Perceivable · Level AA · Introduced in WCAG 2.0
WCAG 1.2.5: Audio Description (Prerecorded)
Published by whatisADA / Grow Wild Agency · Updated
What this criterion means
Prerecorded video in synchronized media needs audio description for important visual information missing from the soundtrack. Integrating necessary description into the original narration can reduce the need for a separate track.
A practical example
A software tutorial highlights a tab without naming it. Replace “click here” with “open the Billing tab,” and describe the resulting panel. Where visuals remain unexplained, add a described track or described version.
How to check it
- Identify visual events, on-screen text, gestures and scene changes that carry meaning.
- Listen without the picture to determine which are already explained by the main audio.
- Play the described version and verify that missing information is delivered at useful moments without obscuring essential dialogue.
What can be missed
Not every visual detail needs narration. Focus on equivalent understanding; a transcript by itself is not the audio-description solution required by this AA criterion.
Record your test
Use this worksheet to record what you actually checked. Notes stay on this device when you choose Save; they are not sent to us. Avoid personal or confidential information on shared devices.
These are your observations, not automated results or a conformance certificate. A complete evaluation needs appropriate scope, supported technologies, all applicable criteria and relevant page states.
Primary sources and scope
This is independent implementation guidance with original examples. The linked standard contains the full definitions, exceptions and conformance requirements. A criterion or checklist alone does not establish legal applicability or whole-site conformance.