📗 Reference
All 86 of them, in plain language, each with how to check it. Filter to the level you are actually being held to, or search for the thing in front of you. This is the list part 4 teaches you to test against.
Read this first. The numbers, names and levels here come from the W3C recommendation. The plain language and the check column are ours. They are a working paraphrase to help you find and remember the right criterion, and they are not the normative text. When something is contested, or money depends on it, quote the standard itself (opens in a new tab). If whoever you are quoting it to needs an ISO number rather than a W3C one, WCAG 2.2 has been ISO/IEC 40500:2025 since October 2025. Same document, same criteria, a reference a procurement rule can cite.
| Level | Count | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| A | 31 | The floor. Failing one of these usually means somebody cannot complete the task at all. |
| AA | 24 | What nearly every law and contract asks for. When somebody says WCAG, they mean A and AA together, which is 55 criteria. |
| AAA | 31 | Not expected across a whole site, and the W3C says so. Pick the ones that suit your content. |
You can sense it. Nothing depends on a sense you do not have.
1.1.1 Level A
Every image, icon, chart and control that is not text needs a text alternative that does the same job. Decorative images get an empty alt so they are skipped.
How to check itTurn images off, or read the page with a screen reader. Does anything important disappear? Does anything pointless get announced?
1.2.1 Level A
A recording with only sound needs a transcript. A recording with only picture needs a transcript or an audio track describing it.
How to check itFor every media file with no partner track, look for the text version.
1.2.2 Level A
Recorded video with sound needs captions carrying the dialogue and the sounds that matter.
How to check itTurn the sound off and watch. Do you follow it? Check auto captions for accuracy, since they are usually not good enough on their own.
1.2.3 Level A
If the picture carries meaning the dialogue does not, provide either audio description or a full text alternative.
How to check itClose your eyes and listen. Do you miss anything that was only shown?
1.2.4 Level AA
Live video with sound needs live captions.
How to check itAttend the stream. Are captions running, and can you follow them?
1.2.5 Level AA
Recorded video needs an audio description track. At AA the text-only alternative is no longer enough.
How to check itLook for a described version or a description track in the player.
1.2.6 Level AAA
Recorded audio content is also given in sign language.
How to check itLook for a sign language track or interpreter window.
1.2.7 Level AAA
Where the normal gaps in the dialogue are too short to describe what is happening, the video pauses so the description fits.
How to check itCheck whether the described version pauses the video where needed.
1.2.8 Level AAA
A full text alternative is provided for recorded video, covering both what is said and what is shown.
How to check itLook for a complete transcript including visual information.
1.2.9 Level AAA
Live audio-only content, such as a radio stream, has a live text alternative.
How to check itCheck for live captioning or a live transcript.
1.3.1 Level A
Structure that you can see must also exist in the code. Headings are real headings, lists are real lists, table headers are marked up, form fields have labels.
How to check itTurn the stylesheet off, or read the accessibility tree. Does the structure survive without the visual design?
1.3.2 Level A
The reading order in the code makes sense, because that is the order a screen reader and a keyboard will follow.
How to check itTab through the page, and read it with the CSS off. Does the order still make sense?
1.3.3 Level A
Instructions do not rely only on shape, size, position, colour or sound. Not just "click the round button on the right".
How to check itSearch the page for words like round, left, above, green, and check each one gives another way to identify the thing.
1.3.4 Level AA
Content works in both portrait and landscape unless there is a genuine reason it cannot.
How to check itRotate the phone. Does it lock, or break?
1.3.5 Level AA
Fields asking for the user's own details carry an autocomplete value, so browsers and assistive tools can fill or relabel them.
How to check itInspect name, email, phone and address fields for the autocomplete attribute.
1.3.6 Level AAA
The purpose of icons, regions and controls is marked up so tools can substitute familiar symbols or simplify the page.
How to check itCheck for landmark roles and purpose metadata on components.
1.4.1 Level A
Colour is never the only way of showing something. Required fields, errors, chart series, selected states all need a second signal.
