WCAG 2.1 AA in plain language: all 50 success criteria

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 are the technical benchmark named in Manitoba's Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation. Level AA is made up of 50 success criteria: 30 at Level A and 20 at Level AA. This guide explains the four principles behind them and then sets out every criterion in one table, with a short description of what each means in practice.

Why WCAG 2.1 AA matters in Manitoba

Under s. 7(1) (opens in a new tab) of Man. Reg. 47/2022, web content must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA if it was published on or after the applicable date or is needed to access an organization's goods or services. For organizations with one or more employees in Manitoba, that date was May 1, 2025. Our page on the Manitoba standard covers the regulation in more detail.

Meeting Level AA means meeting every Level A criterion and every Level AA criterion. There is no partial score.

The four principles

WCAG organizes its criteria under four principles. If a site fails one of them, some people cannot use it at all.

Perceivable

People must be able to take in the information, whatever senses they use. Images need text alternatives, videos need captions, text needs enough contrast, and content must still work when it is enlarged or viewed on a narrow screen.

Operable

People must be able to use every control. Everything must work with a keyboard, people need enough time, nothing should flash in a way that can trigger seizures, and it should be easy to find your way around.

Understandable

People must be able to understand the content and how the site behaves. Language is identified, pages behave predictably, and forms help people avoid and correct mistakes.

Robust

Content must work reliably with browsers and assistive technology such as screen readers. In practice, that means using standard code correctly so that every control exposes its name, role and state.

All 50 success criteria

The table lists the 30 Level A criteria first, then the 20 Level AA criteria. The descriptions are simplified; the official text from the W3C remains the authority.

A note on 4.1.1 Parsing: the W3C has since clarified that, for content written in HTML or XML, this criterion is treated as always satisfied, because modern browsers and assistive technology handle the issues it was written for. It remains in the WCAG 2.1 list, so it is included here for completeness. Problems such as duplicate IDs can still cause failures under other criteria, especially 1.3.1 and 4.1.2.

Which criteria need a person to test

Automated tools are good at finding some issues, such as missing alt attributes, low contrast in plain text, or a missing page language. Many criteria, however, require judgement: whether alt text is meaningful, whether focus order makes sense, whether error messages help, whether a video's captions are accurate. That is why our method combines automated scans with manual keyboard testing, NVDA and VoiceOver screen readers, 200% zoom and 320 pixel reflow checks.

How to use this list

Not every criterion applies to every site. If you have no video, the media criteria in 1.2 have nothing to test. If you have no time limits, 2.2.1 is not a concern. An audit records which criteria apply, which pass and which fail, and where. You can see how we present that in our sample report, and further reading is listed on our resources page.

Talk to us

If you would like to know how your website measures against all 50 criteria, book a consultation. We will explain what an audit covers and provide a fixed written quote after the audit.

Last reviewed October 2026. General information, not legal advice.