WCAG 2.2 · Conformance level
Level AA
Level AA is the bar the outside world holds you to. Section 508 names WCAG 2.0 AA, the DOJ's Title II rule names 2.1 AA, and the European Accessibility Act reaches 2.1 AA through EN 301 549. All of them land on AA, and every one of them names a version older than this one. W3C designed the versions to be backwards compatible, so a page conforming to 2.2 AA conforms to 2.1 AA and 2.0 AA as well, which is the answer to a procurement form asking for the older number.
Conforming at AA means passing all 24 criteria here and all 31 Level A criteria beneath them, 55 rules in total. WCAG defines that as a property of a single page and never of a site, so "our website is AA compliant" is not a claim the standard offers. One wrinkle is worth carrying too. Title II of the ADA now names a technical standard and Title III still does not, so a private business is measured by what courts and settlements have treated as reasonable, and that has landed on AA.
Which laws cite this standard, and what they cost when you miss it, is covered in our guide to accessibility laws.
- Level AA rules
- 24
- Perceivable
- 11
- Operable
- 6
- Understandable
- 6
- Robust
- 1
11 of these 24 rules can only be verified by a person, on our own classification of what machines can and cannot check.
Perceivable11 Level AA rules
- 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
- 1.3.4Level 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
- 1.4.3Level 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
Operable6 Level AA rules
- 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
- 2.5.7Level 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
Understandable6 Level AA rules
- 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
- 3.2.3Level 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
- 3.3.3Level 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
- 3.3.8Level AANew in 2.2Accessible Authentication (Minimum)New in WCAG 2.2.Partly scannable3 fixes
Robust1 Level AA rule
Level A: the 31-rule floor beneath AA
Every AA conformance claim includes Level A. Fail one A criterion and the whole claim falls with it.
See how your site does against these rules.
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