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Every WCAG 2.2 rule, explained
The 55 rules below are WCAG 2.2 at Level A and AA, and they are the set every law we cover actually names. Each one gets a page explaining what the rule means, who it protects, how to check it on your own site, and how to fix it when it fails. WCAG has 86 criteria altogether. The other 31 are Level AAA, which no law we cover requires.
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Find the rule from what brokeAll 55 rules, explained
Perceivable20 rules
1.2 Time-based Media
- 1.2.1Level AAudio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)A recording with only sound needs a text alternative carrying the same information.Human testing6 fixes
- 1.2.2Level ACaptions (Prerecorded)Every prerecorded video with sound needs synchronized captions.Partly scannable8 fixes
- 1.2.3Level AAudio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)Where a video shows something that matters and never says it out loud, WCAG 1.2.3 gives you a choice.Human testing13 fixes
- 1.2.4Level AACaptions (Live)A live event carrying sound alongside pictures or slides needs captions while it is happening.Human testing5 fixes
- 1.2.5Level AAAudio Description (Prerecorded)At Level AA the text alternative stops being an option.Human testing11 fixes
1.3 Adaptable
- 1.3.1Level AInfo and RelationshipsWhatever a sighted reader works out from the way a page looks has to be recoverable another way.Partly scannable52 fixes
- 1.3.2Level AMeaningful SequenceWhen the order content is presented in affects what it means, a correct reading order has to be recoverable from the code.Human testing12 fixes
- 1.3.3Level ASensory CharacteristicsInstructions for understanding or operating a page cannot lean only on how something looks, where it sits, which way it is turned, or what it sounds like.Human testing3 fixes
- 1.3.4Level AAOrientationContent must not restrict its view and its operation to one screen orientation, unless that orientation is essential.Partly scannable3 fixes
- 1.3.5Level AAIdentify Input PurposeA field collecting information about the person filling in the form has to declare what it is for, in code, using one of 53 defined purposes.Scanner-detectable2 fixes
1.4 Distinguishable
- 1.4.1Level AUse of ColorColor cannot be the only visual thing telling you something.Human testing9 fixes
- 1.4.2Level AAudio ControlIf any audio on a page plays by itself for more than three seconds, you owe the user one of two things.Partly scannable5 fixes
- 1.4.3Level AAContrast (Minimum)Text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background.Scanner-detectable7 fixes
- 1.4.4Level AAResize TextText has to survive being enlarged to 200% without losing content or function, and without assistive technology.Partly scannable15 fixes
- 1.4.5Level AAImages of TextWhere the technology can produce the visual presentation you want, use real text rather than a picture of text.Human testing9 fixes
- 1.4.10Level AAReflowAt 320 CSS pixels wide, content has to work without scrolling in two directions at once.Partly scannable11 fixes
- 1.4.11Level AANon-text ContrastTwo things owe 3:1 against the colors next to them.Partly scannable6 fixes
- 1.4.12Level AAText SpacingSet line height to 1.5 times the font size, spacing after paragraphs to 2 times, letter spacing to 0.12 times and word spacing to 0.16 times.Partly scannable6 fixes
- 1.4.13Level AAContent on Hover or FocusContent that appears on hover or focus and then goes away has to satisfy three conditions.Human testing2 fixes
Operable20 rules
2.1 Keyboard Accessible
- 2.1.1Level AKeyboardEvery function on the page has to be operable through a keyboard interface.Partly scannable13 fixes
- 2.1.2Level ANo Keyboard TrapFocus that can get into something has to be able to get back out of it, and the rule gives two ways to satisfy that.Partly scannable2 fixes
- 2.1.4Level ACharacter Key ShortcutsIf your site fires an action from a single printable character, one of three things has to be true.Human testing2 fixes
2.2 Enough Time
- 2.2.1Level ATiming AdjustableWhere the content sets a time limit, six things can satisfy this rule and any one of them is enough.Partly scannable11 fixes
- 2.2.2Level APause, Stop, HideMotion that starts on its own, runs longer than five seconds and sits alongside other content needs a way for the user to pause, stop or hide it.Partly scannable11 fixes
2.4 Navigable
- 2.4.1Level ABypass BlocksA mechanism has to exist for getting past blocks of content that repeat from page to page, and that mechanism can take more than one shape.Partly scannable10 fixes
