Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
Tier 1 · The normative floor
Baseline compliance
What the normative text of WCAG 2.2 requires, and nothing more. Only a failure of this tier is a WCAG failure.
The bare minimum
Prerecorded audio-only content has a text alternative that presents equivalent information (an "alternative for time-based media"). Prerecorded video-only content has either that text alternative or an audio track with equivalent information. Media that is itself an alternative for text, and clearly labeled as such, is exempt.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
For prerecorded audio-only and prerecorded video-only media, the following are true, except when the audio or video is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such:
- Prerecorded Audio-only
- An alternative for time-based media is provided that presents equivalent information for prerecorded audio-only content.
- Prerecorded Video-only
- Either an alternative for time-based media or an audio track is provided that presents equivalent information for prerecorded video-only content.
Not required by the normative text
Common claims that this criterion does not support. Don't log these as WCAG failures.
- Captions on audio-only content such as podcasts. A text alternative satisfies this criterion.
- Both a text alternative and an audio track for silent video. Either one is enough.
Definitions used (5)
Glossary definitions are normative. Their notes are informative.
- prerecorded
-
information that is not live
- audio-only
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a time-based presentation that contains only audio (no video and no interaction)
- video-only
-
a time-based presentation that contains only video (no audio and no interaction)
- media alternative for text
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media that presents no more information than is already presented in text (directly or via text alternatives)
Informative notes (1)
A media alternative for text is provided for those who benefit from alternate representations of text. Media alternatives for text may be audio-only, video-only (including sign-language video), or audio-video.
- alternative for time-based media
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document including correctly sequenced text descriptions of time-based visual and auditory information and providing a means for achieving the outcomes of any time-based interaction
Informative notes (1)
A screenplay used to create the synchronized media content would meet this definition only if it was corrected to accurately represent the final synchronized media after editing.
Tier 2 · The gap
Usability & user impact
Where content can meet this criterion and still make things harder for people with disabilities. These are not failures of SC 1.2.1, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
A transcript that technically exists but sits on another page, or is only linked from a footer, is easy to miss. Users who need it may never find it.
Tier 3 · The golden path
Recommended best practice
The pattern that meets the floor, closes the gap, and avoids audit disputes. A recommendation, not a requirement.
Place the transcript, or a link to it, directly beside the player. For silent video, describe what happens on screen in the same place.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 1.2.1 ↗ are informative: sufficient techniques show ways to pass, and documented failures show common ways to fail, but neither changes what the criterion requires.
How SC 1.2.1 maps to the WCAG 3 draft
From this site's reviewed map to the WCAG 3 editor's draft. It's an interpretation: W3C has not published a mapping.
Successor provisions
From WCAG 2.2, section 5.1: “The main content of WCAG 2.2 is normative and defines requirements that impact conformance claims. Introductory material, appendices, sections marked as "non-normative", diagrams, examples, and notes are informative (non-normative). Non-normative material provides advisory information to help interpret the guidelines but does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim.”