WCAG 3.0 is an active W3C Working Draft in development by the AGWG. Requirements, assertions, the conformance model and reporting tiers are still being developed and may change. The latest published draft is the 10 September 2026 Working Draft; this site follows the editors’ draft, which also includes exploratory provisions.
Prerecorded video carries audio descriptions of the visual information needed to follow it. Video that exists as an alternative to text and says so is exempt.
Why It Matters
Anything conveyed only by the picture - a document on screen, a gesture, who just entered the room - is simply absent for blind and low-vision viewers without description.
WCAG 3 needs to specify how to handle video content with audio that does not include gaps to insert audio descriptions. Two possible solutions are providing an exception that allows the content author(s) to use descriptive transcripts instead or requiring content authors to provide an extended audio description.
W3C Threads on This Provision
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Audio descriptions are available in prerecorded video for visual content needed to understand the media.
:::ednote
WCAG 3 needs to specify how to handle video content with audio that does not include gaps to insert audio descriptions. Two possible solutions are providing an exception that allows the content author(s) to use descriptive transcripts instead or requiring content authors to provide an extended audio description.
:::
:::except-when
the video content is an alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such.
:::