Short answer. WCAG 2.2 has 86 success criteria, grouped under four principles. To meet Level AA, the target for almost every Australian organisation, a website or app must meet the 55 criteria at Levels A and AA. This checklist explains every criterion in one plain-English line, with its level, and marks the nine that are new in WCAG 2.2.

How to use this checklist#

  • A and AA are the target. Meet every criterion marked (A) or (AA). Treat (AAA) criteria as good practice to apply where you can, especially on important content.
  • “New in 2.2” marks the criteria added in WCAG 2.2. If your last audit was against WCAG 2.1, these are the ones it did not test.
  • One criterion was removed. 4.1.1 Parsing is no longer part of WCAG 2.2, because modern browsers and assistive technologies made it redundant. You may still see it in older audit reports and in AS EN 301 549.
  • A checklist is a starting point, not an audit. Many criteria need human judgement and testing with assistive technology to assess properly. See “What a checklist cannot tell you” at the end.

For the background on how WCAG works, see Understanding WCAG: A Complete Guide.

Principle 1: Perceivable#

People must be able to perceive the content, whatever senses they use. 29 criteria.

1.1 Text alternatives#

  • 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A): images, icons and other non-text content have a text alternative that serves the same purpose, and decorative images are hidden from screen readers.

1.2 Time-based media#

  • 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only, Prerecorded (A): recorded audio has a transcript, and silent video has a transcript or audio track describing it.
  • 1.2.2 Captions, Prerecorded (A): recorded video with sound has accurate captions.
  • 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative, Prerecorded (A): important visual information in recorded video is described, in audio or in a text alternative.
  • 1.2.4 Captions, Live (AA): live video with sound, such as a webinar, has live captions.
  • 1.2.5 Audio Description, Prerecorded (AA): recorded video has audio description of important visual information.
  • 1.2.6 Sign Language, Prerecorded (AAA): recorded video has sign language interpretation, such as Auslan.
  • 1.2.7 Extended Audio Description, Prerecorded (AAA): where pauses are too short for description, the video pauses to make room for it.
  • 1.2.8 Media Alternative, Prerecorded (AAA): recorded video has a full text alternative covering everything seen and heard.
  • 1.2.9 Audio-only, Live (AAA): live audio, such as a radio stream, has a live text alternative.

1.3 Adaptable#

  • 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A): headings, lists, tables and form labels are marked up properly in the code, not just made to look that way.
  • 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (A): when the reading order matters, the code presents content in that order.
  • 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (A): instructions do not rely only on shape, size, position or sound, such as “click the round button on the right”.
  • 1.3.4 Orientation (AA): content works in both portrait and landscape, unless one orientation is essential.
  • 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (AA): fields that ask for personal details, such as name, email or address, are coded so browsers can autofill them.
  • 1.3.6 Identify Purpose (AAA): the purpose of icons, regions and controls is coded so tools can personalise them for the user.

1.4 Distinguishable#

  • 1.4.1 Use of Colour (A): colour is never the only way information is shown, such as an error marked only in red.
  • 1.4.2 Audio Control (A): audio that plays automatically for more than three seconds can be paused, stopped or turned down.
  • 1.4.3 Contrast, Minimum (AA): text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 with its background, or 3 to 1 for large text.
  • 1.4.4 Resize Text (AA): text can be enlarged to 200% without losing content or function.
  • 1.4.5 Images of Text (AA): real text is used instead of pictures of text, except for logos and where it is essential.
  • 1.4.6 Contrast, Enhanced (AAA): text has a contrast ratio of at least 7 to 1, or 4.5 to 1 for large text.
  • 1.4.7 Low or No Background Audio (AAA): recorded speech has little or no background sound, or it can be turned off.
  • 1.4.8 Visual Presentation (AAA): users can choose text and background colours, and long text has comfortable line length, spacing and alignment.
  • 1.4.9 Images of Text, No Exception (AAA): pictures of text are used only for decoration or where essential, such as logos.
  • 1.4.10 Reflow (AA): content works at 400% zoom, or on a 320-pixel-wide screen, without scrolling sideways.
  • 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA): buttons, form field borders, icons and graphs have a contrast ratio of at least 3 to 1.
  • 1.4.12 Text Spacing (AA): nothing breaks when users increase line, letter, word and paragraph spacing.
  • 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (AA): pop-ups and tooltips that appear on hover or focus can be dismissed, can be hovered over, and stay until the user moves away.

