WCAG 2.2 AA Accessibility Checklist
All 55 Level A and AA success criteria in WCAG 2.2, each with a one-line check you can run on your own site. 6 of them are new in WCAG 2.2, and each row says which version of WCAG added it.
WCAG 2.2, 2.1 and AODA
WCAG 2.2 is the current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It keeps every requirement of WCAG 2.0 and 2.1, adds new ones, and drops 4.1.1 Parsing, which modern browsers made unnecessary. Most organizations aim for Level AA.
In Ontario, AODA's legal baseline for websites is still WCAG 2.0 Level AA, without 1.2.4 Captions (Live) and 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded): the rows marked 2.0 below, less those two. Meeting WCAG 2.2 AA covers them all. See AODA requirements, deadlines and penalties.
Perceivable
People can see, hear or otherwise take in everything on the page.
| Success criterion | Level | Added in | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Non-text Content | A | WCAG 2.0 | Every meaningful image, icon and image button has a text alternative; decorative images are hidden from screen readers. |
| 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) | A | WCAG 2.0 | Recorded audio has a transcript; silent video has a transcript or an audio track. |
| 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) | A | WCAG 2.0 | Recorded video with sound has accurate, synchronized captions. |
| 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) | A | WCAG 2.0 | Recorded video has audio description or a full text alternative. |
| 1.2.4 Captions (Live) | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Live video with sound has captions. |
| 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Important visual information in recorded video is described in the audio. |
| 1.3.1 Info and Relationships | A | WCAG 2.0 | Headings, lists, tables and form labels are marked up as such, not just styled to look like them. |
| 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence | A | WCAG 2.0 | The reading order in the code makes sense when the styling is removed. |
| 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics | A | WCAG 2.0 | Instructions don't rely only on shape, size, position or sound ("press the round button on the right"). |
| 1.3.4 Orientation | AA | WCAG 2.1 | Content works in both portrait and landscape. |
| 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose | AA | WCAG 2.1 | Fields asking for the user's own details have the right autocomplete value. |
| 1.4.1 Use of Color | A | WCAG 2.0 | Colour is never the only way to show a link, an error, a required field or a state. |
| 1.4.2 Audio Control | A | WCAG 2.0 | Sound that plays on its own for more than 3 seconds can be paused or muted. |
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Text contrast is at least 4.5:1, or 3:1 for large text. |
| 1.4.4 Resize Text | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Text zoomed to 200% loses no content or function. |
| 1.4.5 Images of Text | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Real text is used instead of pictures of text, logos aside. |
| 1.4.10 Reflow | AA | WCAG 2.1 | At 400% zoom (320 CSS pixels wide) the page reflows into one column, with no sideways scrolling. |
| 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast | AA | WCAG 2.1 | Field borders, focus indicators and meaningful icons have at least 3:1 contrast. |
| 1.4.12 Text Spacing | AA | WCAG 2.1 | Nothing is cut off or overlaps when line, letter, word and paragraph spacing are increased. |
| 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus | AA | WCAG 2.1 | Tooltips and pop-ups can be dismissed with Escape, can be hovered over, and stay until dismissed. |
Operable
People can use every control, however they navigate.
