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A: < audio> elements must have a captions track (WCAG 1.2.1) 

audio-caption

Ensure that <audio> elements have captions.

This means

Recorded audio content is provided without synchronized captions or an equivalent text alternative. For users who cannot hear or are in noisy environments, information is lost.

Impact

Without captions or a transcript, content is inaccessible. Key messages, instructions, or emotions are missing. This leads to barriers, dropouts, and a violation of WCAG A.

Recommendation

  • Provide a captions track in the <audio> element for recorded audio (WebVTT).

  • Alternatively or additionally, link or embed a complete transcript directly next to the player.

  • Set the language and label of the track ("srclang", "label") and mark one track as default.

  • Capture the contents of the VTT fully and time-synchronized, including speaker identification and relevant sounds.

Example

Problematic

<audio controls>
  <source src="/media/podcast-01.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<!-- no captions track, no transcript -->

Better

<audio controls>
  <source src="/media/podcast-01.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
  <track kind="captions"
         src="/media/podcast-01.de.vtt"
         srclang="de"
         label="German"
         default>
</audio>
 
<div class="sr-only" id="podcast-01-transcript-title">Transcript Podcast Episode 1</div>
<a href="/media/podcast-01-transcript.html" aria-labelledby="podcast-01-transcript-title">
  View complete transcript
</a>

Note

  • Use WebVTT (".vtt") and maintain timecodes correctly.

  • If multiple languages are available, add multiple track elements.

  • For purely decorative audio, do not display a player or offer a mute option.

Related WCAG criterion:
WCAG 1.2.1 - Audio-only and Video-only