Principle 2: Operable#

People must be able to use every control and navigate the content, however they interact with it. 34 criteria.

2.1 Keyboard accessible#

  • 2.1.1 Keyboard (A): everything can be done with a keyboard alone, without needing a mouse.
  • 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (A): keyboard users can always move focus away from any part of the page.
  • 2.1.3 Keyboard, No Exception (AAA): everything can be done with a keyboard, with no exceptions at all.
  • 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts (A): single-key shortcuts can be turned off or changed, so they are not triggered by accident, for example by voice control.

2.2 Enough time#

  • 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (A): time limits can be turned off, adjusted or extended, with some exceptions such as live auctions.
  • 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (A): moving, scrolling or auto-updating content, such as carousels, can be paused, stopped or hidden.
  • 2.2.3 No Timing (AAA): there are no time limits, except for live events and real-time media.
  • 2.2.4 Interruptions (AAA): users can postpone or turn off interruptions such as alerts, except emergencies.
  • 2.2.5 Re-authenticating (AAA): if a session expires, users can log back in and carry on without losing what they entered.
  • 2.2.6 Timeouts (AAA): users are warned how long they can be inactive before they lose data, unless data is kept for at least 20 hours.

2.3 Seizures and physical reactions#

  • 2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold (A): nothing flashes more than three times a second, unless the flash is small and dim enough to be safe.
  • 2.3.2 Three Flashes (AAA): nothing flashes more than three times a second, at any size.
  • 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions (AAA): motion triggered by interaction, such as parallax scrolling, can be turned off.
  • 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A): users can skip repeated content such as the main menu, for example with a “skip to content” link.
  • 2.4.2 Page Titled (A): every page has a title that describes its topic or purpose.
  • 2.4.3 Focus Order (A): keyboard focus moves through the page in an order that makes sense.
  • 2.4.4 Link Purpose, In Context (A): the purpose of each link is clear from its text, or from its text and surrounding sentence.
  • 2.4.5 Multiple Ways (AA): there is more than one way to find a page, such as a menu, search and a sitemap.
  • 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA): headings and labels describe the topic or purpose of what follows.
  • 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA): keyboard users can always see which element has focus.
  • 2.4.8 Location (AAA): users can tell where they are within the website, for example with breadcrumbs.
  • 2.4.9 Link Purpose, Link Only (AAA): every link makes sense from its text alone.
  • 2.4.10 Section Headings (AAA): headings are used to organise long content into sections.
  • 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured, Minimum (AA, new in 2.2): the element with keyboard focus is never completely hidden by sticky headers, cookie banners or chat widgets.
  • 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured, Enhanced (AAA, new in 2.2): no part of the element with keyboard focus is hidden.
  • 2.4.13 Focus Appearance (AAA, new in 2.2): the focus indicator is large enough and has enough contrast to see easily.

2.5 Input modalities#

  • 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures (A): anything done with a multi-finger or path-based gesture, such as pinching or swiping a pattern, can also be done with a single tap or click.
  • 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation (A): actions happen when the finger or mouse button is released, not pressed, so mistakes can be cancelled by moving away.
  • 2.5.3 Label in Name (A): a control’s accessible name includes its visible label, so voice control users can say what they see.
  • 2.5.4 Motion Actuation (A): anything triggered by moving or shaking the device can also be done with a control, and motion can be turned off.
  • 2.5.5 Target Size, Enhanced (AAA): buttons and links are at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels.
  • 2.5.6 Concurrent Input Mechanisms (AAA): users can switch between input methods, such as touch, mouse and keyboard, at any time.
  • 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA, new in 2.2): anything done by dragging, such as a slider or reordering a list, also works with single clicks or taps.
  • 2.5.8 Target Size, Minimum (AA, new in 2.2): buttons and links are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or have enough space around them.

Principle 3: Understandable#

People must be able to understand the content and how the interface works. 21 criteria.

