What is WCAG 2.2?
WCAG 2.2 is the third update of the WCAG 2 family (after 2.0 in 2008 and 2.1 in 2018), produced by the W3C's Accessibility Guidelines Working Group and ratified as a formal W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023. Like its predecessors it organises accessibility into the four POUR principles - Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust - broken into testable success criteria at Levels A, AA and AAA.
The 2.2 additions concentrate on three audiences the earlier versions served less well: people with cognitive and learning disabilities (consistent help, redundant entry, accessible authentication), people with motor disabilities (dragging alternatives, minimum target size), and sighted keyboard users (focus visibility criteria).
The 9 new success criteria in WCAG 2.2
Two of the nine sit at Level AA - 2.4.11 and 2.5.8 join 2.5.7, 3.2.6, 3.3.7 and 3.3.8 in the practical compliance set. Every criterion links to its full page: requirement, fail/pass example and how to fix it.
| Criterion | Name | Level | What it requires |
|---|---|---|---|
2.4.11 | Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | Sticky headers, banners and chat widgets must not completely hide the focused element. |
2.4.12 | Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) | AAA | No part of the focused element may be hidden. |
2.4.13 | Focus Appearance | AAA | Focus indicators at least 2px thick with 3:1 contrast between states. |
2.5.7 | Dragging Movements | AA | Everything achievable by dragging must also work with simple clicks. |
2.5.8 | Target Size (Minimum) | AA | Pointer targets at least 24x24 CSS pixels, or equivalently spaced. |
3.2.6 | Consistent Help | A | Help mechanisms appear in the same place on every page. |
3.3.7 | Redundant Entry | A | Never force users to re-type information already given in the same process. |
3.3.8 | Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | No memorization or transcription tests to log in - password managers, paste and alternatives must work. |
3.3.9 | Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) | AAA | No cognitive test of any kind in authentication. |
What was removed: 4.1.1 Parsing
WCAG 2.2 retired 4.1.1 Parsing, the old well-formed-markup rule, because modern browsers and assistive technologies now handle imperfect HTML consistently. If an old audit report lists 4.1.1 findings, the real issues behind them (duplicate IDs, broken nesting) are covered today by 1.3.1 and 4.1.2.
WCAG 2.2 compliance: who must meet it?
As of today, most legislation still formally references WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.0 AA:
| Law / standard | Currently references | WCAG 2.2 status |
|---|---|---|
| EN 301 549 / EAA (EU) | WCAG 2.1 AA | Next revision of EN 301 549 is expected to adopt 2.2 |
| ADA Title II rule (US) | WCAG 2.1 AA (deadlines 26 Apr 2027 / 26 Apr 2028) | 2.2 AA conformance satisfies it automatically |
| Section 508 (US federal) | WCAG 2.0 AA | 2.2 AA exceeds it |
| Procurement and contracts | Increasingly "WCAG 2.2 AA" | New RFPs already name 2.2 |
The practical strategy is simple: build and test to WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Because the standard is backwards compatible, 2.2 AA conformance satisfies every 2.1 and 2.0 obligation on the books today, and it is where the next round of regulation is heading. Targeting 2.1 now means re-auditing when the references update; targeting 2.2 means you are already there.
Moving from WCAG 2.1 to 2.2: a checklist
If your site already conforms to 2.1 AA, closing the gap to 2.2 AA means checking exactly six things (the four A/AA additions plus two policy items):
- Sticky UI vs focus (2.4.11): tab through every template with the sticky header, cookie banner and chat open - add
scroll-padding-topso focus is never fully hidden. - Dragging (2.5.7): every drag interaction - sliders, sortable lists, kanban, upload zones - gets a click-based alternative.
- Target size (2.5.8): audit icon buttons, pagination and row actions for the 24px minimum; grow hit areas with padding where visuals must stay small.
- Consistent help (3.2.6): pin your contact/chat entry point to the same position on every page.
- Redundant entry (3.3.7): multi-step forms carry values forward; "same as shipping" checkboxes exist.
- Authentication (3.3.8): paste works in every credential field, password managers are not blocked, and a non-cognitive alternative (magic link, passkey, OAuth) exists.
Then re-issue your documentation - an ACR/VPAT against WCAG 2.2 - so procurement teams see the current standard, not the previous one.
How to test for WCAG 2.2
The testing methodology is unchanged: automated scanning for the machine-detectable criteria, manual keyboard and screen reader passes for the rest. Note that most of the new 2.2 criteria are manual-judgement criteria - no tool can decide whether help placement is consistent or a drag alternative is equivalent - which makes the manual pass more important in 2.2 than in any previous version.
Start with a free automated check, scan the whole site with the crawler, and let certified auditors close the manual criteria.
Frequently asked questions
What is WCAG 2.2?
The current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a W3C Recommendation since 5 October 2023. It contains 86 success criteria - everything in WCAG 2.1 plus 9 new criteria, minus the retired 4.1.1 Parsing.
What are the new success criteria in WCAG 2.2?
2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured, 2.4.12 and 2.4.13 (focus, AAA), 2.5.7 Dragging Movements, 2.5.8 Target Size Minimum, 3.2.6 Consistent Help, 3.3.7 Redundant Entry, and 3.3.8/3.3.9 Accessible Authentication.
Is WCAG 2.2 required by law?
Most laws still reference WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.0 AA, but WCAG 2.2 AA conformance automatically satisfies them because the standard is backwards compatible. New procurement documents increasingly name 2.2 directly.
What is WCAG 2.2 Level AA?
The 55 success criteria at Levels A and AA of WCAG 2.2 - the 50 from WCAG 2.1 AA plus 2.4.11, 2.5.7, 2.5.8, 3.2.6, 3.3.7 and 3.3.8, minus 4.1.1.
Should I target WCAG 2.1 or 2.2?
Target 2.2 AA. It satisfies every current 2.1/2.0 legal reference and is where the next regulatory updates are heading, so you avoid re-auditing when references change.
Was anything removed in WCAG 2.2?
Yes - 4.1.1 Parsing was retired, because modern browsers handle the markup errors it targeted. Its real-world issues are covered by 1.3.1 and 4.1.2.
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C Recommendation 5 October 2023 - w3.org/TR/WCAG22
- W3C WAI, What's New in WCAG 2.2 - w3.org/WAI
- US Department of Justice, ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility rule - ada.gov
Last updated . Reviewed by the EqualWeb accessibility team.
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