WCAG 2.0 · Level A · Understandable
3.3.1 Error Identification
Manual verification
How to validate 3.3.1 by hand
Submit invalid or missing form values and check that each detected input error is identified in text.
Start with the extension result
Reopen the reported URL and reproduce the same state (for example, after expanding a menu or submitting a form). Use the result’s Highlight action when available, or its affected-element details and CSS selector, to find the reported content. Apply the checks below to that content and its context. If the element or state has changed, rescan and record that difference before deciding whether the finding still applies.
- Submit representative empty, malformed, out-of-range, and conflicting values.
- Find the error message and determine whether it identifies the affected item and describes the problem in text.
- Check that the error is available to assistive technology and remains associated with the relevant field.
Evidence to record
Record the input, expected constraint, error message/location, and whether the user can identify the field in error.
Scope and exceptions
Color or an icon may supplement an error message but should not be its only indication. The criterion requires identifying that an error exists; correction suggestions are covered by 3.3.3.
Record the review outcome
- Confirmed: the recorded evidence shows the requirement is not met in the tested page state, and no applicable exception explains it.
- Not reproduced: the reported issue is absent in the current state. Record the URL, state, and affected element you checked; this does not prove other pages or states conform.
- Needs more review: evidence is incomplete, the content requires human judgment, or an exception is uncertain. Record what remains to be checked instead of treating it as a pass.