WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.4, Orientation, is a Level AA requirement. In practice: content works in both portrait and landscape; and styles do not lock the page to one orientation.
Read the criterion in the W3C Recommendation, WCAG 2.2 (opens in a new tab).
How BearScan checks it
Content works in both portrait and landscape
Checked automatically: loads the page in a browser. Severity: medium. A user with a device mounted to a wheelchair cannot rotate it. A site locked to one orientation is unusable for them.
An approximation: The rendered page is shown at a phone's portrait and landscape sizes, and the text visible in each is read by a decisions model (TypeSafe's Jev), in any language, for a request to rotate the device or a statement that the page can't be used that way. How much text shows in each is compared too. A lock applied by script to the device's real orientation, which a resized window does not trigger, is not seen; axe-core's CSS check for it runs separately.
How to fix it. Remove CSS or script that forces a single orientation, and do not show a 'please rotate your device' message unless one orientation is genuinely essential (a piano app, a cheque deposit).
Styles do not lock the page to one orientation
Checked automatically: loads the page in a browser. Severity: medium. A user with a device mounted to a wheelchair cannot rotate it. A site locked to one orientation is unusable for them.
An approximation: axe-core's css-orientation-lock is experimental, so what it finds is reported as incomplete rather than failed. It reads CSS only; locks applied by script stay with the manual 1.3.4 test.
How to fix it. Remove orientation media queries that rotate or hide the page, unless a single orientation is essential to the content.
All WCAG 2.2 criteria · Next: 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose
Questions
Is WCAG 1.3.4 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 1.3.4.
Can an automated tool check WCAG 1.3.4?
Mostly. BearScan checks it automatically (loads the page in a browser). A clean result still isn't proof every page passes, only the pages scanned.
How do I fix a WCAG 1.3.4 failure?
Remove CSS or script that forces a single orientation, and do not show a 'please rotate your device' message unless one orientation is genuinely essential (a piano app, a cheque deposit).