WCAG 2.1 is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines release that W3C published in June 2018, adding 17 success criteria to WCAG 2.0 for a total of 78. Most of the new rules address mobile devices, low vision and cognitive disabilities.
WCAG 2.2 has since replaced it as the newest release, but 2.1 Level AA is still the standard written into EN 301 549, the US ADA Title II rule and India's GIGW. Here is what changed, who still asks for it, and how it fits with the versions on either side.
Quick facts
Published
June 2018Success criteria
78: 30 A, 20 AA, 28 AAAAdded
17 new criteria and guideline 2.5Level AA target
50 criteriaStatus
Still published; replaced as newest by 2.2Main themes
Mobile, low vision, cognitive needs
What is WCAG 2.1?
This release is an extension of WCAG 2.0, not a rewrite. W3C kept all 61 criteria from 2.0 with the same wording and numbers, and slotted 17 new ones into the existing structure. It also added one new guideline, 2.5 Input Modalities, which groups the rules about touch, pointer and motion input. That brought the total to four principles, 13 guidelines and 78 success criteria.
The reason for the update was simple: phones and tablets had become the main way many people used the web, and the 2.0 rules said little about touch screens, zoomed layouts or people with cognitive disabilities. A W3C task force for each of those areas proposed criteria, and the ones that could be tested reliably made it into the final standard. Ideas that could not be tested yet were left for later versions.
If you are new to the topic, start with WCAG explained and come back here for the version detail.
WCAG 2.1 release date
W3C published WCAG 2.1 as a Recommendation in June 2018, nearly ten years after WCAG 2.0 in December 2008. It was the current version until WCAG 2.2 replaced it in October 2023.
“Replaced” does not mean withdrawn. W3C still publishes 2.1, and many laws and standards keep pointing to it, so you will see it in contracts and audit requests for years to come. See WCAG versions for the full timeline from 1999 onward.
The 17 new criteria in WCAG 2.1
Twelve additions fall within A or AA and therefore count toward a normal AA target. The other five are AAA.
| Number | Level | Name | Main beneficiaries | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1.3.4 | AA | Orientation | Mobile | Content is not locked to portrait or landscape. |
1.3.5 | AA | Identify input purpose | Cognitive | Personal data fields use autocomplete tokens so browsers can fill them. |
1.3.6 | AAA | Identify purpose | Cognitive | Icons and regions can be marked up so tools can swap in familiar symbols. |
1.4.10 | AA | Reflow | Low vision | Content fits a 320 CSS pixel width with no two-way scrolling. |
1.4.11 | AA | Non-text contrast | Low vision | Controls, focus rings and key graphics reach 3:1. |
1.4.12 | AA | Text spacing | Low vision, dyslexia | Layouts survive user-chosen spacing for lines, letters, words and paragraphs. |
1.4.13 | AA | Content on hover or focus | Low vision | Tooltips can be dismissed, hovered and stay put. |
2.1.4 | A | Character key shortcuts | Speech input | One-key shortcuts can be switched off or remapped. |
2.2.6 | AAA | Timeouts | Cognitive | Users are told how long inactivity can last before data is lost. |
2.3.3 | AAA | Animation from interactions | Vestibular | Motion triggered by scrolling or clicking can be turned off. |
2.5.1 | A | Pointer gestures | Mobile, motor | Multi-point or path gestures have a single-pointer alternative. |
2.5.2 | A | Pointer cancellation | Mobile, motor | Actions complete on release, so mistakes can be aborted. |
2.5.3 | A | Label in name | Speech input | The visible label is part of the accessible name. |
2.5.4 | A | Motion actuation | Mobile, motor | Shake and tilt features have another way to trigger them. |
2.5.5 | AAA | Target size | Mobile, motor | Targets reach 44 by 44 CSS pixels. |
2.5.6 | AAA | Concurrent input mechanisms | Mobile, motor | Users may switch between touch, keyboard and mouse freely. |
4.1.3 | AA | Status messages | Screen reader users | Updates like result counts are announced without a focus move. |
Of the 17, seven are Level AA and five are Level A. To turn the AA set into a test plan, see WCAG 2.1 AA.
WCAG 2.1 for mobile apps and mobile accessibility
Mobile was the biggest driver of 2.1. Six of the new criteria are aimed squarely at touch devices:
- Orientation: a banking app that refuses to rotate blocks users whose tablet is fixed to a wheelchair mount.
