Goal
Provide context-sensitive help for completing forms and tasks.
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3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data)
Level AA
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3.3.6 Error Prevention (All)
Level AAA
Success Criterion · WCAG 3.3.5
Help
Context-sensitive help is available.
Level AAAWCAG 2.0Understandable3.3 · Input Assistance
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What to do
Offer help text, examples, or guidance for inputs when users might need assistance.
Why it matters
Some users need help understanding what to enter or how to complete complex tasks.
Success criterion
What WCAG 3.3.5 requires
Summarized directly from the official Understanding document so teams can quote the requirement accurately.
Context-sensitive help is available.
Intent
Why WCAG created this requirement
- Help reduces errors and increases successful completion.
- Help should be available where needed (near the relevant field/task).
- Help must be accessible to keyboard and screen readers.
Benefits
Who gains when you pass
- Users with cognitive disabilities can understand requirements and reduce errors.
- New users can learn what’s expected in complex inputs.
- All users benefit from examples and guidance.
Why it matters
User impact when this criterion fails
Summaries drawn from the Understanding document help you socialize impact statements with product stakeholders.
Users may fail to complete forms when requirements are unclear.
Users may abandon tasks if help is hard to find or absent.
Overview
This AAA criterion encourages providing help appropriate to the user’s context—examples for formats, explanations of terms, and guidance for complex inputs—so users can complete tasks successfully.
- Provide examples (e.g., “name@example.com”), formatting tips, and tooltips with accessible behavior.
- Ensure help is discoverable and does not rely on hover-only.
- Associate help text with fields via `aria-describedby`.
Reference: All summaries and highlights originate from Understanding WCAG 3.3.5 and the W3C quick reference.
Fast facts
- Conformance level
- Level AAA
- WCAG version introduced
- WCAG 2.0
- Principle
- Understandable
- Guideline
- 3.3 · Input Assistance
Examples
Make success tangible for teams
Share pass/fail snapshots to coach designers, engineers, QA, and content authors.
Password help
Pass
Helper text describes rules and is linked via `aria-describedby`.
Fail
Password rules exist only after failing submission.
Format example
Pass
Phone input shows example format and country expectations.
Fail
No guidance; user repeatedly fails validation.
Evidence to keep
Document conformance decisions
Capture artifacts for VPATs, procurement reviews, and regression testing.
- Document help content patterns and how they are associated to inputs.
- Maintain a library of reusable help snippets for common fields.
Official resources
Deep dives and supporting material
Keep these links handy when writing acceptance criteria or responding to audits.
Implementation checklist
Capture progress and blockers
- Identify fields likely to require help (complex formats, policies, multi-step tasks).
- Add context-sensitive help text and examples.
- Ensure help is keyboard accessible and screen reader friendly.
- Avoid clutter; provide progressive disclosure with accessible popovers if needed.
Testing ideas
Prove conformance with evidence
- Navigate forms and verify help is available for complex fields.
- Test help mechanisms with keyboard and screen reader.
- Verify help is persistent enough to read and dismissible when needed (see 1.4.13).
Related success criteria
More from Input Assistance (3.3)
WCAG 3.3.1Error IdentificationLevel AWCAG 3.3.2Labels or InstructionsLevel AWCAG 3.3.3Error SuggestionLevel AAWCAG 3.3.4Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data)Level AAWCAG 3.3.6Error Prevention (All)Level AAAWCAG 3.3.7Redundant EntryLevel AWCAG 3.3.8Accessible Authentication (Minimum)Level AAWCAG 3.3.9Accessible Authentication (Enhanced)Level AAA