How many success criteria are in WCAG 2.1?

WCAG 2.1 has 78 success criteria across three levels: 30 at Level A, 20 at Level AA, and 28 at Level AAA. This checklist covers the 50 Level A and AA criteria, which together define the conformance target most laws and contracts require.

What is the difference between Level A, AA and AAA?

Level A is the minimum and removes the most severe barriers. Level AA is the standard most regulations (EU EAA, UK PSBAR, US Section 508, ADA case law) require. Level AAA is the strictest and is rarely mandated site-wide.

Where is my checklist progress stored?

Entirely in your browser's localStorage. Nothing is sent to a server, so your audit is private and persists between visits on the same device and browser.

Does passing this checklist make me legally compliant?

It is a structured self-assessment, not a legal certification. A thorough WCAG audit also needs real screen-reader testing, keyboard testing and code review. Use this to organise and track that work.

What should N/A mean?

Mark a criterion N/A only when its content type genuinely does not exist on your site — for example captions criteria when you have no audio or video. N/A items are excluded from the conformance percentage.

WCAG 2.1 Self-Audit Checklist

A WCAG audit is overwhelming if you start from a blank page, and most paid tools lock the criteria list behind a subscription. This free, interactive checklist gives you every WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA success criterion in a single scrollable list, each with a plain-English note about what it actually requires, and pass / fail / N/A toggles whose state is saved in your browser.

How it works

WCAG 2.1 organises its requirements under four principles — content must be Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust (POUR). Within those principles sit 78 testable success criteria split across three conformance levels:

Level A — 30 criteria, the minimum baseline.
Level AA — 20 criteria, the level required by most accessibility laws.
Level AAA — 28 criteria, the strictest, rarely mandated site-wide.

This checklist covers the 50 Level A and AA criteria because “WCAG 2.1 AA” is the conformance target named in the EU European Accessibility Act, UK public-sector regulations, US Section 508, and most procurement contracts. Each item is a toggle. Your conformance percentage is calculated as passes divided by in-scope criteria, with N/A items excluded.

Tips

Work principle by principle rather than jumping around — related criteria (for example all the form-error criteria under “Understandable”) are easiest to test together.
Be honest with Fail. A fail you have recorded is a fix you can plan; an optimistic pass is a barrier you have hidden from yourself.
Reserve N/A for content types you genuinely do not have. If you have any video, the captions criteria apply.
Re-run the checklist after each release. Accessibility regresses quietly when new components ship without an audit.
This is a self-assessment aid. Combine it with manual screen-reader and keyboard testing, plus automated scanners, for real coverage. Everything you mark stays in your browser.