- Pointer gestures: a map that only zooms with a two-finger pinch needs plus and minus buttons.
- Pointer cancellation: a delete button that fires the moment a finger touches it causes accidental deletions for people with tremors.
- Label in name: speech input users say the label they see, so the code name must contain it.
- Motion actuation: shake to undo must have an on-screen alternative.
- Reflow: a narrow screen and a zoomed desktop window behave alike, so one fix helps both.
WCAG is a web standard, yet app teams use it as their benchmark because no separate app standard has the same reach, and EN 301 549 applies most of it to native software. For phone testing methods, read WCAG for mobile apps.
WCAG 2.1 compliance: who still asks for it
Version 2.1 Level AA is the most widely referenced accessibility target in law and policy right now:
- EU: EN 301 549, the standard behind the Web Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act (EAA), has a web chapter that matches 2.1 AA. See the Web Accessibility Directive overview.
- US state and local government: the ADA Title II rule from the Department of Justice adopted 2.1 AA. Deadlines and first steps are on the DOJ rule page.
- US businesses: Title III has no written technical standard, but settlements usually name 2.1 AA.
- India: GIGW 3.0 for government sites aligns with 2.1 AA, and the SEBI circular for regulated entities points to 2.1 and GIGW.
Use this list for orientation, then confirm details with counsel, since rules get revised and their reach depends on your organisation. The accessibility laws page and a lawyer are the next steps.
How WCAG 2.1 builds on 2.0
Because 2.1 only adds, any page that meets 2.1 AA also meets 2.0 AA.
| Measure | WCAG 2.0 | WCAG 2.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Published | December 2008 | June 2018 |
| Guidelines | 12 | 13 |
| Level A | 25 | 30 |
| Level AA | 13 | 20 |
| Level AAA | 23 | 28 |
| Total | 61 | 78 |
Section 508 in the US still references 2.0 AA, so a federal vendor that meets 2.1 AA is covered there too. Details are on the WCAG 2.0 page.
WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2: which should you follow?
If a law or contract names 2.1 AA, meeting it is enough for that obligation. Even so, most auditors now suggest building to WCAG 2.2 AA. The extra work is modest (six more A and AA checks), it covers the 2.1 requirement automatically, and it protects you when the rule you follow is updated.
If an auditor still reports 4.1.1 Parsing failures under 2.1, point them to the W3C note that treats Parsing as met for HTML. Then check whether the same markup error breaks a label or name, because that would fail another criterion.
Reading and testing the WCAG 2.1 guidelines
The full text is at w3.org/TR/WCAG21. For daily work, the W3C quick reference is easier: it covers 2.2 but marks which version introduced each criterion, so you can hide the 2.2 additions.
To check a site, combine an automated scan from a WCAG checker with manual keyboard, zoom and screen reader tests, and tick progress off in the WCAG checklist with only the 2.0 and 2.1 boxes ticked in its version filter.
Questions people ask
What is WCAG 2.1?
It is the second release of WCAG 2, published by W3C. It keeps all of WCAG 2.0 and adds 17 success criteria for mobile use, low vision and cognitive disabilities, for 78 in total.
What is the WCAG 2.1 release date?
W3C published it as a Recommendation in June 2018. It followed WCAG 2.0 from December 2008 and was followed by WCAG 2.2 in October 2023.
Is WCAG 2.1 still valid now that 2.2 is out?
Yes. W3C still publishes it, and many laws, including EN 301 549 and the ADA Title II rule, still refer to 2.1 AA. New work should usually aim for 2.2 AA, which covers 2.1 AA as well.
Does WCAG 2.1 apply to mobile apps?
Its criteria are written for web content, but most of them translate directly to native apps, and EN 301 549 applies them to software. The 2.1 additions on orientation, gestures and reflow were written with phones in mind.
What is the total number of success criteria in WCAG 2.1?
There are 78: 30 at Level A, 20 at Level AA and 28 at Level AAA. A Level AA target means meeting 50 of them.
Is WCAG 2.1 AA something different from WCAG 2.1?
WCAG 2.1 is the whole standard with all three levels. WCAG 2.1 AA is a conformance target within it: every A and AA criterion, 50 in total, met on every full page.