2.2.3 No Timing

Who it helps

People with motor, cognitive or reading disabilities, and screen reader or magnifier users, often need much longer than average to finish a task. Without time limits, they can work at their own pace without warnings or lost work.

How to meet it

• Remove countdowns from forms, checkouts, quizzes and booking flows instead of only letting users extend them.
• Replace auto-advancing slideshows and step-by-step tutorials with Next buttons the user controls.
• Hold reservations, such as seats or carts, without a time limit where you can, or move the limited step to the very end.
• If a limit truly must stay, check whether it is a real-time event; a timed test is not an exception at this level.
• Level AAA is not required by most laws or policies, which point to AA. It is still worth meeting where you can.

Examples

<p>Time left: <span id="timer">60</span> seconds</p>
<form id="quiz" action="/quiz" method="post">
  <!-- questions -->
  <button type="submit">Submit answers</button>
</form>
<script>
  setTimeout(() => document.getElementById("quiz").submit(), 60000);
</script>

<form id="quiz" action="/quiz" method="post">
  <!-- questions -->
  <button type="submit">Submit answers</button>
</form>

Common mistakes

• Assuming that meeting 2.2.1 with an extend button also meets 2.2.3; at AAA the limit itself must go.
• Leaving a session timeout on a long application form when the data could be saved instead.
• Auto-advancing onboarding screens or tutorial steps after a few seconds.
• Treating a timed quiz as an exception; only real-time events and non-interactive synchronized media are exempt.

Related criteria

• 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable
• 2.2.6 Timeouts
• 2.2.5 Re-authenticating

Official W3C explanation of 2.2.3