Free · accessibility checker · WCAG 2.2 AA

Free accessibility checker

Test any URL against WCAG 2.2 Level AA — the conformance level that EAA 2025, ADA Title III, and Section 508 reference. We use axe-core 4.11, the same engine plaintiff-firm scanners use to flag accessibility lawsuits. The full report — every violation, severity, the offending HTML, and a remediation checklist — lands in your inbox in 2-5 minutes.

One report per scan. We don't sell or share your email.

Who uses an accessibility checker

  • Engineering teams auditing the product before launch, a major redesign, or a procurement-driven VPAT requirement.
  • Founders preparing for EAA 2025 — most non-EU operators discovered they were in scope only after the directive came into force.
  • US businesses post-demand-letter — see the first-48-hours playbook if you just received one.
  • Procurement teams evaluating accessibility before committing to a SaaS contract that requires VPAT.
  • Agencies doing client work that needs a defensible accessibility status before launch.

What gets checked

All ~80 WCAG 2.2 AA criteria axe-core can evaluate objectively:

  • Colour contrast (body text 4.5:1, large text 3:1, UI components 3:1)
  • Form labels — every input has an accessible name
  • Image alt text presence (machine can't judge meaning, only presence)
  • Heading hierarchy (no skipped levels)
  • Landmark structure (one main, header / footer / nav appropriately)
  • ARIA roles consistent with native semantics
  • Keyboard navigability — every interactive element is reachable
  • Focus indicators — visible focus on all focusable elements
  • HTML language declared, page title meaningful
  • Skip links, target sizes, motion preferences, and ~70 more

What automated checks won't catch

Roughly 43% of WCAG criteria require human judgement — whether alt text is meaningful, whether heading order makes semantic sense, whether the language is plain enough for cognitive accessibility, whether form errors are understandable. After a clean automated check, a human audit (annual or post-major-redesign) is still recommended for full compliance. See the audit guide for what to expect.

Continuous checking, not point-in-time

A passing checker today doesn't mean a passing checker next quarter. The sustainable model is a CI pipeline that runs the same checks on every PR and blocks merges on serious-severity regressions. axle's GitHub Action does that, free for one repository.

Set up continuous a11y CI →Generate accessibility statementAudit cost guide