WCAG 2.1 vs 2.2: What Changed and Which One to Target

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are published by the W3C. Version 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023. It did not replace 2.1 so much as extend it: the W3C’s own summary of what is new says “the 2.0 and 2.1 success criteria are essentially the same in 2.2, with one exception.” That exception, and the nine additions, are the whole difference.

The nine new success criteria

Each row gives the number, name and level from the WCAG 2.2 specification, followed by what the criterion asks for in plain language. The plain-language column is our summary; the specification text, with its exceptions, is what a conformance claim is tested against.

Notice what the additions have in common. Three are about keyboard focus being visible and unobstructed, two are about pointer input (dragging and target size), and three are about cognitive load in forms and logins. The sticky header that covers a focused link, the cookie banner that hides the button behind it, the tiny icon-only control and the login that blocks password-manager paste are all everyday failures that 2.1 did not name directly.

The one criterion that was removed: 4.1.1 Parsing

The W3C states plainly: “4.1.1 Parsing is obsolete and removed from WCAG 2.2.” Parsing required markup without certain errors, such as duplicate IDs or mismatched tags, on the theory that assistive technology parsed HTML directly. Browsers now build the accessibility tree themselves and recover from those errors consistently, so the W3C retired the criterion. Problems that actually affect users, such as an ID that breaks a label association, are still caught by other criteria like 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.

How big is a WCAG 2.2 AA target?

Counting from the specification, WCAG 2.2 has 86 success criteria in force: 31 at Level A, 24 at Level AA and 31 at Level AAA. An AA conformance target means meeting every A and AA criterion, which is 55. Our WCAG 2.2 checklist lists all 55 with a plain test for each.

Which laws name which version

Legal requirements move slower than the standard. This table summarizes what each source names; the Section 508, ADA and WCAG comparison goes further. This page is general information, not legal advice.

For state and local governments, the Justice Department’s fact sheet names WCAG 2.1 Level AA. An interim final rule published April 20, 2026 moved the compliance dates to April 26, 2027 for entities with 50,000 or more people and to April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special district governments; it did not change the standard. Our guide to the Title II web rule covers the exceptions and deadlines.

Federal agencies follow the Revised 508 Standards from the U.S. Access Board, which say electronic content “shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0.” Businesses open to the public have no regulation naming a version at all; the Justice Department’s 2022 guidance points to WCAG and the Section 508 Standards as helpful references. We cover that in Does the ADA apply to business websites?

Why target 2.2 AA when the law says 2.1

Because it costs almost nothing extra and removes the question. WCAG 2.2 AA contains every 2.1 AA criterion except 4.1.1, and 4.1.1 no longer reflects how assistive technology works. Building to 2.2 AA means a site that meets the Title II standard, meets the 2.0 AA content that Section 508 points to for web pages, and is already aligned with the version the W3C currently publishes. The six new A and AA criteria are also cheap to meet on new builds: visible focus that is not covered, targets of reasonable size, click alternatives to dragging, help in a consistent place, no retyping, and logins that allow paste.

The new criteria are not theoretical. When we ran axe-core across 95 California government homepages in October 2026, the automated target-size check flagged 22.1% of them, behind only links without text and low contrast. You can run a quick version of the same checks on any page with our free accessibility checker, and the WCAG glossary entry covers the terminology.

The honest limit: automated tools test only a part of each criterion. Focus visibility, meaningful alternative text and accessible authentication all need a human with a keyboard and a screen reader. That is why our accessibility service pairs automated scans with manual testing rather than relying on either alone.

Frequently asked questions

About the work

Webvello is a web development and AI search optimization company founded in 2024, based in Roseville, California, with 50+ projects delivered across 37+ cities. We build custom, server-rendered sites and test our own pages with the same axe-core tooling we use in audits. Founder George Shvaya came to the web from cybersecurity and systems engineering.

Sources: the W3C WCAG 2.2 specification and “What’s New in WCAG 2.2,” the Justice Department’s Title II fact sheet and April 20, 2026 interim final rule, and the U.S. Access Board ICT standards, all linked above. This page is general information, not legal advice.