# Accessibility audit Source: https://ordergroup.co/glossary/accessibility-audit/ Last updated: 2026-10-10 > Accessibility (WCAG) audit for teams ordering an app: scope and sample, automated vs manual checks, what the report should contain, and retesting. [Accessibility](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/accessibility/) 3 min read # Accessibility audit Accessibility audit (WCAG audit) Also known as: WCAG audit, accessibility evaluation, accessibility conformance review Definition An accessibility audit is a structured check of a website or app against a standard, usually WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 at level AA. It combines automated scans with manual testing by keyboard and screen reader, and ends with a report that lists each failed success criterion, where it fails and how to fix it. Cite this entry Text "Accessibility audit". Order Group, Software glossary, 10 October 2026. https://ordergroup.co/glossary/accessibility-audit/ HTML `Accessibility audit - Order Group` Reviewed by [Daria Gusieva](https://ordergroup.co/authors/daria-gusieva/), Head of Design Last reviewed 10 October 2026 ## How an accessibility audit works An audit answers one question: does this website or app meet a named accessibility standard, and where does it not? The standard is almost always WCAG, at a version and level fixed in advance, for example WCAG 2.1 AA for a Polish public body or WCAG 2.2 AA for a new product. Without that, the result cannot be compared with anything. The W3C describes a method for websites in WCAG-EM, the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology. It has five steps: define the scope of the evaluation, explore the website, select a representative sample of pages, audit the sample, and report the findings. The sample matters because few audits can check every screen. It includes the pages people use most, every type of page or template, every complete process such as registration or checkout, and pages with forms, media and documents. WCAG-EM also adds a few randomly selected pages to check that the structured sample missed nothing. The same logic applies to mobile apps, with screens and flows instead of pages. Each page or screen in the sample is checked against every success criterion at the agreed level. Automated tools run first: they catch missing text alternatives, empty labels, low contrast and some markup errors quickly. The larger part is manual. A tester moves through the interface with a keyboard only, with a screen reader on each platform in scope, with text enlarged to 200% and with the screen in both orientations. Many criteria, such as meaningful focus order, correct names for controls and errors that explain how to fix the problem, can only be judged by a person. What an accessibility audit report should contain PartContentWhy it matters to the buyer ScopeStandard, version and level; platforms, browsers and assistive technology with versionsShows what the result covers and what it does notSampleList of pages, screens and processes testedLets you repeat the audit and compare resultsMethodTools used and which checks were manualShows whether the result relies on scans aloneFindingsFor each issue: success criterion, location, steps, expected result, severityTurns the report into a backlog the team can fixSummaryPass, fail or not present for each criterionThe basis for a conformance claim or an accessibility statementRetestStatus of each finding after fixesProves the fixes work, not only that they were made ## What an accessibility audit means for your software An audit at the end of a project is the most expensive way to learn about accessibility. Requirements for an app you are ordering: - Fix the standard, version and level in the contract, and the scope: web app, mobile apps, generated documents, the admin panel if staff use it. - Plan at least two audits: one on the first complete flows, while components can still change cheaply, and one before acceptance. - Ask for findings mapped to success criteria and to specific screens. A percentage from a scanner is not an audit result. - Make sure manual testing covers each platform in scope. Web and mobile apps fail in different ways. - Treat audit findings as backlog items with an owner and a retest date. A finding is closed after a retest, not after a commit. - Keep the final report. A Polish public body publishes an accessibility statement for its website and mobile app, and the audit is the evidence behind it. Writing the specification? Add Accessibility audit to your requirements checklist Collect the terms your project touches and get their system requirements in one e-mail, ready for an RFP. ## From our projects For Centrum Komunikacji, an app for deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind and deafblind users, the requirements list from July 2025 included a WCAG audit, and the target standard was WCAG 2.1 AA. Screen reader rounds with our QA ran through development from November 2025. In March and April 2026 we worked through two lists of WCAG remarks in the front end, and our team prepared the WCAG report as part of the stage 2 handover, completed on April 27, 2026. The audit task in the requirements was closed in June 2026, and later findings from production users go through the same cycle of fix and retest. For PSONI, the specification of Generator ETR requires WCAG 2.2 level AAA for an app that turns documents into [easy-to-read](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/easy-to-read/) Polish. The requirements list ties each item to a success criterion, the same structure an audit report uses. Findings from the screen reader rounds are tracked per platform and retested on iOS and Android separately. ## Related terms - [Focus management](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/focus-management/) Focus management (keyboard and screen reader focus) Focus management is how an app decides which element receives keyboard or screen reader focus when the screen changes: after navigation, when a dialog opens or closes, or when an error appears. Done right, the user always knows where they are and cannot reach controls that are hidden. - [Screen reader testing](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/screen-reader-testing/) Screen reader testing (VoiceOver, TalkBack, NVDA) Screen reader testing checks an app or website with VoiceOver, TalkBack, NVDA or another reader that blind and low-vision people use to hear the interface. A tester goes through every screen and checks what is announced, in what order, and whether every task can be finished. - [WCAG 2.2](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/wcag-2-2/) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 WCAG 2.2 is the W3C standard for accessible web content. It sets 86 testable success criteria at three levels, A, AA and AAA. Content that meets WCAG 2.2 also meets 2.1, the version that EU and Polish rules for websites and apps point to at level AA. ## Sources 1. [Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) 1.0](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG-EM/) - W3C 2. [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/) - W3C 3. [Ustawa z dnia 4 kwietnia 2019 r. o dostępności cyfrowej stron internetowych i aplikacji mobilnych podmiotów publicznych, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1440](https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2023/1440/ogl/pol/pdf) - Dziennik Ustaw Daria Gusieva reviewed this entry. Ask how it applies to your project. [Ask an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ## FAQ ![Daria Gusieva](https://ordergroup.co/media/images/T02DHCC1Z-U0B48S6GQTV-7fae05753481-512.format-webp.webp) Daria Gusieva Head of Design [Talk to an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ### How long does an accessibility audit take? It depends on the size of the sample and the number of platforms. Manual testing takes most of the time, and adding iOS and Android apps multiplies it, because each platform and screen reader is tested separately. Ask for an estimate per platform once the sample is agreed. ### Is an automated accessibility scan an audit? No. A scan checks a subset of criteria that can be tested by code. An audit also includes manual testing with a keyboard and screen readers, which covers the criteria a scan cannot judge. ### What is the difference between an audit and screen reader testing? [Screen reader testing](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/screen-reader-testing/) is one method inside an audit. The audit checks every success criterion at the agreed level, including contrast, text resizing, keyboard access, forms and documents, and reports conformance. ### Who should do the audit, the vendor or an independent firm? Both can. The development team should test continuously, and an independent audit before acceptance gives the buyer a second opinion. What matters is that the report follows a stated method and that findings are retested. Building a system that depends on Accessibility audit? See how we build software for this domain, with case studies and the stack we use. [See User Experience Design](https://ordergroup.co/services/design/user-experience-ux/) Requirements checklist For each term we send the definition and what it requires from your software. Free, no sales call needed. Your checklist is empty. Use the plus next to a term to add it.