WCAG 2.2: the nine new success criteria explained

WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation in October 2023. It keeps every criterion from WCAG 2.1 except one (4.1.1 Parsing, now obsolete), and adds nine new ones. If you already meet 2.1 AA, closing the gap to 2.2 AA is a small, well-defined project — and it is the version the industry is moving to.

New Level A criteria

• 3.2.6 Consistent Help — if a help mechanism (contact link, chat, FAQ) appears on several pages, it must be in the same relative place on each.
• 3.3.7 Redundant Entry — do not make users re-enter information they already gave in the same process (e.g. shipping address as billing address must be auto-fillable or selectable).

New Level AA criteria

• 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) — the focused element must not be entirely hidden by sticky headers, cookie banners or chat bubbles.
• 2.5.7 Dragging Movements — anything that requires dragging (sliders, sortable lists, maps) needs a single-pointer alternative such as buttons.
• 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) — interactive targets must be at least 24×24 CSS pixels, or have enough spacing around them.
• 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) — logins must not depend on cognitive function tests (remembering passwords, solving puzzles) without an alternative such as password-manager paste, passkeys or email links.

New Level AAA criteria

• 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) — no part of the focused element may be hidden.
• 2.4.13 Focus Appearance — the focus indicator must have a minimum size and 3:1 contrast against its unfocused state.
• 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) — no cognitive function test at all, not even object recognition.

What automated scanners can test

• Testable: target size (partially), some focus-obscured cases, parsing-related structure, and all of the inherited 2.1 rules (contrast, labels, alt text, language, landmarks).
• Needs a human: consistent help, redundant entry, dragging alternatives and accessible authentication depend on understanding the flow, not the DOM. Plan a manual walkthrough of login, checkout and any drag interaction.
• FixRamp runs the axe-core rule sets for WCAG 2.0/2.1/2.2 A and AA and lists results that need human review separately, so you know exactly which criteria still need eyes on them.

Does the law require 2.2?

Not yet in most places. The EU's EN 301 549 and Germany's BFSG currently reference WCAG 2.1 AA; the US ADA Title II rule adopted WCAG 2.1 AA in 2024. But 2.2 is backwards compatible, so a site meeting 2.2 AA also meets 2.1 AA — the new criteria mostly formalise things good UX teams already do (visible focus, no tiny tap targets, sane login flows).

Reference: WCAG 2.2 (W3C Recommendation) · What's New in WCAG 2.2 (W3C WAI). General information, not legal advice.