| Success criterion | Level | Added in | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Keyboard | A | WCAG 2.0 | Everything works with a keyboard alone: menus, dialogs, sliders, custom widgets. |
| 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap | A | WCAG 2.0 | Keyboard focus can always move away from any component. |
| 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts | A | WCAG 2.1 | Single-key shortcuts can be turned off or remapped, or only work when their control has focus. |
| 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable | A | WCAG 2.0 | Time limits, such as session timeouts, can be turned off, adjusted or extended. |
| 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide | A | WCAG 2.0 | Carousels, animations and auto-updating content can be paused, stopped or hidden. |
| 2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold | A | WCAG 2.0 | Nothing flashes more than three times a second. |
| 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks | A | WCAG 2.0 | A skip link or landmarks let people jump past repeated navigation. |
| 2.4.2 Page Titled | A | WCAG 2.0 | Every page has a title that says what it is. |
| 2.4.3 Focus Order | A | WCAG 2.0 | Tabbing moves through the page in an order that makes sense, including into and out of dialogs. |
| 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) | A | WCAG 2.0 | Each link's destination is clear from its text or its sentence; no lone "click here". |
| 2.4.5 Multiple Ways | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Pages can be found more than one way: navigation, search or a site map. |
| 2.4.6 Headings and Labels | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Headings and labels describe their topic or purpose. |
| 2.4.7 Focus Visible | AA | WCAG 2.0 | You can always see where keyboard focus is. |
| 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | WCAG 2.2 New | A focused element is never completely hidden behind a sticky header, cookie banner or chat widget. |
| 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures | A | WCAG 2.1 | Pinch, swipe and multi-finger gestures have a single-tap alternative. |
| 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation | A | WCAG 2.1 | Actions happen on release, not on press, so a mis-tap can be cancelled. |
| 2.5.3 Label in Name | A | WCAG 2.1 | A control's accessible name contains its visible label, so voice control users can say what they see. |
| 2.5.4 Motion Actuation | A | WCAG 2.1 | Shake or tilt features have an on-screen alternative and can be switched off. |
| 2.5.7 Dragging Movements | AA | WCAG 2.2 New | Anything done by dragging, such as sliders, reordering or maps, can also be done with single clicks or taps. |
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) | AA | WCAG 2.2 New | Click and tap targets are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or have enough space around them. |
Understandable
People can follow the content and complete forms without guessing.
| Success criterion | Level | Added in | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1 Language of Page | A | WCAG 2.0 | The page's language is set in the code, so screen readers pronounce it correctly. |
| 3.1.2 Language of Parts | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Passages in another language, such as French, are marked as such. |
| 3.2.1 On Focus | A | WCAG 2.0 | Moving focus to an element never opens a new page or submits a form. |
| 3.2.2 On Input | A | WCAG 2.0 | Choosing an option doesn't unexpectedly change the page, unless people are told first. |
| 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Navigation repeated across pages stays in the same order. |
| 3.2.4 Consistent Identification | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Things that do the same job are labelled the same way everywhere. |
| 3.2.6 Consistent Help | A | WCAG 2.2 New | Help, such as contact details or a chat link, is in the same place on every page that has it. |
| 3.3.1 Error Identification | A | WCAG 2.0 | Form errors are pointed out and described in text, not just with a red border. |
| 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions | A | WCAG 2.0 | Every field has a visible label, and any format rules are stated up front. |
| 3.3.3 Error Suggestion | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Error messages say how to fix the problem. |
| 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) | AA | WCAG 2.0 | Orders, payments and legal submissions can be reviewed, corrected or reversed. |
| 3.3.7 Redundant Entry | A | WCAG 2.2 New | People aren't asked to type the same information twice in one process; it is filled in or selectable. |
| 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | WCAG 2.2 New | Signing in doesn't depend on a memory or puzzle test: pasting and password managers work. |
Robust
Assistive technology can read and operate every part of the page.
| Success criterion | Level | Added in | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value | A | WCAG 2.0 | Custom controls tell assistive technology what they are, what they're called and what state they're in. |
| 4.1.3 Status Messages | AA | WCAG 2.1 | Messages like "Added to cart" or "3 results" are announced without moving focus. |
What a checklist, or a scanner, can't tell you
Automated tools catch roughly a third of these failures: missing alternative text, low contrast, unlabelled fields. Whether alternative text is meaningful, whether focus order makes sense, or whether a checkout works with a screen reader takes a person testing it.
Run a free scan for the automated part. For the rest, a manual WCAG 2.2 AA audit tests every criterion on this page by hand, with a keyboard, screen readers and zoom. WCAG 2.2 success criteria explained goes deeper on what changed.