WCAG Accessibility Scores

What Are WCAG Accessibility Scores?

Every consent certificate generated by eConsent includes a WCAG 2.1 accessibility assessment of your consent disclosure. This evaluates whether the disclosure text was legible and accessible to the consumer at the time of consent, based on contrast ratio and font size.

The score appears automatically on every certificate. There is nothing to configure.

Understanding the Score Levels

AAA (Best)

Your consent disclosure meets the highest WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard:

• Contrast ratio: 7:1 or higher for normal text, 4.5:1 or higher for large text
• Font size: 16px or larger
• This is the strongest level of evidence that your disclosure was clear and conspicuous

AA (Acceptable)

Your consent disclosure meets the standard WCAG 2.1 accessibility threshold:

• Contrast ratio: 4.5:1 or higher for normal text, 3:1 or higher for large text
• Font size: 12px to 15px
• This meets the minimum recommended standard for consent disclosures

Fail

Your consent disclosure does not meet WCAG 2.1 minimum standards:

• Contrast ratio: Below 4.5:1 for normal text, or below 3:1 for large text
• Font size: Below 12px
• A failing score may weaken your position if consent is challenged in litigation

Why This Matters for TCPA Compliance

Courts and regulators increasingly examine whether consent disclosures were clear and conspicuous. A disclosure rendered in light gray text on a white background, or in a tiny font below the fold, may not qualify as valid prior express written consent.

The WCAG score on your certificates provides:

• Timestamped evidence that your disclosure met accessibility standards at the exact moment of consent
• Defense against claims that your consent language was hidden or unreadable
• Proactive compliance with ADA and state-level accessibility requirements

How to Improve Your Score

If your certificates are showing AA or Fail scores, here are the most common fixes:

Improve contrast ratio

• Use dark text on a light background (e.g., #333333 on #FFFFFF)
• Avoid light gray text (#999999, #CCCCCC) for disclosure language
• Use a contrast checker tool to verify your colors meet 7:1 for AAA

Increase font size

• Set your consent disclosure to at least 14px, ideally 16px or larger
• Avoid using relative units that may render smaller on mobile devices
• Ensure the font size is consistent across desktop and mobile viewports

Ensure visibility

• Place the consent disclosure above the fold or in a location that requires scrolling past it
• Do not hide disclosure text inside collapsed accordions, tooltips, or modals that the consumer may not open
• Ensure the disclosure is visible at the time of form submission

Where to See the Score

Open any certificate in your dashboard at app.econsent.org and look for the Accessibility section within the attestation. It shows:

• The overall WCAG level (AAA, AA, or Fail)
• The computed contrast ratio
• The measured font size
• Whether the disclosure was visible in the viewport at submission time

Learn More

• See the full Accessibility Compliance documentation for technical details
• Contact support@econsent.org for help improving your scores