WCAG 2.2 AA Requirements
The WCAG 2.2 AA requirements are the success criteria a website or digital product must meet to claim conformance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 at Level AA. WCAG 2.2 AA is built on the four POUR principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Conformance at Level AA means the product satisfies every Level A and Level AA success criterion across those four principles. WCAG 2.2 is backwards compatible with 2.1, so a site that conforms to 2.2 AA also conforms to 2.1 AA.
| Key Point | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Standard | Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2, conformance Level AA. |
| Structure | Organized around four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, robust. |
| Scope | Includes all Level A and Level AA success criteria. Level AAA is optional and not required for AA conformance. |
| Backwards compatibility | WCAG 2.2 AA conformance also satisfies WCAG 2.1 AA conformance. |
| Evaluation | Approximately 25% of issues can be detected by scans. The remaining 75% requires evaluation by a qualified human auditor. |
The Four Principles Behind WCAG 2.2 AA Requirements
Every WCAG 2.2 AA requirement falls under one of four principles. Perceivable means information and interface elements must be presentable in ways users can recognize, including alternatives for images, captions for video, and adaptable content that does not depend on a single sensory characteristic.
Operable means interface controls and navigation must be usable. This covers keyboard access, sufficient time to read and use content, predictable behavior, and input methods beyond pointing devices. Understandable means text is readable, pages behave predictably, and users receive help when they make input errors.
Robust means content works reliably with current and future assistive technologies, which is largely a function of clean, standards-based code.
What Level AA Conformance Actually Means
Level AA conformance requires that a product satisfy every Level A and every Level AA success criterion that applies to its content. A site cannot pick and choose. If a single AA criterion is unmet on an in-scope page, the site does not conform to AA on that page.
WCAG conformance is binary at the criterion level but cumulative at the page level. Each page is evaluated against the full set of applicable AA criteria, and the overall conformance claim reflects the weakest page in scope.
New WCAG 2.2 AA Success Criteria
WCAG 2.2 introduced additional success criteria covering focus appearance, focus visibility when scrolling occurs, dragging movement alternatives, target size for pointer inputs, consistent help placement, redundant entry in multi-step processes, and accessible authentication that does not rely on cognitive function tests like remembering passwords or transcribing characters.
These criteria address user needs that became more visible as mobile devices, single-page applications, and complex authentication flows took over the web. Organizations conforming to 2.1 AA do not automatically conform to 2.2 AA. The additional 2.2 AA criteria must be evaluated separately.
How WCAG 2.2 AA Connects to ADA Compliance
Under ADA Title II, the Department of Justice rule references WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard state and local governments must meet for their web content and mobile apps. WCAG 2.2 AA conformance satisfies that requirement because 2.2 is backwards compatible with 2.1.
Under ADA Title III, the law does not specify a technical standard for private business websites. Courts and plaintiffs commonly look to WCAG as the reference point for whether a site is accessible. Many organizations adopt WCAG 2.2 AA to reduce risk under Title III and to align with procurement expectations from enterprise buyers and government agencies.
How Organizations Evaluate Conformance
Evaluating against WCAG 2.2 AA requirements requires a combination of automated scans and human evaluation. Scans can detect roughly 25% of accessibility issues by checking HTML, CSS, and ARIA attributes against rules derived from the success criteria. The remaining 75% requires an auditor to evaluate the product with screen reader testing, keyboard testing, code inspection, and visual review.
A WCAG 2.2 AA audit identifies issues by success criterion, locates them in the product, and describes what remediation is needed. Most accessibility audits start at 1,000 dollars and range to 3,000 dollars depending on the size and complexity of the product. After remediation, organizations often request a validation pass to confirm conformance before issuing an accessibility statement or VPAT.
WCAG 2.2 AA requirements are the working definition of accessible digital content for most organizations operating in the United States and the European Union. Conformance is the foundation of any credible accessibility program and the reference point regulators, procurement teams, and courts use to evaluate whether a product is accessible.