Blank checklist, printable form
Video & Media Accessibility Checklist
EN 301 549 Chapter 7 + WCAG 1.2 Compliance
Blank checklist for offline completion.
Tick one box per row. Add comments and evidence references in the Notes column as needed.
Captioning
EN 301 549 §7.1, ICT with video capabilities must support caption display, synchronization, and preservation.
| Ref | Severity | Requirement | Status | Notes / Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EN 301 549 §7.1.1 | Critical | The media player can display captions when available.If your product plays video, the player UI must be able to render closed captions. This applies to embedded players, native apps, and streaming services. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.1.2 | Critical | Captions are synchronised with the audio, within 100ms tolerance.Captions that appear too early or too late undermine comprehension. Test synchronisation across the full duration of the video, not just the start. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.1.3 | Major | Captions are not stripped or lost during video processing, conversion, or distribution.If your pipeline transcodes video (e.g. Uploading, CDN processing), verify that caption tracks survive the process intact. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.1.4 | Major | Users can customise caption appearance, font, size, colour, background.The player should allow users to override default caption styling. This is essential for users with low vision who need high-contrast or large text captions. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.1.5 | Minor | Spoken subtitles (text-to-speech of caption text) are available or can be enabled.For users who cannot read the captions visually, the system should be able to speak them aloud. This is especially relevant for deafblind users using refreshable braille. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 1.2.2 | Critical | All pre-recorded video with audio has accurate, synchronised captions.Captions must include all spoken dialogue, speaker identification, and relevant non-speech sounds like [applause] or [phone rings]. Auto-generated captions must be reviewed and corrected. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 1.2.4 | Critical | Live video/audio has real-time captioning provision.Webinars, live streams, and live events must have real-time captioning, either through a human captioner (CART) or high-quality automated captioning with correction. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A |
Audio Description
EN 301 549 §7.2, Audio description provides narration of key visual content for blind and low-vision users.
| Ref | Severity | Requirement | Status | Notes / Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EN 301 549 §7.2.1 | Critical | The media player can play an audio description track when available.If an audio description track exists, the player must be able to select and play it. This is a player capability requirement. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.2.2 | Major | Audio description is synchronised with the video content.The description must align with the visual action it describes. Descriptions should fit into natural pauses in dialogue. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.2.3 | Major | Audio description tracks are not stripped or lost during processing.Like captions, audio description tracks must survive transcoding and distribution. Verify the full pipeline. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 1.2.3 | Critical | Pre-recorded video has an audio description or full text alternative.For videos where the visual content conveys information not available in the audio (e.g. On-screen text, demonstrations), provide audio description or a detailed transcript. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 1.2.5 | Critical | Audio description is provided for all pre-recorded video content (Level AA).At Level AA, audio description is required, not just a text alternative. This is the EAA baseline requirement via EN 301 549. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A |
Player Controls
EN 301 549 §7.3, User controls for captions and audio description must be keyboard-operable, labelled, and prominent.
| Ref | Severity | Requirement | Status | Notes / Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EN 301 549 §7.3 | Critical | Controls to activate captions and audio description are prominently available in the player UI.Caption and audio description toggle buttons must not be hidden in sub-menus. They should be visible in the main player controls. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.3 | Critical | Caption and audio description controls are keyboard-operable.Users must be able to toggle captions and audio description using keyboard alone, Tab to reach, Enter/Space to activate. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EN 301 549 §7.3 | Major | Controls have accessible labels (e.g. 'Toggle captions', 'Enable audio description').Button text or aria-label must clearly describe the action. Icon-only buttons without labels are inaccessible to screen reader users. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 2.1.1 | Critical | All player controls (play, pause, seek, volume) are keyboard-accessible.Every interactive control in the video player must be operable with keyboard alone. No mouse-only interactions. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 2.4.7 | Major | All player controls have a visible focus indicator.When tabbing through player controls, each focused element must show a clear visual indicator (outline, ring, or equivalent). | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A |
Media Content Requirements
WCAG 1.2 series and EAA Annex I requirements for the actual media content provided.
| Ref | Severity | Requirement | Status | Notes / Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WCAG 1.2.1 | Critical | Pre-recorded audio-only content (podcasts, audio clips) has a full text transcript.A verbatim transcript must be available adjacent to or linked from the audio player. Include speaker identification and relevant non-speech audio. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 1.2.1 | Major | Pre-recorded video-only content (silent demos, animations) has a text transcript or audio track.Silent product demos, animated infographics, and similar video-only content must have a descriptive text alternative or narration audio track. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 1.2.2 | Major | Captions include speaker identification where multiple speakers are present.When more than one person speaks, captions must identify who is speaking, e.g. [Sarah]: or >> SARAH:, so viewers can follow the conversation. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| WCAG 1.2.2 | Major | Captions include relevant non-speech sounds (e.g. [applause], [alarm beeping]).Non-speech information conveyed through audio, sound effects, music cues, environmental sounds, must be captioned when relevant to understanding. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A | |
| EAA Annex I | Minor | Sign language interpretation is available for key content (best practice).While not strictly required at WCAG AA, sign language interpretation for important content (legal, safety, onboarding) is a strong EAA best practice and may be required in some national transpositions. | ☐ Pass ☐ Partial ☐ FAIL ☐ N/A |