Last reviewed: October 16, 2026
The short answer
WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the current W3C standard for accessible web content, first published October 5, 2023. To meet it, a page must satisfy all 55 success criteria at Levels A and AA, including six new ones such as Focus Not Obscured and Target Size. Laws still mostly name 2.0 or 2.1, and 2.2 covers both.
What WCAG 2.2 AA is
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It is written by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), through its Web Accessibility Initiative. WCAG is a list of testable rules called success criteria. Each one has a number, such as 1.4.3, and a level: A, AA or AAA.
Version 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023. The current edition is dated December 12, 2024. It is not a law. Laws and courts point to it as the measure of an accessible website.
“Level AA” means the page meets every Level A and every Level AA criterion. In WCAG 2.2 that is 31 Level A and 24 Level AA criteria, 55 in all.
What are the four main principles of WCAG?
Every criterion sits under one of four principles. In plain words, for a store:
What is the difference between WCAG Levels AA and AAA?
Level A is the minimum. Level AA is the target that laws, courts and settlements use. Level AAA is stricter again: for example, text contrast of 7:1 instead of 4.5:1. W3C notes that AAA is not recommended as a requirement for whole sites, because some content cannot meet it. Aim for AA, and use AAA ideas where they are easy.
What is new in WCAG 2.2
WCAG 2.2 adds nine success criteria: two at Level A, four at Level AA and three at Level AAA. It removes one: 4.1.1 Parsing, which W3C says “no longer has utility.” These are the six new criteria you need for Level AA:
The three new Level AAA criteria are 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced), 2.4.13 Focus Appearance and 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced). W3C says content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0, so moving to 2.2 does not undo earlier work.
Most new criteria need a person to test
Which laws use WCAG 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2
The WCAG criteria Shopify stores fail most
WebAIM's 2026 scan of one million home pages found low-contrast text on 83.9% of them, missing alt text on 53.1% and unlabelled form fields on 51.0% (February 2026). This table lists the criteria behind those numbers, and the ones a scan cannot see.
Automated checks find only part of the problems: about 57% of issues by volume in Deque's 2021 study of its own audits. Start with our free contrast checker, then test the path to checkout by keyboard. The step-by-step version for Shopify is in our Shopify ADA compliance guide.
Questions about WCAG 2.2 AA
What is WCAG 2.2 AA?
WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the current W3C standard for accessible web content, first published October 5, 2023. To meet Level AA, a page must satisfy all 55 success criteria at Level A and Level AA, including six that are new in 2.2, such as Focus Not Obscured and Target Size.
What is the difference between WCAG Levels AA and AAA?
Level AA is the target that laws and settlements use. Level AAA adds stricter criteria, such as 7:1 text contrast instead of 4.5:1. W3C does not recommend requiring AAA for whole sites, because some content cannot meet it.
What are the four main principles of WCAG?
Perceivable (people can see or hear the content), operable (people can use every control, including by keyboard), understandable (text and behaviour make sense) and robust (it works with assistive technology such as screen readers).
What are the new WCAG standards for 2026?
There is no new WCAG version in 2026. WCAG 2.2 (October 2023) is current, and WCAG 3.0 is still a W3C draft. What changed in 2026 is that the European standard EN 301 549 v4.1.1, published September 2, 2026, moved to WCAG 2.2.
Is WCAG 2.2 required by law?
Not by name in most places yet. US courts and settlements use WCAG 2.1 AA, Ontario's AODA uses 2.0 AA and Manitoba uses 2.1 AA. Because 2.2 includes almost everything in 2.0 and 2.1, working toward 2.2 AA covers those targets too.
Does meeting WCAG 2.2 AA mean I meet WCAG 2.1 AA?
Yes. W3C says content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0. The only criterion dropped in 2.2, 4.1.1 Parsing, was removed because it no longer helped users.
This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice. For advice about your business, speak with a lawyer.