulation applied in full to all other intermediary services from 17 February 2024. As of 2026-06-12 every in-scope service must already meet the obligations of its tier.

What makes a service a VLOP or VLOSE?

Two conditions must both be met: the service averages 45 million or more monthly active recipients in the EU (Art. 33(1)), and the Commission adopts a formal designation decision. Crossing the user threshold triggers a reporting duty, but VLOP obligations under Articles 34–43 attach only once the Commission designates the service. This tool flags the threshold and the designation step separately.

How large can a DSA fine be?

Article 52(3) caps periodic penalty payments and fines for infringements at 6% of the provider's total worldwide annual turnover in the preceding financial year. Supplying incorrect or misleading information can be fined up to 1% of turnover. For VLOPs, the Commission enforces directly; for everyone else, the national Digital Services Coordinator does. The penalty figure this tool shows is the 6% ceiling, not a predicted fine.

Are small businesses exempt from the DSA?

Partly. Article 19 disapplies the Section 3 online-platform obligations (and, by extension, the Section 4 marketplace obligations) to platforms that qualify as micro or small enterprises under Recommendation 2003/361/EC — fewer than 50 staff and turnover or balance-sheet total at or below 10 million euro. The baseline Section 1 and hosting Section 2 duties still apply, and the carve-out is lost the moment a platform is designated a VLOP.

Who is my Digital Services Coordinator?

Each Member State designates a Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) responsible for supervision in its territory; jurisdiction follows your main establishment in the EU. This tool returns the named authority per the Commission's DSC register. Some Member States have only an interim coordinator or have been referred to the Court of Justice over empowerment — in those cases the result carries a caveat and you should confirm against the live register.

What is Article 30 traceability of traders?

Article 30 (Section 4) requires online marketplaces to collect and verify identifying information about the traders that use them — the know-your-business-customer (KYBC) obligation — and to make best efforts to check it against reliable databases. It has applied to marketplaces since 17 February 2024 and is one of the most operationally demanding marketplace duties.

Do non-EU services fall under the DSA?

Yes. The DSA applies to intermediary services offered to recipients in the Union regardless of where the provider is established (Art. 2). A provider without an establishment in the EU must designate a legal representative in a Member State where it offers services (Art. 13) before continuing to operate. This tool surfaces that requirement when you select a non-EU establishment without a representative.

Does this tool give legal advice or guarantee my classification?

No. It is a deterministic screening aid that maps your answers to the relevant DSA tier, obligation sections, coordinator and penalty ceiling using the cited official sources. Final classification depends on Commission designation decisions, national DSC interpretations and case-specific facts. Treat the output as a first pass and confirm with qualified EU regulatory counsel.

Answers reflect the DSA ruleset verified 2026-06-12. The Regulation and the designation lists change; confirm against EUR-Lex and the Commission registers before relying on a result.

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