Text Spacing
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
In content built with markup languages, nothing is lost and nothing stops working when a user sets line height to 1.5 times the font size, spacing after paragraphs to 2 times, letter spacing to 0.12 times and word spacing to 0.16 times, changing no other style. Languages and scripts that don't use one of these properties are exempt for that property.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
In content implemented using markup languages that support the following text style properties, no loss of content or functionality occurs by setting all of the following and by changing no other style property:
- Line height (line spacing) to at least 1.5 times the font size;
- Spacing following paragraphs to at least 2 times the font size;
- Letter spacing (tracking) to at least 0.12 times the font size;
- Word spacing to at least 0.16 times the font size.
Exception: Human languages and scripts that do not make use of one or more of these text style properties in written text can conform using only the properties that exist for that combination of language and script.
Not required by the normative text
Common claims that this criterion does not support. Don't log these as WCAG failures.
- Using these spacing values in your own design. Content only has to tolerate them when a user applies them.
Definitions used (3)
Glossary definitions are normative. Their notes are informative.
- text
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sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined, where the sequence is expressing something in human language
- style property
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property whose value determines the presentation (e.g. font, color, size, location, padding, volume, synthesized speech prosody) of content elements as they are rendered (e.g. onscreen, via loudspeaker, via braille display) by user agents
Style properties can have several origins:
- User agent default styles: The default style property values applied in the absence of any author or user styles. Some web content technologies specify a default rendering, others do not;
- Author styles: Style property values that are set by the author as part of the content (e.g. in-line styles, author style sheets);
- User styles: Style property values that are set by the user (e.g. via user agent interface settings, user style sheets)
- human language
-
language that is spoken, written or signed (through visual or tactile means) to communicate with humans
Informative notes (1)
See also sign language.
Notes in the criterion Informative
WCAG 2.2 lists notes among its informative material, which "does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim." They help interpret the criterion but are not part of the floor.
Content is not required to use these text spacing values. The requirement is to ensure that when a user overrides the authored text spacing, content or functionality is not lost.
Writing systems for some languages use different text spacing settings, such as paragraph start indent. Authors are encouraged to follow locally available guidance for improving readability and legibility of text in their writing system.
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 1.4.12, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
Layouts can survive the test values exactly but break with slightly larger user settings, or with fonts swapped in for dyslexia.
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.
Avoid fixed heights on text containers, let buttons and labels grow, and test with a text-spacing bookmarklet.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 1.4.12 ↗ 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 1.4.12 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.”