All 55 level A and AA success criteria grouped into ten checks that match how designers, writers and developers actually work.
In short
WCAG 2.2 AA is met when all 31 level A and 24 level AA success criteria pass for the pages and states in scope. This checklist groups them into ten areas: structure, text alternatives, media, colour and contrast, layout, keyboard and focus, pointer input, forms, consistency and custom components. Test each area manually as well as with tools.
WCAG 2.2 AA is the level most European accessibility rules point towards, and the most common target in Swedish procurement and product work. The official list of success criteria is ordered by principle, which suits auditors more than teams. This WCAG checklist (wcag checklista) reorders the same criteria by the thing you build, so that each check has an obvious owner. It is written by Devies, a Gothenburg-based product and engineering consultancy, for product owners, designers and developers who want to know what "AA" means for their next release.
What does WCAG 2.2 AA cover?
WCAG 2.2 AA covers 55 success criteria: every level A criterion and every level AA criterion in version 2.2, applied to each page and each state of a process.
W3C published WCAG 2.2 in October 2023. It added six criteria at A and AA and removed 4.1.1 Parsing. Our article on WCAG 2.2 in practice covers what changed and how EN 301 549 links the guidelines to the law. As of October 2026, the version cited for EU law, EN 301 549 V3.2.1, is based on WCAG 2.1 AA, while the newer EN 301 549 V4.1.1 moves to 2.2 AA. Building to 2.2 AA covers both.
Two rules shape the checklist. Conformance applies to complete pages and complete processes: a checkout that fails on step three fails as a whole. And a criterion that does not apply, such as captions on a site without video, counts as passed.
The WCAG 2.2 AA checklist in ten checks
Each check below lists the criteria it covers, with level A marked (A) and level AA marked (AA). Together they cover all 55 criteria in the W3C quick reference.
- Structure and semantics. Headings, lists, tables and landmarks are marked up, reading order makes sense, and pages have unique titles and a way to skip repeated blocks. Criteria: 1.3.1 (A), 1.3.2 (A), 2.4.1 (A), 2.4.2 (A), 2.4.6 (AA), 3.1.1 (A), 3.1.2 (AA).
- Text alternatives and links. Informative images have meaningful alt text, decorative images are hidden, link purpose is clear in context, and text is not shown as images. Criteria: 1.1.1 (A), 2.4.4 (A), 1.4.5 (AA).
- Time-based media. Prerecorded video has captions and audio description or a transcript alternative, live video has captions, and audio does not start on its own without a way to stop it. Criteria: 1.2.1 (A), 1.2.2 (A), 1.2.3 (A), 1.2.4 (AA), 1.2.5 (AA), 1.4.2 (A).
- Colour and contrast. Text reaches 4.5:1, or 3:1 when large, interface components and meaningful graphics reach 3:1, and colour is never the only cue. Criteria: 1.4.1 (A), 1.4.3 (AA), 1.4.11 (AA), 1.3.3 (A). See our guide to colour contrast and how to test it.
- Layout, zoom and motion. Text resizes to 200 percent, content reflows at 320 CSS pixels wide, custom text spacing does not break the layout, both orientations work, tooltips can be dismissed, nothing flashes more than three times a second, and moving content can be paused. Criteria: 1.4.4 (AA), 1.4.10 (AA), 1.4.12 (AA), 1.3.4 (AA), 1.4.13 (AA), 2.3.1 (A), 2.2.2 (A).
- Keyboard and focus. Everything works with a keyboard, focus never gets stuck, single-key shortcuts can be turned off, focus order is logical, focus is visible and not hidden behind sticky elements, and focus does not trigger unexpected changes. Criteria: 2.1.1 (A), 2.1.2 (A), 2.1.4 (A), 2.4.3 (A), 2.4.7 (AA), 2.4.11 (AA), 3.2.1 (A). Our explainer on keyboard accessibility goes deeper.
- Pointer and touch. Multi-point and path gestures have single-pointer alternatives, actions fire on release, dragging has an alternative, targets are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels or well spaced, motion-triggered features have a button alternative, and visible labels match accessible names. Criteria: 2.5.1 (A), 2.5.2 (A), 2.5.3 (A), 2.5.4 (A), 2.5.7 (AA), 2.5.8 (AA).
