Goal
Announce important status changes without moving focus.
Success Criterion · WCAG 4.1.3
Status Messages
In content implemented using markup languages, status messages can be programmatically determined through role or properties such that they can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus.
Level AAWCAG 2.1Robust4.1 · Compatible
Copy button ready
What to do
Use status messages (live regions) so screen readers are informed of updates like “Saved”, errors, and results.
Why it matters
Users who can’t see visual updates need to be notified when something changes.
Success criterion
What WCAG 4.1.3 requires
Summarized directly from the official Understanding document so teams can quote the requirement accurately.
In content implemented using markup languages, status messages can be programmatically determined through role or properties such that they can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus.
Intent
Why WCAG created this requirement
- Status messages communicate outcomes and progress.
- Announcements should not require moving focus away from the user’s current task.
- Use appropriate ARIA live region roles and politeness settings.
Benefits
Who gains when you pass
- Screen reader users learn when actions succeed (“Copied”, “Saved”).
- Users can understand errors and results updates without hunting visually.
- All users benefit from clear feedback patterns.
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 not realize an action succeeded or failed.
Users may continue with incorrect assumptions because feedback is only visual.
Overview
When the UI shows important updates (success messages, error banners, loading complete), ensure assistive technologies can detect and announce them without forcing focus changes. Use live regions (`role="status"`, `aria-live`) appropriately.
- Use `role="status"`/`aria-live="polite"` for non-urgent updates.
- Use `role="alert"`/`aria-live="assertive"` for urgent errors that require immediate attention.
- Avoid over-announcing; only announce meaningful updates.
- Do not steal focus unless necessary for error correction workflows.
Reference: All summaries and highlights originate from Understanding WCAG 4.1.3 and the W3C quick reference.
Fast facts
- Conformance level
- Level AA
- WCAG version introduced
- WCAG 2.1
- Principle
- Robust
- Guideline
- 4.1 · Compatible
Examples
Make success tangible for teams
Share pass/fail snapshots to coach designers, engineers, QA, and content authors.
Copy toast
Pass
After copy, a `role="status"` message announces “Copied to clipboard”.
Fail
Only a visual toast appears with no ARIA live region.
Inline error
Pass
Error banner uses `role="alert"` and announces “Payment failed”.
Fail
Error appears visually but is never announced to screen readers.
Evidence to keep
Document conformance decisions
Capture artifacts for VPATs, procurement reviews, and regression testing.
- Document messaging patterns (toast vs inline) and which ARIA roles are used.
- Capture evidence of status announcements for key actions (copy, save, submit).
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 places where UI updates occur without a page reload (toasts, inline messages, results).
- Add live region semantics to status messages (status/alert).
- Ensure messages are inserted/updated in the DOM so AT can detect them.
- Prevent duplicate or noisy announcements.
- Test messages with screen readers to confirm appropriate timing and politeness.
Testing ideas
Prove conformance with evidence
- Trigger success and error messages and confirm they are announced by screen readers.
- Verify announcements occur without focus moving.
- Check that urgent errors use alert semantics and non-urgent updates use polite status.
- Test repeated updates and ensure announcements aren’t spammy.
Related success criteria