How to check itView the page in greyscale. Does anything become impossible to tell apart?
1.4.2 Level A
Sound that plays automatically for more than three seconds can be paused, stopped or turned down independently.
How to check itLoad the page. If anything plays, is there a control, and is it near the start of the tab order?
1.4.3 Level AA
Text is at least 4.5 to 1 against its background. Large text, meaning 18.66px bold or 24px regular and above, needs 3 to 1.
How to check itMeasure it with a contrast checker. Check text on images and on gradients too.
1.4.4 Level AA
Text can be enlarged to 200 percent without losing content or function.
How to check itZoom the browser to 200 percent. Is anything clipped, overlapping or cut off?
1.4.5 Level AA
Use real text rather than a picture of text, unless the exact presentation is essential, as with a logo.
How to check itTry to select the text with the mouse. If you cannot, it is an image.
1.4.6 Level AAA
The stricter version. 7 to 1 for normal text and 4.5 to 1 for large text.
How to check itSame tool, higher bar.
1.4.7 Level AAA
Speech recordings have no background sound, or it can be turned off, or it is at least 20 decibels quieter.
How to check itListen for music or noise under the voice.
1.4.8 Level AAA
Blocks of text let the reader control colours, width, spacing and justification, with lines no wider than 80 characters.
How to check itCheck line length, line spacing and whether the user can override the presentation.
1.4.9 Level AAA
Pictures of text are only used where they are purely decorative or essential.
How to check itAs 1.4.5, with the customisation exception removed.
1.4.10 Level AA
Content works in a window 320 CSS pixels wide with no horizontal scrolling of the page. A table or a code block may scroll inside its own box.
How to check itNarrow the window to 320px, or zoom a 1280px window to 400 percent. Does the page itself scroll sideways?
1.4.11 Level AA
The parts of a control you need to see, and meaningful graphics, are at least 3 to 1 against what is behind them.
How to check itMeasure input borders, icons, focus indicators and chart lines, not just the text.
1.4.12 Level AA
Nothing is lost when the reader increases line height to 1.5, paragraph spacing to 2, letter spacing to 0.12 and word spacing to 0.16 times the font size.
How to check itApply all four values at once and look for clipped text. Fixed height buttons usually break first.
1.4.13 Level AA
Anything that appears on hover or focus can be dismissed, can be hovered over itself, and stays until you move away or dismiss it.
How to check itHover a tooltip. Can you press Escape? Can you move the mouse onto it without it vanishing?
You can work it. Nothing depends on an input method you cannot use.
2.1.1 Level A
Everything works from a keyboard alone.
How to check itUnplug the mouse and use the page. Can you reach and operate every control?
2.1.2 Level A
You can always tab back out of anything you tabbed into.
How to check itTab into every widget and embed, then try to tab out.
2.1.3 Level AAA
Keyboard access with no exception for anything that depends on the path of a movement.
How to check itAs 2.1.1, allowing nothing through.
2.1.4 Level A
Single letter shortcuts can be turned off, remapped, or only work when the control has focus.
How to check itType letters on the page. Does anything unexpected happen? Speech input users trigger these constantly.
2.2.1 Level A
Any time limit can be turned off, adjusted, or extended before it runs out.
How to check itFind every timeout and look for a warning and a way to extend it.
2.2.2 Level A
Anything that moves, blinks or scrolls for more than five seconds, or auto-updates, can be paused.
How to check itLook for carousels, tickers and animations, and for a control to stop them.
2.2.3 Level AAA
There are no time limits at all, except for real time events.
How to check itConfirm no session or task timeouts exist.
2.2.4 Level AAA
Interruptions can be postponed or suppressed, except in an emergency.
How to check itCheck whether pop-ups and alerts can be turned off.
2.2.5 Level AAA
If a session expires, you can log back in and carry on without losing what you had done.
How to check itLet a session expire mid-task, then log back in.
2.2.6 Level AAA
Users are warned about any inactivity timeout that could lose data, unless data is kept for 20 hours.
