WCAG 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)

Success criterion 1.2.2 makes sure people who are deaf or hard of hearing can follow recorded video. Captions also help anyone watching in a noisy place or with the sound off, which is how many people watch product videos on phones. It is level A and part of EN 301 549 (clause 9.1.2.2).

What the criterion requires

Captions must be provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media — that is, any recorded video that has sound.

Captions are synchronized text that conveys:

• the dialogue and narration;
• who is speaking, when it is not obvious from the picture;
• meaningful non-speech sounds, such as laughter, music that carries meaning or a sound effect the viewer needs to understand.

Exception: the video is a media alternative for text — it presents no more information than text already on the page — and is clearly labelled as such.

Live video is covered separately by 1.2.4.

Typical failures on an online shop

• product demos, unboxing videos and tutorials embedded from YouTube or Vimeo with no captions;
• uncorrected automatic captions that misspell the brand, model numbers or prices;
• captions that leave out a speaker change or an important sound ("beep — the device is charged");
• a video background with narration that cannot be captioned because it has no player at all;
• captions present on YouTube but the embedded player on the shop hides the captions button.

How to check it

Automated: our checker flags <video> elements that have no captions track (rule video caption). It cannot see captions inside third-party players like YouTube iframes, and it cannot judge if captions are accurate, so this always needs a manual check as well.

By hand: play each video with the sound off and captions on. Check that every spoken sentence is there, in sync, with speaker names where needed and important sounds described. Compare a few minutes word by word against the audio.

How to fix it

• Upload a caption file (WebVTT or SRT) to your video host, or add <track kind="captions"> to self-hosted video.
• Start from automatic captions if you like, then correct them by hand.
• Mark speakers ("[Anna]:") and sounds ("[upbeat music]") in brackets.
• Make sure your embed shows the captions control and does not disable it.

Related criteria

• 1.2.4 Captions (Live) — the same for live streams (AA).
• 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) — the visual track for blind users.
• 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) — transcripts for audio-only content.

Frequently asked questions

Are automatic YouTube captions enough for WCAG?

Only if they are accurate. Captions must convey the dialogue, who is speaking and meaningful sounds. Uncorrected automatic captions often get names, prices and product terms wrong, so review and edit them.

What is the difference between captions and subtitles?

Subtitles usually translate speech only. Captions in WCAG are for people who cannot hear the audio, so they also identify speakers and describe important sounds such as music or an alarm.

Do videos without speech need captions?

If the audio track carries information — music that sets the meaning, a sound that signals something — the captions should describe it. A video with no audio at all falls under 1.2.1 instead.

Do open (burned-in) captions count?

Yes, captions can be open (always visible) or closed (can be turned on and off). Closed captions are usually more flexible for users.