Perceivable
People must be able to sense the content: text contrast, alt text, captions, and no information carried by color alone.
The WCAG 2.2 AA checklist, in plain English.
Level AA is the conformance level most laws, contracts, and court settlements point to. It comes down to a defined set of success criteria across four principles. Here is what that means for the site you run.
The four principles.
Every success criterion hangs off one of four ideas, remembered as POUR. If a finding confuses you, ask which principle it protects.
Operable
People must be able to use the interface: full keyboard access, visible focus, enough time, and no motion that cannot be stopped.
Understandable
People must be able to follow it: readable text, predictable behavior, input assistance, and error messages that say how to fix the error.
Robust
Content must work with assistive technology: valid markup, correct roles and names, and status messages that reach screen readers.
What changed in WCAG 2.2.
Version 2.2 kept everything from 2.1, removed one outdated criterion, and added six new ones at Levels A and AA. Combined, Levels A and AA now total 55 success criteria.
- Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), AA. The keyboard focus ring must not be fully hidden behind sticky headers, chat widgets, or cookie banners.
- Dragging Movements, AA. Anything done by drag and drop needs a simple pointer alternative, like the plus and minus buttons on a quantity stepper.
- Target Size (Minimum), AA. Clickable targets need at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels of space, or spacing that makes them unambiguous.
- Consistent Help, A. If you offer help, chat, or a contact form, it sits in the same relative place on every page.
- Redundant Entry, A. Do not make people retype information they already gave in the same process, like an address on a multi-step checkout.
- Accessible Authentication (Minimum), AA. Login and recovery must not rely on cognitive function tests like transcription puzzles; password managers and alternatives must work.
- Parsing removed. The old criterion about invalid markup was dropped because modern assistive technology handles it.
The failures we see most.
The criteria are many, but real sites fail the same handful over and over. This is the working checklist our Pass 1 runs before a human confirms each hit.
Contrast and color
- Body text at 4.5:1 against its background
- Large text and interface parts at 3:1
- Status never shown by color alone
Names and labels
- Alt text on meaningful images, empty alt on decorative
- Every input bound to a visible label
- Icon buttons named for screen readers
Keyboard and focus
- Everything reachable in tab order, no traps
- Focus ring visible and not covered by sticky bars
- Skip link to main content on long pages
Forms and errors
- Error text says what is wrong and how to fix it
- Errors announced to screen readers, not just outlined in red
- No time limits, or a way to extend them
How conformance is measured.
Scanners catch candidates: contrast ratios, missing alt attributes, unlabeled inputs, broken heading order. They miss context, like whether an alt text actually describes the image or whether a focus ring survives your new sticky header.
Conformance is claimed for whole pages and processes, not individual widgets, and it is a snapshot: the site changes weekly. That is why our audit pairs the automated pass with a person who replays every hit, writes dismissals down, and hands you a ranked fix list instead of a raw dump.
Common questions.
Is WCAG 2.2 AA required by law?
No single law names WCAG 2.2 everywhere, but it is the standard courts, regulators, contracts, and app stores point to most often. The US Department of Justice treats WCAG as the benchmark for ADA Title III website claims, the EU Accessibility Act references a harmonized standard aligned with WCAG, and Section 508 incorporates WCAG for federal procurement.
How many success criteria are in WCAG 2.2 AA?
Level A and AA combined total 55 success criteria. Version 2.2 removed the old Parsing criterion and added six new ones at A and AA, including focus not obscured, dragging alternatives, larger touch targets, consistent help, redundant entry, and accessible authentication.
What is the difference between A, AA, and AAA?
They are conformance levels. A is the baseline, AA is the level most laws and contracts require, and AAA is a higher bar that few full sites claim because some criteria conflict across page types. Aim for AA unless a contract says otherwise.
See where your site stands against AA.
Run the free scan now, or book the full two-pass audit and get the ranked fix list within two business days.