WCAG 2.2 Checklist: Every Level A and AA Criterion

This is every WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criterion in one list, in the order the standard uses. Each row says what the criterion asks in plain words, how to check it, and whether an automated scan can see the problem or a person has to look. The six criteria added since WCAG 2.1 at these levels are marked New in 2.2, so if you are upgrading an existing audit you know what to re-test.

The source for every criterion and level is the WCAG 2.2 Recommendation. The wording here is a summary; when a client or a manager asks exactly what a criterion requires, link them to its Understanding page from the W3C quick reference.

How to read this checklist

Level AA conformance means meeting every Level A and every Level AA criterion on a page. That is the level most laws and contracts point at, so this list stops there and leaves out AAA.

The last column is the part most checklists skip. It uses three labels:

• Scan finds most: the failure is in the markup or the computed styles, so an automated check catches the common cases. A person still confirms the edge cases.
• Scan finds some: a scan can flag obvious failures (a missing label, an empty link) but cannot judge whether what is there actually works.
• Person: the criterion depends on meaning, behavior over time or media content, so someone has to look.

These labels are a guide to planning the work, not a promise about any tool. The W3C puts it plainly: evaluation tools "can not determine accessibility, they can only assist in doing so". A page that passes every automated check has not been shown to conform. Count the "Person" rows below and you will see why.

One criterion is missing on purpose. 4.1.1 Parsing is marked "obsolete and removed" in WCAG 2.2, because assistive technology no longer parses HTML directly, so there is nothing to test.

1. Perceivable

For the contrast rows, the WCAG color contrast ratios guide has the thresholds and the fixes.

2. Operable

Most of the "Person" rows in this section take one sitting with a keyboard. How to test keyboard accessibility by hand walks through it.

3. Understandable

Forms carry most of this section. Accessible forms: inputs, labels and errors shows the markup.

4. Robust

The usual fix for 4.1.3 is a live region:

<!-- Broken: the message appears, but nothing is announced -->
<div class="cart-message">Added to cart</div>

<!-- Fixed: the container exists on page load, then the text is inserted -->
<div class="cart-message" role="status"></div>

ARIA live regions: role=status and role=alert covers when to use each.

What the split means for your plan

Count the rows. Of the 55 Level A and AA criteria in WCAG 2.2, this checklist marks 5 "scan finds most", 16 "scan finds some" and 34 "person". None can be signed off by a scan alone. That does not make automated checks a small part of the job. The criteria a scan does see, such as alt text, contrast, labels and names, are where many pages fail, and a scan finds them on every page in minutes. The split tells you where to spend the human hours.

When you explain this to a client or a manager, say it in one sentence: "The scan finds the problems a machine can see on every page; a person then checks the things only a person can judge, on a sample of pages."

This checklist is the reference. For the process of running an audit (which pages to pick, in what order, and how to report), use the step by step accessibility audit guide. For the six new criteria in depth, with examples, read WCAG 2.2 new success criteria explained.

Next steps

1. Run a free scan on your home page and one template of each type (product, article, form). That clears the "scan finds most" rows and gives you a list for the "scan finds some" ones.
2. Do the keyboard pass: every row in section 2 marked "Person" in one sitting.
3. Submit every form wrong on purpose and read the errors (3.3.1, 3.3.3, 3.3.7, 3.3.8).
4. Check zoom, reflow and text spacing on mobile and desktop (1.4.4, 1.4.10, 1.4.12).
5. List every video and audio file and confirm captions, transcripts and description (1.2.1 to 1.2.5).
6. Re-test the six New in 2.2 rows on any site last audited against WCAG 2.1.
7. Rescan after each release, because a template change can bring back a fixed failure.

Passing all of this is a strong position, but only a full evaluation by someone who knows WCAG can say a page conforms. Every free check above is listed on the checks page.