3.1 Readable#

  • 3.1.1 Language of Page (A): the page’s main language is set in the code, so screen readers pronounce it correctly.
  • 3.1.2 Language of Parts (AA): passages in a different language, such as a quote in Italian, are marked in the code.
  • 3.1.3 Unusual Words (AAA): jargon, idioms and unusual words are explained.
  • 3.1.4 Abbreviations (AAA): the full meaning of abbreviations and acronyms is available.
  • 3.1.5 Reading Level (AAA): where text needs more than lower secondary school reading ability, a simpler version or summary is available.
  • 3.1.6 Pronunciation (AAA): where meaning depends on pronunciation, the pronunciation is given.

3.2 Predictable#

  • 3.2.1 On Focus (A): moving focus to an element never triggers an unexpected change, such as opening a new page.
  • 3.2.2 On Input (A): changing a setting, such as choosing from a drop-down, does not cause an unexpected change unless users are warned first.
  • 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation (AA): menus and navigation that repeat across pages stay in the same order.
  • 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (AA): things that do the same job are labelled the same way across pages.
  • 3.2.5 Change on Request (AAA): big changes, such as opening a new window, only happen when users ask for them.
  • 3.2.6 Consistent Help (A, new in 2.2): where help options, such as contact details or a chat button, appear on several pages, they are in the same place each time.

3.3 Input assistance#

  • 3.3.1 Error Identification (A): when an input error is found, the field is identified and the error is described in text.
  • 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (A): form fields have clear labels or instructions.
  • 3.3.3 Error Suggestion (AA): when an error is found and a fix is known, the fix is suggested, such as the expected date format.
  • 3.3.4 Error Prevention, Legal, Financial, Data (AA): for legal commitments, payments and data changes, users can review, correct, confirm or undo before it is final.
  • 3.3.5 Help (AAA): context-sensitive help is available, such as guidance next to a complex field.
  • 3.3.6 Error Prevention, All (AAA): every form submission can be reviewed, corrected, confirmed or undone.
  • 3.3.7 Redundant Entry (A, new in 2.2): users are not asked to enter the same information twice in the same process, unless it is essential or for security.
  • 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication, Minimum (AA, new in 2.2): logging in does not depend on a memory or puzzle test, such as retyping characters, unless there is an alternative like allowing paste and password managers.
  • 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication, Enhanced (AAA, new in 2.2): logging in involves no cognitive test at all, not even recognising objects or personal images.

Principle 4: Robust#

Content must work reliably with browsers and assistive technologies, now and as they change. 2 criteria.

4.1 Compatible#

  • 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A): every control has a name, a role and a state that assistive technologies can read, such as “Menu, button, expanded”.
  • 4.1.3 Status Messages (AA): messages such as “Item added to cart” or “3 results found” are announced by screen readers without moving focus.

(4.1.1 Parsing was removed in WCAG 2.2.)

What a checklist cannot tell you#

A checklist tells you what to check. It cannot tell you whether you have passed.

  • Many criteria need judgement. Whether alt text is meaningful, whether a heading describes its section, or whether an error message is helpful can only be judged by a person.
  • Automated tools check only part of WCAG. They are a useful first pass, not a conformance assessment.
  • Assistive technology changes the picture. A page can look fine and still be unusable with a screen reader or keyboard.
  • People with disability find what checklists miss. Testing with people who use assistive technology every day shows whether something that technically conforms actually works.

For a step-by-step approach to checking your own site, see How to Conduct a DIY Accessibility Audit.

Frequently asked questions#

How many WCAG 2.2 criteria do we need to meet?#

For Level AA, 55: all the criteria at Levels A and AA. The other 31 are at Level AAA and are not usually required.

What is new in WCAG 2.2?#

Nine criteria, marked “new in 2.2” above. Six are at Levels A and AA: 2.4.11, 2.5.7, 2.5.8, 3.2.6, 3.3.7 and 3.3.8.

If we meet WCAG 2.2, do we also meet WCAG 2.1?#

Yes, at the same level. WCAG 2.2 includes everything in 2.1 except 4.1.1 Parsing, which is treated as always met for HTML.

Can we use this checklist as our audit?#

It is a good way to understand what an audit covers and to spot obvious issues. Evidence of conformance needs expert manual testing and assistive technology testing, documented with dates and results.

Talk to us#

Want to know how your website or app measures up against all 55 Level A and AA criteria? Book a free 15-minute call.