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Audio/Video Accessibility Checklist

Note

This checklist will not make your Audio/Video files completely accessible. Full accessibility requires training and a nuanced approach. This checklist is a collection of legal requirements and best practices to help people with limited accessibility training make audio/video files more accessible.

General Guidelines

  • An accessible player that is fully keyboard-accessible is used.
  • Neither audio nor video plays automatically without user input.
  • Video does not contain anything that flashes or blinks more than three times in any one-second period — strobe effects should never be used.
  • Any text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 and doesn’t convey information through color alone.
  • Any graphical elements have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 and don’t convey information through color alone.
  • For videos with short dialogue pauses, a version with extended audio descriptions is provided where the video pauses to allow for detailed narration.

Pre-recorded Audio

  • A transcript of the audio is provided.
  • If an automatically generated transcript is used, it is manually reviewed and edited to at least 99% accuracy.

Pre-recorded Video Without Audio

  • An audio description track is provided.
  • A text description is provided.

Pre-recorded Video with Audio

  • Provide an alternative audio description track that describes the video unless that description is already a part of the video’s primary audio track.
  • A transcript is provided.
  • Closed captions are provided. Closed captions are a separate track that can be turned on and off. Make sure the video player being used supports closed captions. Captions don’t need to be a word-for-word audio transcript, but they should be an accurate and concise equivalent.
  • If automatically generated closed captions or transcripts are used, they are manually reviewed and edited to at least 99% accuracy.
  • Open captions are not used. Open captions are integrated into the video frames and cannot be turned off, nor can they be read by screen readers or adjusted in size or color.
  • Subtitles are provided for all intended audiences if the content is presented in another language.

Streaming Video with Audio

  • Automatically generated closed captions are provided. Closed captions are a separate track that can be turned on and off. Make sure the video player being used supports closed captions for accessibility. For streaming, use a platform that supports automatic live speech-to-text captioning.