How to check itLook for a warning stating the time limit.
2.3.1 Level A
Nothing flashes more than three times a second, because flashing can trigger seizures.
How to check itWatch for rapid flashing, especially in video and animated adverts.
2.3.2 Level AAA
Nothing flashes more than three times a second at all, with no size or threshold exception.
How to check itAs 2.3.1, with no exception.
2.3.3 Level AAA
Motion animation triggered by interaction can be turned off, unless it is essential.
How to check itTurn on reduced motion and check whether parallax and transitions calm down.
2.4.1 Level A
There is a way to skip past repeated content such as the navigation, usually a skip link or proper landmarks.
How to check itPress Tab once on a fresh page load and look for a skip link.
2.4.2 Level A
Every page has a title that describes it.
How to check itRead the browser tab. Is it specific to this page?
2.4.3 Level A
Tab order follows a sequence that preserves meaning and operability.
How to check itTab forward and back. Does the order match the visual reading order?
2.4.4 Level A
What a link does is clear from its text, or from the sentence or cell around it.
How to check itRead each link with its immediate context. Nine identical "read more" links usually fail.
2.4.5 Level AA
There is more than one way to reach a page, such as a menu plus a search or a sitemap.
How to check itCount the routes to a given page.
2.4.6 Level AA
Headings and labels describe the topic or purpose.
How to check itRead the headings alone. Do they work as a table of contents?
2.4.7 Level AA
The keyboard focus indicator is visible.
How to check itTab through the page and watch for any stop where focus disappears.
2.4.8 Level AAA
The user can tell where they are within the site, for example with breadcrumbs.
How to check itLook for breadcrumbs or a marked current page.
2.4.9 Level AAA
The link text alone says where it goes, with no context needed.
How to check itRead the link list on its own.
2.4.10 Level AAA
Headings organise the content wherever it is split into sections.
How to check itCheck long pages for section headings.
2.4.11 Level AA new in 2.2
When something takes focus, it is not completely hidden behind a sticky header, a cookie bar or a floating panel.
How to check itTab down a long page with a sticky header. Does the focused item ever disappear under it?
2.4.12 Level AAA new in 2.2
The focused item is not obscured at all, not even partly.
How to check itAs 2.4.11, allowing no overlap.
2.4.13 Level AAA new in 2.2
The focus indicator is big enough and has enough contrast, with a defined minimum area and 3 to 1 against adjacent colours.
How to check itMeasure the indicator's size and contrast rather than eyeballing it.
2.5.1 Level A
Anything needing a multi-finger or path-based gesture can also be done with a single tap or click.
How to check itFind pinch, swipe and drag interactions and look for a simple alternative.
2.5.2 Level A
Actions happen on release, not on press, so you can slide off and change your mind.
How to check itPress a control, move away, release. Did it still fire?
2.5.3 Level A
The accessible name contains the visible label text, so voice control users can say what they see.
How to check itCompare each visible label with its accessible name in the inspector.
2.5.4 Level A
Anything triggered by moving the device, such as shake to undo, has a normal control too, and can be turned off.
How to check itLook for motion triggered features and for an alternative.
2.5.5 Level AAA
Targets are at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels.
How to check itMeasure the clickable area, not the icon inside it.
2.5.6 Level AAA
The user can switch freely between touch, keyboard, mouse and anything else.
How to check itTry switching input methods mid-task.
2.5.7 Level AA new in 2.2
Anything you can drag can also be done without dragging, such as with buttons or a menu.
How to check itFind every drag interaction, including sliders and reorderable lists, and look for a non-drag route.
2.5.8 Level AA new in 2.2
Targets are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, with exceptions including links inside a sentence.
How to check itMeasure small icon buttons and closely spaced controls.
It makes sense, and it does not surprise you.
3.1.1 Level A
The page declares its language, so a screen reader uses the right pronunciation.
How to check itCheck the lang attribute on the html element.
3.1.2 Level AA
Passages in another language are marked as such.
