Level AA · WCAG 2.0
1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)
At AA, the text alternative is no longer enough on its own: pre-recorded video needs an actual audio description track.
Manual only No automated check says anything useful.
How it fails in practice
A corporate video with a transcript on the page but no described version, where every on-screen figure and caption goes unmentioned in the soundtrack.
How to fix it
Add a described audio track, or produce the video with description built in — a narration that names what is on screen needs no second track.
At a glance
- Level
- Level AA — the level EN 301 549 requires, and therefore the level the BFSG and the EAA are measured against.
- Principle
- Perceivable
- Guideline
- 1.2 Time-based Media
- Added in
- WCAG 2.0
- EN 301 549
- 9.1.2.5
- Automated check
- Manual only
Manual only
How far an automated check gets
Nothing automatic decides this. A scanner that reports it as passing is reporting that it did not look. It stays untested until a person tests it and records what they did — which is exactly how we treat it: as untested, not as passed.
Related criteria
Other criteria under the same guideline.
Find out which criteria your site fails
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