WCAG 2.2 AA Checklist: What a Scanner Checks and What Needs a Human
Every WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criterion, grouped by principle and marked by how far an automated scanner can get: tested, assisted, or left to a person.
What this checklist is, and what it is not
WCAG 2.2 is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the W3C, and Level AA is the bar most organizations work toward and most accessibility rules reference. Meeting AA means satisfying every Level A and every Level AA success criterion. This page lists all of them, grouped by the four WCAG principles, so you can work through them.
The useful part is the middle column. For each criterion it says how far an automated scanner can get: whether the machine can test it, can only assist, or cannot help at all and a person has to check. This matters because the single most common accessibility mistake is treating a clean automated scan as a pass. It is not. A scanner detects certain failures; it never confirms that a criterion is met, and a large share of WCAG cannot be judged by a machine at all.
So use this as a work plan: let a scanner clear the machine-testable failures fast, and spend your human time where the checklist says a person is required. That is where the real barriers usually hide.
How to read the middle column
A scanner can reliably detect failures of this criterion. Passing still deserves a sanity check, but the test is deterministic.
A scanner catches some failures or flags things to look at, but a person has to judge the rest.
A machine cannot decide this. It needs a person, often one testing with assistive technology.
These labels describe what an automated engine such as axe-core can contribute, and they are deliberately conservative. No automated tool, this one included, performs complete WCAG conformance testing.
1. Perceivable
Information and interface components must be presentable in ways users can perceive.
| Success criterion | Level | Testing | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Non-text Content | A | Partly automated | Flags missing or empty alt text; cannot judge whether the description is accurate or useful. |
| 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) | A | Manual | A person confirms a transcript or alternative exists and matches the media. |
| 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) | A | Manual | A person checks captions are present, accurate and in sync. |
| 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative | A | Manual | Human review of described or alternative content. |
| 1.2.4 Captions (Live) | AA | Manual | Human review of live captioning quality. |
| 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) | AA | Manual | Human review that visual information is described. |
| 1.3.1 Info and Relationships | A | Partly automated | Detects some structural issues (table headers, list markup, form labels); correct semantics need a person. |
| 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence | A | Manual | A person checks the reading order matches the meaning. |
| 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics | A | Manual | A person checks instructions do not rely on shape, size or position alone. |
| 1.3.4 Orientation | AA | Partly automated | Can detect an orientation lock; edge cases need review. |
| 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose | AA | Partly automated | Checks for autocomplete attributes on common fields; correctness needs review. |
| 1.4.1 Use of Color | A | Manual | A person checks color is not the only way information is conveyed. |
| 1.4.2 Audio Control | A | Partly automated | Can flag auto-playing audio; a person confirms a control to stop it. |
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) | AA | Automated | Text contrast against its background is measured directly. Images of text and gradients still need a person. |
| 1.4.4 Resize Text | AA | Partly automated | Tools assist by zooming to 200%; a person confirms nothing is lost or clipped. |
| 1.4.5 Images of Text | AA | Manual | A person identifies text baked into images. |
| 1.4.10 Reflow | AA | Partly automated | Tools assist at a 320px width; a person confirms no content loss or two-dimensional scrolling. |
| 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast | AA | Partly automated | Flags some UI and graphic contrast; many objects need a person to identify and judge. |
| 1.4.12 Text Spacing | AA | Partly automated | Tools apply the required spacing; a person checks nothing is clipped or overlapping. |
| 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus | AA | Manual | A person checks hover and focus content is dismissible, hoverable and persistent. |
2. Operable
User interface components and navigation must be operable.
| Success criterion | Level | Testing | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Keyboard | A | Manual | A person operates the whole page with the keyboard alone. |
| 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap | A | Partly automated | Some traps can be detected; a person confirms focus can always leave. |
| 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts | A | Manual | A person checks single-key shortcuts can be turned off or remapped. |
| 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable | A | Manual | A person checks time limits can be extended or removed. |
| 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide | A | Partly automated | Can flag some auto-updating or moving content; a person confirms the controls. |
| 2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold | A | Manual | Specialist review of any flashing content. |
| 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks | A | Partly automated | Detects a skip link or landmarks; a person confirms it actually works. |
| 2.4.2 Page Titled | A | Automated | Checks the page has a non-empty title element. |
| 2.4.3 Focus Order | A | Manual | A person checks focus moves in a meaningful order. |
| 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) | A | Partly automated | Flags empty or ambiguous links; whether the purpose is clear in context needs a person. |
| 2.4.5 Multiple Ways | AA | Manual | A person confirms more than one way to reach a page. |
| 2.4.6 Headings and Labels | AA | Partly automated | Flags empty headings and labels; whether they are descriptive needs a person. |
| 2.4.7 Focus Visible | AA | Partly automated | Can flag removed focus outlines; a person confirms a visible focus indicator. |
| 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum)NEW 2.2 | AA | Manual | A person checks the focused element is not hidden by sticky headers or overlays. |
| 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures | A | Manual | A person checks multipoint or path-based gestures have a simple alternative. |
| 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation | A | Manual | A person checks actions complete on release and can be aborted. |
| 2.5.3 Label in Name | A | Partly automated | Compares the visible label with the accessible name. |
| 2.5.4 Motion Actuation | A | Manual | A person checks motion-triggered actions have an alternative and can be disabled. |
| 2.5.7 Dragging MovementsNEW 2.2 | AA | Manual | A person checks any drag action has a single-pointer alternative. |
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum)NEW 2.2 | AA | Partly automated | Target dimensions can be measured; the exceptions need judgment. |
3. Understandable
Information and the operation of the interface must be understandable.
