WCAG 2.2 adds nine success criteria to WCAG 2.1 and removes one: 4.1.1 Parsing. Its additions address keyboard focus, dragging, target size, consistent help, repeated data entry, and authentication. The standard became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023. The practical takeaway: review the new criteria against real user flows, but do not treat an automated scan as proof of conformance. W3C’s WCAG 2.2 overview and the normative Recommendation provide the overview and exact requirements.
This is standards guidance, not legal advice. An organization’s policy or applicable obligation may refer to a particular WCAG version; check which version applies to your work.
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What changed from WCAG 2.1?
WCAG 2.2 is an extension, not a wholesale rewrite of WCAG 2.1. The existing criteria carry forward except for the removal of 4.1.1 Parsing. W3C explains that criterion’s removal in the WCAG 2.2 change log. The additions do not all share one conformance level: they span A, AA, and AAA.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match| Success criterion | Level | What to review |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | Some part of a keyboard-focused item must remain visible. |
| 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) | AAA | The keyboard-focused item must be fully visible. |
| 2.4.13 Focus Appearance | AAA | The visible focus indicator must meet minimum area and contrast requirements, subject to the criterion’s exceptions. |
| 2.5.7 Dragging Movements | AA | Functionality operated by dragging must also be operable with a single pointer without dragging, unless an exception applies. |
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) | AA | Pointer targets generally need to be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, subject to specified exceptions. |
| 3.2.6 Consistent Help | A | Recurring help mechanisms must be presented consistently, subject to the criterion’s conditions. |
| 3.3.7 Redundant Entry | A | Information already entered during a process must be auto-populated or available for selection, unless an exception applies. |
| 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | Authentication must not require a cognitive function test unless an exception applies. Password-manager use and copy/paste are relevant considerations. |
| 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) | AAA | The enhanced criterion has narrower exceptions than the minimum criterion. |
These summaries are orientation, not substitutes for the requirement text. Read each criterion and its conditions in the W3C Recommendation when deciding whether a particular page or process conforms.
#1 Best Overall
How to test the new criteria
Start from the tasks people actually perform—such as completing a form, moving an item, signing in, or finding help—and exercise their interactive states. Record the applicable criterion, level, test steps, result, and any exception you believe applies. W3C describes success-criterion testing as a combination of automated testing and human evaluation in its Understanding Conformance guidance.
Keyboard focus: visibility and appearance
- Use a keyboard to move through links, controls, menus, dialogs, and other interactive elements in the sequence a user would encounter them.
- Check the AA criterion 2.4.11 separately: when an item receives focus, verify that at least part of it remains visible and is not hidden by sticky headers, dialogs, or other author-created content.
- For the AAA criteria, check 2.4.12 for full visibility and 2.4.13 for the focus indicator’s area and contrast. Do not treat the AAA checks as interchangeable with the AA minimum visibility test.
- Inspect dynamic states too: opening a dialog, expanding a panel, or scrolling may change whether focused content is obscured.
Dragging and pointer alternatives
Inventory author-controlled features that depend on dragging, such as sorting or repositioning items. For each, try the same task with a single pointer without dragging—for example, using buttons or a click/tap alternative. The criterion has exceptions, including essential dragging and functionality determined by the user agent rather than modified by the author. W3C’s Dragging Movements guidance gives clicking or tapping a range slider’s track as an example of a non-drag operation. The normative criterion states: “All functionality that uses a dragging movement for operation can be achieved by a single pointer without dragging, unless dragging is essential or the functionality is determined by the user agent and not modified by the author.”
Target size and spacing
Inspect pointer targets and measure their dimensions in CSS pixels. The baseline in 2.5.8 is 24 by 24 CSS pixels, but the criterion includes exceptions and spacing provisions; it is not a universal minimum that applies without qualification. Check the actual conditions in the Recommendation and W3C’s Target Size guidance before marking a target as a failure.
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Help, multi-step forms, and repeated information
- For 3.2.6, identify help mechanisms that recur across pages—such as contact details or a help link—and check their relative order and presentation against the criterion’s conditions.
- For 3.3.7, walk through multi-step processes and note information the user has already provided. Check whether the process auto-populates it or lets the user select it again instead of requiring re-entry, unless a stated exception applies.
Authentication and recovery
Review the complete sign-in and recovery journey, not just the password field. Check whether a step requires a cognitive function test and whether password managers and copy/paste are supported. Assess 3.3.8 at AA and 3.3.9 at AAA independently: the enhanced criterion has narrower exceptions. Apply the exact exceptions and scope in the normative text.
Automation, human evaluation, and usability testing
Automated tools can help identify issues, but they cannot establish conformance by themselves. Some checks—such as measuring an element or flagging a missing label—may be partly automatable; whether content obscures focus, whether a drag alternative completes the same task, or whether an authentication flow imposes a cognitive test can require human judgment and interaction. W3C distinguishes functional testing against criteria from usability testing, which supplies additional evidence about how well people can use content for its intended purpose. When undertaking usability testing, W3C recommends including people with disabilities. See Understanding Conformance and the Understanding WCAG 2.2 guide.
Use automation as one input to a documented evaluation, then verify relevant tasks by keyboard and pointer, inspect overlays and changing states, and involve disabled users in usability testing where that testing is undertaken. A successful tool report alone is not a conformance determination.
Rank #4
Success criteria are requirements; techniques are guidance
The success criteria in the WCAG 2.2 Recommendation define the conformance requirements. W3C techniques are informative examples: they can show sufficient approaches, advisory approaches, or failures, but a listed technique is not the only way to conform. W3C puts it plainly: “Techniques are informative — that means they are not required.” Consult Understanding Techniques for WCAG 2.2 Success Criteria for examples, and use the Recommendation—not a technique catalog—as the normative reference.
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