2.2.1 Timing Adjustable

Level A · added in WCAG 2.0

Users must be able to turn off, adjust (to at least ten times the default) or extend every time limit you set. Exceptions are real-time events, essential limits and limits longer than 20 hours.

Who it helps

People with motor disabilities, low vision, reading or cognitive disabilities, and screen reader users often need more time to read and fill in forms. Unexpected timeouts and page refreshes erase their progress or move them away mid-task.

How to meet it

Remove time limits you do not need, such as auto-refreshing pages and automatic redirects.
To use the extend option, warn users before time runs out. Give them at least 20 seconds to extend with a simple action, such as one button.
Allow the extension at least ten times, or offer a setting that turns the limit off or lengthens it at least tenfold.
Make the warning a focusable dialog, such as an alertdialog, so keyboard and screen reader users notice it.
Know the exceptions: real-time events such as auctions, limits that are essential, like a timed exam, and limits over 20 hours.

Examples

Fails:The page reloads every 5 minutes, which can wipe out what the user is reading or typing

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="300">

Fails:A delayed redirect sends users away after 5 seconds

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5; url=https://example.com/new-page">

Passes:Users update the results when they choose to

<button type="button" onclick="location.reload()">Refresh results</button>

Passes:An instant redirect sets no time limit (a server-side 301 is better still)

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=https://example.com/new-page">

Can a scanner detect this?

Partly

axe-core flags meta refresh tags that reload or redirect after a delay of up to 20 hours. It cannot see session timeouts, countdowns or limits set in JavaScript or on the server. Find every time limit in your flows and test the warning and extend steps yourself.

axe-core rules that test it

meta-refresh

Common mistakes

Signing users out after a period of inactivity with no warning and no way to extend.
Showing a timeout warning only as text that screen reader users never hear.
Giving users less than 20 seconds to respond to the warning.
Auto-advancing a multi-step form or quiz when a timer runs out.

Official W3C explanation of 2.2.1

Check your own page

See which automated WCAG checks your page fails, with the failing elements and how to fix them.

Reviewed November 2, 2026