- 2.4.2Level APage TitledA page needs a title that describes its topic or its purpose.Partly scannable5 fixes
- 2.4.3Level AFocus OrderWhere a page can be tabbed through and the order changes what it means or how it works, focus has to move in an order that preserves both.Human testing8 fixes
- 2.4.4Level ALink Purpose (In Context)A link's purpose has to be clear from its own text, or from its text plus the context the code puts it in.Partly scannable22 fixes
- 2.4.5Level AAMultiple WaysAny page in a set of pages has to be findable more than one way, and W3C documents six routes.Human testing8 fixes
- 2.4.6Level AAHeadings and LabelsWhere headings and labels exist, they have to describe the topic or the purpose of what they head or label.Partly scannable4 fixes
- 2.4.7Level AAFocus VisibleA keyboard-operable interface has to have a mode of operation where the focus indicator is visible.Partly scannable9 fixes
- 2.4.11Level AANew in 2.2Focus Not Obscured (Minimum)This criterion is new in WCAG 2.2.Human testing2 fixes
2.5 Input Modalities
- 2.5.1Level APointer GesturesAnything a multipoint or path-based gesture does has to be reachable with a single pointer that does not depend on the path, unless the gesture is genuinely essential.Human testing3 fixes
- 2.5.2Level APointer CancellationFor anything operated with a single pointer, one of four things has to be true.Human testing3 fixes
- 2.5.3Level ALabel in NameWhere a control has a visible label made of text, its accessible name has to contain that text.Partly scannable5 fixes
- 2.5.4Level AMotion ActuationTwo things are required together here, not one.Human testing2 fixes
- 2.5.7Level AANew in 2.2Dragging MovementsThis criterion is new in WCAG 2.2.Human testing2 fixes
- 2.5.8Level AANew in 2.2Target Size (Minimum)This criterion is new in WCAG 2.2.Partly scannable1 fixes
Understandable13 rules
3.1 Readable
- 3.1.1Level ALanguage of PageEvery page has to declare its main language in a way software can read, and on the web that means one attribute on the html element.Scanner-detectable4 fixes
- 3.1.2Level AALanguage of PartsWhen a passage switches language, that passage needs its own lang attribute, so the screen reader switches pronunciation for it and switches back afterwards.Partly scannable2 fixes
3.2 Predictable
- 3.2.1Level AOn FocusLanding focus on something must never change the context on its own.Human testing2 fixes
- 3.2.2Level AOn InputChanging a setting must not change the context on its own, unless you told the user it would before they touched the control.Human testing8 fixes
- 3.2.3Level AAConsistent NavigationAnything that helps people move around your site has to keep the same relative order on every page that repeats it.Human testing4 fixes
- 3.2.4Level AAConsistent IdentificationThe same function has to be identified the same way across a set of pages, so a control that adds an item to the cart cannot be Add to Cart in one place and Buy in another.Human testing2 fixes
- 3.2.6Level ANew in 2.2Consistent HelpThis one is new in WCAG 2.2, and it is conditional.Human testing1 fixes
3.3 Input Assistance
- 3.3.1Level AError IdentificationWhen a form rejects something, the page has to say which field is wrong and what is wrong with it, in text.Partly scannable13 fixes
- 3.3.2Level ALabels or InstructionsEvery field that takes input needs a label or an instruction, and the rule means every field rather than only the required ones.Partly scannable17 fixes
- 3.3.3Level AAError SuggestionWhen your code knows what would fix an error, it has to say so.Human testing9 fixes
- 3.3.4Level AAError Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data)Some pages do things that cannot be taken back, and this rule says at least one safeguard has to stand in front of them.Human testing7 fixes
- 3.3.7Level ANew in 2.2Redundant EntryNew in WCAG 2.2, and it says you cannot make somebody type the same thing twice inside one process.Human testing1 fixes
- 3.3.8Level AANew in 2.2Accessible Authentication (Minimum)New in WCAG 2.2.Partly scannable3 fixes
Robust2 rules
Reading rules is free. Knowing where you fail is $499.
Every WCAGrules audit checks all 55 criteria on up to 10 pages, with an automated scan, an expert review and a real blind screen-reader user, and evidence attached to every finding. Passing all 55 is still not the same as a site that works for everyone. W3C says so itself, and names cognitive, language and learning disabilities as the area its own standard covers least well.