WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.2.1, Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded), is a Level A requirement: prerecorded audio-only and video-only content has an alternative.
Read the criterion in the W3C Recommendation, WCAG 2.2 (opens in a new tab).
How BearScan checks it
Prerecorded audio-only and video-only content has an alternative
Checked automatically: reads the HTML. Severity: high. A podcast with no transcript is silent to a deaf user, and a silent video with no description is blank to a blind one. Either way the content is lost outright.
An approximation: Finds the media a page carries and whether the word 'transcript' appears near it. Whether a video has a sound track is read from the file's own track list (the first bytes of an MP4 or QuickTime file, fetched without playing it): a video with one is synchronised media and out of this criterion's scope. Whether an alternative is equivalent to what a recording says or shows is a judgement about the content, so remaining media is reported incomplete rather than passed. Embedded players, and files that aren't MP4 or couldn't be fetched, are not read.
How to fix it. Publish a transcript next to every audio-only recording. For video with no soundtrack, provide a text description of what it shows or an audio track that narrates it.
All WCAG 2.2 criteria · Next: 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)
Questions
Is WCAG 1.2.1 required by the ADA?
The ADA doesn't name a technical standard for businesses, but the Justice Department's 2022 guidance points businesses to WCAG, and its 2024 rule for state and local governments adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which includes 1.2.1.
Can an automated tool check WCAG 1.2.1?
Mostly. BearScan checks it automatically (reads the HTML). A clean result still isn't proof every page passes, only the pages scanned.
How do I fix a WCAG 1.2.1 failure?
Publish a transcript next to every audio-only recording. For video with no soundtrack, provide a text description of what it shows or an audio track that narrates it.