- Forms, errors and authentication. Fields have labels and instructions, purpose is coded for autofill, errors are identified in text with suggestions, legal and financial submissions can be reviewed or reversed, users are not asked for the same data twice, and login does not rely on memory tests. Criteria: 3.3.2 (A), 1.3.5 (AA), 3.3.1 (A), 3.3.3 (AA), 3.3.4 (AA), 3.3.7 (A), 3.3.8 (AA), 3.2.2 (A). See accessible forms that work.
- Consistency and time limits. Navigation, component names and help appear consistently, users can find pages in more than one way, and time limits can be turned off, adjusted or extended. Criteria: 3.2.3 (AA), 3.2.4 (AA), 3.2.6 (A), 2.4.5 (AA), 2.2.1 (A).
- Custom components and status messages. Custom widgets expose name, role, state and value to assistive technology, and status messages such as "added to basket" are announced without moving focus. Criteria: 4.1.2 (A), 4.1.3 (AA).
Who owns which part of WCAG 2.2 AA?
WCAG 2.2 AA is a team responsibility, but each check has a natural first owner who should catch problems before they reach code review.
Check
Design
Content
Development
Test
Structure
Design
Heading levels, landmarks in specs
Content
Page titles, headings
Development
Semantic HTML
Test
Screen reader, headings list
Text alternatives
Design
Marks decorative images
Content
Writes alt text, link text
Development
Implements alt and names
Test
Inspect, screen reader
Colour and contrast
Design
Chooses compliant tokens
Content
Avoids colour-only instructions
Development
Uses tokens, visible states
Test
Contrast tool
Keyboard and focus
Design
Designs focus styles
Content
Development
Focus order, no traps
Test
Keyboard only
Pointer and target size
Design
Target sizes, alternatives to drag
Content
Development
Implements alternatives
Test
Measure, touch device
Forms
Design
Labels, error patterns
Content
Instructions, error text
Development
Associations, autofill, live regions
Test
Keyboard, screen reader
The pattern matters more than the exact split. When design system tokens and components meet the criteria, most pages inherit compliance, and the remaining work concentrates on content and one-off features.
How do you test against the checklist?
Test each check with the method that can actually detect failure: tools for what is measurable, manual inspection for what needs judgement.
- Automated scans catch missing alt text, empty labels, low contrast and invalid ARIA quickly. They cannot judge whether alt text is meaningful or focus order is logical.
- Keyboard testing covers check 6 and much of checks 8 and 10. Tab through every journey without a mouse.
- Screen reader testing with NVDA, VoiceOver or TalkBack covers checks 1, 2, 8 and 10.
- Zoom and viewport testing at 200 percent and 320 CSS pixels covers check 5.
- Measuring target sizes and contrast covers checks 4 and 7.
W3C's evaluation guidance states that tools alone cannot determine whether a site is accessible. Record each failure with the criterion, the location and the user impact, then retest after the fix.
Keep reading
From our work
Client Case: Lea BankLea Bank rebuilt its digital platform with Strapi, React, GrowthBook, GA4, and BigQuery to improve SEO, A/B testing, and marketing autonomy.Read the caseDevies
Want a second opinion?
Devies, a Gothenburg-based product and engineering consultancy, works on questions like this with Nordic product and IT teams. Tell us where you are and we will suggest a sensible first step.
Frequently asked questions
How many success criteria are in WCAG 2.2 AA?
Fifty-five. WCAG 2.2 has 31 success criteria at level A and 24 at level AA, and conforming at level AA means meeting all of them. There are 31 more criteria at level AAA, which are not required by any European law and are rarely targeted for whole sites. Criteria that do not apply to your content, such as captions on a site without video, count as passed.
Is a WCAG checklist enough to claim conformance?
A checklist tells you what to test, not whether you passed. Conformance requires that every criterion is met on every page and state in scope, and many checks need manual testing with a keyboard and screen reader. Use the checklist to plan the assessment and assign owners, then document results per criterion so the claim can be verified.
What is the difference between WCAG 2.1 AA and 2.2 AA?
WCAG 2.2 AA adds six criteria to 2.1 AA: focus not obscured, dragging movements, target size, consistent help, redundant entry and accessible authentication. It also removes 4.1.1 Parsing. A product that meets 2.2 AA also meets 2.1 AA, which is why teams build to 2.2 now even though the standard cited in EU law is still based on 2.1.
Which WCAG 2.2 AA failures are most common?
WebAIM's yearly analysis of one million home pages consistently finds low-contrast text, missing alternative text, empty links and buttons, and missing form labels among the most frequent detectable failures. These are all in checks 2, 4, 8 and 10 of this list, which is why fixing shared components and design tokens tends to remove a large share of issues at once.
