WCAG 2.2: The Six New AA Criteria, and Which One Breaks Your Site

WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023, and it is the current version of the standard. It added nine success criteria and removed one, and six of the nine matter at Level A or AA. Two of them will fail most existing sites on the first audit.

The six that count

The nine new criteria split by level. Three are Level AAA, which almost nobody conforms to as a whole: 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced), 2.4.13 Focus Appearance, and 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced). The six that matter for a Level AA target are 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).

WCAG 2.2 also removed one criterion, 4.1.1 Parsing. The W3C removed it as obsolete because modern browsers and assistive technology handle malformed markup more gracefully than they did in 2008. Teams whose policies still list 4.1.1 should update the policy, but a site is not penalized for the removal. Conformance to 2.2 implies 2.1 and 2.0.

The important context is which version the law actually names. The Justice Department's Title II rule names WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and Section 508 names WCAG 2.0. But the European standard EN 301 549 version 4.1.1, published in September 2026, moves its baseline to WCAG 2.2, and procurement documents increasingly ask for 2.2. Auditing to 2.2 is the safer target even where the law still says 2.1.

The two that break sites

Target Size (Minimum), 2.5.8, requires pointer targets to be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or spaced so they do not overlap. That sounds small until you measure a real storefront. Icon-only buttons, pagination links, table row actions, and close buttons on modals are routinely 16 pixels, and a dense toolbar can pack a dozen of them into a space where none has the required spacing. The criterion has five exceptions, including one that lets a 16 pixel icon pass when nothing sits too close to it, but the exceptions are the part teams skip reading, and the audit fails on the spacing, not the size. Related reading: Your Dark Mode Toggle Just Broke Contrast. Nobody Is Watching..

Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), 2.4.11, requires that when a component receives keyboard focus it is not entirely hidden by author-created content. The culprits are sticky headers, cookie banners, and chat widgets that sit over the content below them. Tab through a page with the cookie banner open and watch the focused link slide underneath it. The fix is usually a scroll offset or a layout change, not a redesign, but it has to be tested with the banner and the chat widget actually open, which is the state audits usually miss.

The other four are cheaper. Dragging Movements, 2.5.7, needs a single-pointer alternative for sliders, sortable lists, and drag-to-reorder. Consistent Help, 3.2.6, asks that help mechanisms appear in the same place across pages. Redundant Entry, 3.3.7, says don't ask for the same information twice in one session. Accessible Authentication (Minimum), 3.3.8, bans cognitive tests like remembering a password from another step, unless an alternative or assistance is offered.

How to close the gap

Measure first. A target-size pass takes an afternoon with a browser inspector and a list of the smallest interactive elements on the site. A focus-obscured pass takes a keyboard and ten minutes per template with every sticky element open. Fix the components, not the pages: the icon button, the pagination control, the sticky header offset, each once in the theme.

Then write the new version into the policy. A conformance claim that says WCAG 2.1 AA while the audit runs against 2.2 will confuse every vendor and every plaintiff tester who reads it. Name 2.2, list the six criteria, and date the claim. More on this: Monitoring Focus Order After a Mega-Menu Rebuild.

Frequently asked questions

Is WCAG 2.2 the law anywhere yet?

The EU standard EN 301 549 version 4.1.1, published September 2026, adopts WCAG 2.2 as its web baseline. In the US, the Title II rule still names WCAG 2.1, but procurement and settlement practice increasingly point at 2.2.

Does 24 by 24 mean every button must be 24 pixels square?

No. The criterion allows a smaller target when there is enough spacing around it, and it has five exceptions in total. Measure the spacing, not just the box.

What happened to Success Criterion 4.1.1 Parsing?

WCAG 2.2 removed it as obsolete. Authors required by policy to conform to 2.0 or 2.1 may need to keep testing it, but it is not part of 2.2.

Which new criterion trips the most sites?

Target Size (Minimum), 2.5.8, because icon buttons and pagination are smaller than 24 pixels on most storefronts, followed by Focus Not Obscured, 2.4.11, because sticky headers and cookie banners cover focused links.