WCAG 2.2 checklist for Excel: all 55 Level A and AA criteria
All 55 WCAG 2.2 success criteria at Level A and AA, as copy-paste tables with one line on what to check for each. Paste them into Excel or Google Sheets, add a result column, and you have a working self-audit checklist. No signup.
Read this first: what you can and can't download
There is no spreadsheet download on this page. The four tables below are
plain HTML: select one, copy it, and paste it into Excel or Google Sheets.
The Core Kit ships the same 55 criteria as a .csv file (Excel opens
it directly; save as .xlsx if you want that format) and as a Word
document, with extra columns for how to test each criterion, a Pass/Fail/N-A
result, and notes.
Why 55 criteria
WCAG 2.2 defines 86 success criteria, split across three conformance levels: 31 at Level A, 24 at Level AA, and 31 at Level AAA (WCAG 2.2 specification). A checklist for Level A and AA therefore has 55 rows. Level AAA is deliberately left out: the W3C notes that it is not possible to satisfy all AAA criteria for some content (WCAG 2.2, section 5.2.1).
If you are upgrading an older checklist, two things changed in 2.2. It added nine success criteria, six of them at A or AA: 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), 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 Accessible Authentication (Minimum). And it removed 4.1.1 Parsing as obsolete (What's new in WCAG 2.2). If a contract or policy still names WCAG 2.0 or 2.1, you may need to keep reporting 4.1.1; the W3C says as much. Our WCAG 2.2 vs 2.1 guide goes through the differences.
How to use the checklist without fooling yourself
- Paste it into a sheet and add four columns: Result (Pass, Fail, N/A), Page or component, Evidence (a URL, screenshot, or note), and Owner.
- Test templates, not every URL. Pick a representative sample: home page, a content page, a form, search, checkout or signup, and anything with custom widgets. The W3C's evaluation method, WCAG-EM, describes how to define scope and choose a sample.
- Test the whole page, not part of it. WCAG conformance applies to full pages and cannot be claimed if part of a page is excluded, which includes embedded third-party widgets (WCAG 2.2, section 5.2.2).
- Record why, not only what. "Fail: modal on /pricing traps keyboard focus" is useful. "Fail" is not.
- Feed failures into a tracker. A failed row becomes an entry in your remediation plan.
Run the free accessibility scanner first. Automated checks cover only the criteria a machine can decide, such as missing alt attributes or contrast ratios; criteria like 2.4.3 Focus Order or 1.2.2 Captions need a person with a keyboard and a video player.
The WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA checklist
Perceivable (20 criteria)
Information must be presentable in ways users can perceive.
| Criterion | Level | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Non-text Content | A | All images, icons, and non-text content have appropriate text alternatives (alt text, or marked decorative). |
| 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) | A | Prerecorded audio-only content has a transcript; prerecorded video-only content has a transcript or audio description. |
| 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) | A | Prerecorded video with audio has accurate, synchronized captions. |
| 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) | A | Prerecorded video has audio description, or a full text alternative describing all visual content. |
| 1.2.4 Captions (Live) | AA | Live video streams have real-time captions. |
| 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) | AA | Prerecorded video has a dedicated audio-description track. |
| 1.3.1 Info and Relationships | A | Headings, lists, tables, and form labels are marked up semantically, not just styled to look that way. |
| 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence | A | The reading/navigation order in code matches the visual order. |
| 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics | A | Instructions don't rely solely on shape, color, size, or position ("click the green button"). |
| 1.3.4 Orientation | AA | Content isn't locked to portrait or landscape unless orientation is essential. |
| 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose | AA | Common input fields (name, email, address) use correct autocomplete attributes. |
| 1.4.1 Use of Color | A | Color is not the only way information is conveyed (errors, links, required fields). |
| 1.4.2 Audio Control | A | Auto-playing audio longer than 3 seconds can be paused |
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) | AA | Text has at least 4.5:1 contrast (3:1 for large text) against its background. |
| 1.4.4 Resize Text | AA | Text can be resized to 200% without loss of content or function. |
| 1.4.5 Images of Text | AA | Real text is used instead of images of text, except logos. |
| 1.4.10 Reflow | AA | Content reflows to a single column at 320px width / 400% zoom without horizontal scrolling or lost content/function. |
| 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast | AA | UI components (buttons, form borders, icons) and meaningful graphics have at least 3:1 contrast against adjacent colors. |
| 1.4.12 Text Spacing | AA | Content doesn't break when a user overrides line height, paragraph spacing, and letter/word spacing to WCAG's specified minimums. |
| 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus | AA | Tooltips/popovers triggered by hover or focus are dismissable, hoverable (mouse can move onto them), and remain visible until dismissed. |
Operable (20 criteria)
Interface components must be operable by keyboard, pointer, and other inputs.
