WCAG 2.2 Compliance Guide: Requirements, Levels, and How to Pass

WCAG 2.2 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.2) was published as a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023. It is the current version of the standard that courts, regulators, and plaintiffs' attorneys reference when evaluating website accessibility claims.

Understanding the structure of WCAG helps you test against it systematically rather than guessing at what compliance means.

The Structure of WCAG

WCAG is organized around four principles (POUR), which contain guidelines, which contain testable success criteria. Every criterion is assigned a conformance level: A, AA, or AAA.

The Four Principles

Perceivable: Information and UI components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This is where alt text, captions, and color contrast requirements live. Operable: UI components and navigation must be operable. Keyboard accessibility, timing requirements, and navigation aids are here. Understandable: Information and operation must be understandable. Language, predictability, and error handling are covered here. Robust: Content must be robust enough to be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This is where ARIA and valid HTML requirements appear.

Conformance Levels

• Level A: The minimum. Without meeting Level A, large classes of users cannot access content at all. Example: images must have alt text (1.1.1 A).
• Level AA: The practical compliance target. Adds requirements for color contrast, consistent navigation, error suggestions, and more. All regulations and most settlements reference AA.
• Level AAA: The highest level. Intended for specialized content or particularly high-value accessibility. Full-site AAA conformance is not a standard legal requirement.

WCAG 2.2 Level AA Requirements (Summary)

Perceivable (Level AA)

• 1.2.4: Live audio has captions
• 1.2.5: Pre-recorded video has audio description
• 1.3.4: Content does not restrict orientation (both portrait and landscape work)
• 1.3.5: Form inputs that collect user data identify their purpose (autocomplete attributes)
• 1.4.3: Text contrast ratio at least 4.5:1 (normal text), 3:1 (large text)
• 1.4.4: Text can be resized to 200% without loss of content or functionality
• 1.4.5: Text is used instead of images of text where possible
• 1.4.10: Content reflows at 400% zoom without horizontal scrolling (on most content)
• 1.4.11: Non-text UI components (form inputs, buttons, focus indicators) have 3:1 contrast
• 1.4.12: No loss of content when overriding text spacing (line height, letter spacing, word spacing)
• 1.4.13: Content that appears on hover or focus is dismissible, hoverable, and persistent

Operable (Level AA)

• 2.4.5: More than one way to locate a page within a set of pages (search, sitemap, or navigation)
• 2.4.6: Headings and labels are descriptive
• 2.4.7: Keyboard focus indicator is visible
• 2.4.11 (new in 2.2): Focused component is not entirely hidden by other content
• 2.5.7 (new in 2.2): Drag-based operations have a single-pointer alternative
• 2.5.8 (new in 2.2): Touch and pointer targets are at least 24x24 CSS pixels (with exceptions)

Understandable (Level AA)

• 3.1.2: Language of passages or phrases in another language is identified
• 3.2.3: Navigation that repeats across pages appears in the same relative order
• 3.2.4: Components with the same functionality are identified consistently
• 3.2.6 (new in 2.2, Level A): Help mechanisms appear in same relative location across pages
• 3.3.3: Error suggestions are provided where possible
• 3.3.4: Error prevention for legal, financial, and data submissions (reversible, checkable, or confirmable)
• 3.3.7 (new in 2.2, Level A): Information entered previously is auto-populated or available for selection
• 3.3.8 (new in 2.2): Authentication processes do not require cognitive function tests, or provide alternatives

Robust (Level AA)

• 4.1.3: Status messages are programmatically determinable (screen readers can announce them)

What Is New in WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 added nine new success criteria. Here are the ones at Level A and AA (the compliance target):

WCAG 2.2 also removed criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing), which required valid HTML. Modern browsers handle HTML errors consistently, so this criterion no longer protects users with assistive technology. Meeting WCAG 2.2 does not require removing 4.1.1 from your testing; it simply means a failure there no longer counts against conformance.

How to Test Against WCAG 2.2

Automated testing covers criteria with clear pass/fail rules: alt text presence, label association, page language, heading structure, and some contrast ratios. Automated tools typically catch 30-50% of total violations. OnePageAudit runs an automated scan against critical WCAG 2.2 AA criteria and returns a score plus specific fix instructions for every issue found. Keyboard testing covers operability criteria: tab through every page, verify focus is always visible (2.4.7, 2.4.11), confirm all interactive elements are reachable, and verify no keyboard traps exist (2.1.2). Screen reader testing covers understandable and robust criteria: use NVDA (free, Windows) or VoiceOver (macOS/iOS) to navigate your site and verify that content, forms, and errors are understandable through audio alone. Contrast analysis covers 1.4.3, 1.4.11: check text and UI component contrast ratios using a tool like WebAIM's Contrast Checker or the Chrome DevTools Accessibility panel. New in 2.2 to check manually:

• Tab through forms to verify previously entered data is not required again (3.3.7)
• Test your login flow to verify it does not require solving a puzzle without an alternative (3.3.8)
• Check any drag interactions for a click/tap alternative (2.5.7)
• Verify touch targets in your mobile layout are at least 24x24 pixels (2.5.8)

Start with the free automated scan to get a baseline, then work through the manual checks above.

Scan your website against WCAG 2.2 for free Related reading:

• ADA Website Compliance Checklist 2026
• How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant
• ADA Compliance Checker: How to Test Your Website