How to check itLook for lang on quotes, names and phrases in another language.
3.1.3 Level AAA
Jargon, idioms and unusual words have a definition available.
How to check itLook for a glossary or inline definitions.
3.1.4 Level AAA
Abbreviations have their expansion available.
How to check itCheck for expansions on first use, or an abbr element.
3.1.5 Level AAA
Where text needs more than lower secondary reading ability, a simpler version is available.
How to check itRun a readability measure, and provide a plain language summary.
3.1.6 Level AAA
Pronunciation is given where the meaning depends on it.
How to check itLook for pronunciation guidance on ambiguous words.
3.2.1 Level A
Nothing changes context just because something received focus.
How to check itTab through and watch for surprise navigation, dialogs or submissions.
3.2.2 Level A
Changing a setting does not automatically change context unless the user was warned.
How to check itChange every select and checkbox. Does anything jump or submit?
3.2.3 Level AA
Navigation that repeats across pages stays in the same order.
How to check itCompare the nav on several pages.
3.2.4 Level AA
The same function is labelled the same way throughout.
How to check itLook for the same action called Search on one page and Find on another.
3.2.5 Level AAA
Changes of context only happen when the user asks.
How to check itCheck for auto-refresh, auto-redirect and auto-opening windows.
3.2.6 Level A new in 2.2
If help is offered, such as contact details or a help link, it appears in the same place on every page that has it.
How to check itCompare where the help link sits across pages.
3.3.1 Level A
Errors are described in text, not only by colour or an icon.
How to check itSubmit a form wrong. Is the error in words, and does a screen reader announce it?
3.3.2 Level A
Fields have labels or instructions saying what to enter.
How to check itCheck every input for a real label, not just a placeholder.
3.3.3 Level AA
Where the fix is known, the error says how to fix it.
How to check itEnter a badly formatted date. Does it tell you the format?
3.3.4 Level AA
For legal, financial or data changing actions, submissions can be reversed, checked or confirmed.
How to check itCheck for a review step or an undo on anything consequential.
3.3.5 Level AAA
Context sensitive help is available.
How to check itLook for help alongside complex fields.
3.3.6 Level AAA
Reversible, checked or confirmed, for every submission rather than only the consequential ones.
How to check itAs 3.3.4, applied to all forms.
3.3.7 Level A new in 2.2
Information already given in the same process is not asked for again, unless there is a real reason.
How to check itWalk a multi-step form. Are you retyping anything?
3.3.8 Level AA new in 2.2
Logging in does not require a cognitive test such as remembering a password or solving a puzzle, unless there is an alternative or something that assists. Blocking paste into a password field is a common way of failing it, because it defeats password managers.
How to check itTry to paste a password. Look for CAPTCHAs and memory puzzles with no alternative offered.
3.3.9 Level AAA new in 2.2
No cognitive function test at all, including recognising objects or images of the user's own content.
How to check itAs 3.3.8, with the object recognition exception removed.
It survives different browsers and assistive technology.
4.1.2 Level A
Every control has a name, a role, and where relevant a state, exposed to assistive technology.
How to check itRead the accessibility tree. Any control announced as a bare "button" fails.
4.1.3 Level AA
Messages that appear without focus moving are announced, usually through a live region.
How to check itTrigger a result count or a saved confirmation. Does the screen reader say anything?
Nothing matches that. Try a shorter word, or .
4.1.1 Parsing: Removed in WCAG 2.2. It required markup to be free of certain HTML errors. Browsers and assistive technology now recover from these reliably, so it no longer told you anything useful about accessibility. If you meet it in an older report or a VPAT written against 2.0 or 2.1, that is why it has disappeared.
If you are moving from WCAG 2.1, these are the ones to look at. Two are about focus not hiding under sticky headers, two are about targets and dragging, and the rest are about not making people work harder than they need to.
Knowing the list is not the same as being able to test against it. Part 4 of the course covers the method, and the laws page tells you which version of this list applies to you and where.
How to test what you build →