| Criterion | Level | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Keyboard | A | All functionality is operable with a keyboard alone. |
| 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap | A | Keyboard focus is never trapped in a component (e.g., a modal) with no way out. |
| 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts | A | Single-character keyboard shortcuts can be turned off, remapped, or are only active when the relevant component has focus. |
| 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable | A | Time limits (session timeouts, etc.) can be turned off, adjusted, or extended by the user. |
| 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide | A | Moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating content can be paused, stopped, or hidden. |
| 2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold | A | Nothing on the page flashes more than three times per second. |
| 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks | A | A mechanism (skip link, landmarks) lets users bypass blocks of content repeated across pages. |
| 2.4.2 Page Titled | A | Every page has a descriptive page title (the title element). |
| 2.4.3 Focus Order | A | Tab order follows a logical |
| 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) | A | Link text, combined with surrounding context, makes the link's purpose clear -- avoid bare "click here." |
| 2.4.5 Multiple Ways | AA | More than one way exists to locate a page (nav menu, search, sitemap), except on steps in a defined process. |
| 2.4.6 Headings and Labels | AA | Headings and form labels are descriptive, not generic ("Section 1"). |
| 2.4.7 Focus Visible | AA | A visible keyboard-focus indicator appears on every interactive element. |
| 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | Focused elements aren't entirely hidden behind sticky headers, cookie banners, or other overlays. |
| 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures | A | Multipoint or path-based gestures (pinch, swipe) have a single-pointer alternative. |
| 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation | A | Actions trigger on the up-event (release), not the down-event, and can be aborted by moving away before releasing. |
| 2.5.3 Label in Name | A | The visible label text is included in the accessible name (needed for voice-control users). |
| 2.5.4 Motion Actuation | A | Features triggered by device motion (shake, tilt) have a standard UI alternative and can be disabled. |
| 2.5.7 Dragging Movements | AA | Any drag-and-drop interaction has a single-pointer, non-dragging alternative (e.g., tap to select, tap to place). |
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) | AA | Interactive targets are at least 24x24 CSS pixels, or have sufficient spacing, unless inline in text or otherwise exempt. |
Understandable (13 criteria)
Content and operation must be understandable.
| Criterion | Level | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1 Language of Page | A | The page's primary language is set in code. |
| 3.1.2 Language of Parts | AA | Text in a different language than the page default is marked with the correct lang attribute. |
| 3.2.1 On Focus | A | Moving keyboard focus to an element doesn't trigger an unexpected context change (auto-submit, new window, etc.). |
| 3.2.2 On Input | A | Changing a form value doesn't trigger an unexpected context change unless the user is warned in advance. |
| 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation | AA | Repeated navigation menus appear in the same relative order across pages. |
| 3.2.4 Consistent Identification | AA | Components with the same function are labeled/styled consistently sitewide (e.g., a search icon always means search). |
| 3.2.6 Consistent Help | A | If help mechanisms (contact info, chat, FAQ link) appear on multiple pages, they appear in the same relative order/location. |
| 3.3.1 Error Identification | A | Form errors are clearly identified in text, not color alone. |
| 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions | A | Form fields have visible labels or instructions describing what's required. |
| 3.3.3 Error Suggestion | AA | When an input error is detected, a suggestion for fixing it is provided, if known. |
| 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) | AA | Legal, financial, or data-deletion submissions are reversible, checked, or confirmed before finalizing. |
| 3.3.7 Redundant Entry | A | Information the user already provided earlier in the same process isn't re-requested, unless necessary. |
| 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | Login doesn't require a cognitive function test (solving a puzzle, memorizing/transcribing) unless an alternative is offered. |
Robust (2 criteria)
Content must work with current and future assistive technologies.
| Criterion | Level | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value | A | Custom UI components (dropdowns, tabs, modals, sliders) expose correct name, role, and state to assistive technology via semantic HTML or ARIA. |
| 4.1.3 Status Messages | AA | Status messages (form submitted, item added to cart) are announced to screen readers without requiring focus to move to them. |
What the Core Kit adds to this table
The table above tells you what to check. The Core Kit version also tells you how to test each row (for example, "tab through the page and confirm a visible focus ring"), gives you the Pass/Fail/N-A and Notes columns ready to fill, and sits next to the documents that use the results: the accessibility statement templates, the internal policy, and the remediation plan.
Get the checklist as a ready-made CSV and Word file
Core Kit ($99) includes the WCAG 2.2 self-audit checklist (CSV and Word), accessibility statements for the EU and US, an internal policy, a remediation plan template, and an EAA scope guide.
Get Core — $99 Run the free accessibility scannerFAQ
Is there an .xlsx file I can download from this page?
No. The tables on this page can be copied into Excel or Google Sheets. The Core Kit includes the checklist as a .csv file, which Excel opens directly, plus a Word version.
Why does the checklist stop at Level AA?
Level AAA has 31 more criteria, and the W3C notes that it is not possible to satisfy all AAA criteria for some content. Most accessibility policies and audits target A and AA, so that is what this list covers.
Does a completed checklist prove my site conforms to WCAG 2.2?
No. It is a record of your own testing. It is only as good as the pages sampled and the care taken on each row, and WCAG conformance applies to full pages, including embedded third-party content.
Is this legal advice?
No. This page is general information and professional documentation guidance, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Have qualified counsel review anything you publish or send to a regulator, buyer, or court, especially if you have received a legal notice.