WCAG 2.2 has been the current W3C Recommendation since October 2023. Three years on, most laws still name WCAG 2.1, but 2026 is the year that started to change. This is our map of which version each regime points at, as of October 2026, so you can set one engineering target and report against each law correctly.

The short answer

Build and test to WCAG 2.2 Level AA. It contains everything in 2.1 Level AA except the removed 4.1.1 Parsing criterion, so meeting 2.2 satisfies every regime below. Report against whichever version the law or contract names, and say which edition your audit used.

European Union

  • European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882). The directive sets functional requirements and does not name WCAG. Conformity is shown through the harmonised standard EN 301 549. The edition cited in the Official Journal is V3.2.1, which references WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA. V4.1.1, published on 2 September 2026, moves to WCAG 2.2 and maps itself to the EAA in Annex ZB, but it has not yet been cited, so it does not yet give a presumption of conformity. See our post on the new edition.
  • Web Accessibility Directive (2016/2102, public sector). The Commission’s implementing decision cites EN 301 549 V3.2.1, so WCAG 2.1 Level AA in practice, until the decision is updated.
  • National laws. Transpositions vary. France’s RGAA and Germany’s BITV sit on top of EN 301 549, and courts have started to rule on scope and on what “accessible” means (see our enforcement round-up).

United Kingdom

  • Public sector. The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 apply. The GOV.UK guidance says public sector bodies should meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA and publish an accessibility statement. The Government Digital Service monitors a sample of sites and apps each year. The Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland enforce.
  • Private sector. The Equality Act 2010 requires reasonable adjustments and names no technical standard. WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the benchmark a court or regulator would expect you to have considered. The UK is outside the EAA, but UK businesses selling into the EU are inside it.

United States

  • ADA Title II (state and local government). WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA, by rule. Compliance dates were moved to 26 April 2027 and 26 April 2028 (see our post on the extensions).
  • Section 504, HHS (health and human services). WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA, by rule, from 11 May 2027 and 10 May 2028. The rule allows a different standard such as WCAG 2.2 where it provides substantially equivalent or greater accessibility.
  • Section 508 (federal agencies and their suppliers). The 2017 refresh of the Section 508 standards incorporates WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA. Conformance report templates (VPATs) now cover 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2, and buyers increasingly ask for 2.1 or 2.2.
  • ADA Title III (private businesses). No standard is written into regulation. Court orders and settlements have consistently referenced WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Standards that are not law

  • WCAG 3.0 is a Working Draft, most recently updated on 10 September 2026, and will not be a standard for several years. It is not a target for any law (see our explainer).
  • WAI-ARIA 1.3 is also still a Working Draft. ARIA 1.2 remains the Recommendation. The companion ARIA in HTML specification, which says which roles and attributes are allowed on which HTML elements, was republished as a Recommendation on 11 August 2026.

What this means for your evidence

  1. One target, several reports. Test once against WCAG 2.2 Level AA and EN 301 549 V4.1.1, then produce a report per regime that names the version it is answering.
  2. Name the edition. “Conforms to EN 301 549” means nothing without a version. Ask suppliers the same.
  3. Watch two dates. Citation of V4.1.1 in the Official Journal, and any update to the Web Accessibility Directive’s implementing decision. Both change the version Europe officially points at.
  4. Keep the parsing check out. 4.1.1 is gone in 2.2 and void in V4.1.1. Reports that still list it look out of date.

Try it this week

Pull up your latest audit report and check which WCAG version and which EN 301 549 edition it names. If it says 2.1 and V3.2.1, test the six WCAG 2.2 criteria that are new. Then take the lesson How WCAG, EN 301 549 and the EAA fit together, which walks through this map in more depth.

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