| Success criterion | Level | Testing | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1 Language of Page | A | Automated | Checks the page declares a valid language via the html lang attribute. |
| 3.1.2 Language of Parts | AA | Partly automated | Detects lang attributes on parts; whether they are correct needs a person. |
| 3.2.1 On Focus | A | Manual | A person checks focus alone does not cause an unexpected change of context. |
| 3.2.2 On Input | A | Manual | A person checks changing a setting does not cause an unexpected change of context. |
| 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation | AA | Manual | A person checks navigation appears in the same order across pages. |
| 3.2.4 Consistent Identification | AA | Manual | A person checks the same component is labeled the same way throughout. |
| 3.2.6 Consistent HelpNEW 2.2 | A | Manual | A person checks help is in a consistent place across pages. |
| 3.3.1 Error Identification | A | Partly automated | Can flag some unlabeled error states; whether the message is clear needs a person. |
| 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions | A | Partly automated | Flags inputs with no label; whether instructions are sufficient needs a person. |
| 3.3.3 Error Suggestion | AA | Manual | A person checks a helpful correction is offered when one is known. |
| 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) | AA | Manual | A person checks important submissions are reversible, checked or confirmed. |
| 3.3.7 Redundant EntryNEW 2.2 | A | Manual | A person checks information already entered is not asked for again in the same process. |
| 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum)NEW 2.2 | AA | Manual | A person checks login does not force a cognitive test with no alternative. |
4. Robust
Content must be robust enough to be interpreted by a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies.
| Success criterion | Level | Testing | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value | A | Partly automated | Detects many missing names, roles and states on controls; full coverage needs a person with assistive technology. |
| 4.1.3 Status Messages | AA | Partly automated | Can flag some status patterns; correct announcement needs assistive-technology testing. |
WCAG 2.2 removed the old criterion 4.1.1 Parsing. It was made obsolete because modern browsers handle the markup issues it covered, so it is not part of a 2.2 checklist.
What WCAG 2.2 added
Nine new success criteria over WCAG 2.1. Only the three at Level A or AA below affect an AA checklist; the other four are Level AAA and are listed for completeness.
| Criterion | Level | In an AA checklist? |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | Yes |
| 2.5.7 Dragging Movements | AA | Yes |
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) | AA | Yes |
| 3.2.6 Consistent Help | A | Yes (Level A is required for AA) |
| 3.3.7 Redundant Entry | A | Yes (Level A is required for AA) |
| 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | Yes |
| 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) | AAA | No, AAA only |
| 2.4.13 Focus Appearance | AAA | No, AAA only |
| 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) | AAA | No, AAA only |
4.1.1 Parsing was removed in WCAG 2.2. Six of the nine new criteria are required for AA conformance (the three AA plus the two Level A, since AA includes all of A).
Working through it in order
A sensible order is to clear the machine-testable rows first, because they are fast, unambiguous and often the most common real failures on a page: text contrast, a missing page title, an undeclared page language, form fields with no label, missing image alternatives. An automated accessibility check handles those in one pass, and the color contrast checker handles the contrast row for a specific pair of colors.
Then spend your time on the rows marked manual, because that is where a machine is blind: keyboard operation, focus order, whether color alone carries meaning, whether an error message actually helps. Automated testing does not replace a manual accessibility review; it clears the easy failures so the review can focus on the hard ones.
Frequently asked questions
TagPipes monitors, configures and reports. It does not determine legal compliance and does not provide legal advice. Output is informational and reflects observed state at the time of observation. Rawsoft's expertise is technology, not law; please confirm any regulatory interpretation with your own counsel.
Clear the machine-testable failures in one pass.
Run a page through the free accessibility checker to catch the automated rows fast, then spend your review time where this checklist says a person is needed.
Run an automated accessibility checkAlso useful: WCAG checker and the color contrast checker.
Tools that cover the automated rows
The checklist tells you what to test. These run the checks that a machine can.