Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.

SCORE

GRADE

FIX

REVIEW

PASS

INFO

Checks

7 PASS 2 REVIEW 4 FIX

Web Manifest

Action

Not found

FIX

Not found

No web manifest found

No manifest at standard paths (/manifest.json, /site.webmanifest). A manifest is optional but enables PWA features like home screen installation and standalone display.

No web manifest found.

Dark Mode Support

Action

No dark mode signals

FIX

No dark mode signals

No dark mode signals detected

Consider adding CSS with @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) and <meta name='color-scheme' content='light dark'>.

Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles

External CSS files may contain prefers-color-scheme rules not visible to this scan.

Dark ModeNo Dark Mode Detected

color-scheme meta Not set ✗Dark theme-color Not set ✗CSS indicators Not detected ✗

Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles.

Print Stylesheet

Action

No print styles

FIX

No print styles

No print-specific styles detected

When users print this page, they get the screen layout including navigation and non-essential elements. Add @media print rules to hide navigation and optimize layout for paper.

Print Stylesheet No Print Styles

Print stylesheet Not found ✗Inline @media print Not detected ✗

Favicon & Branding

13 icon(s) detected

REVIEW

13 icon(s) detected

favicon.ico present at site root

HTML icon links detected

Apple touch icon present

Multiple icon sizes detected

✓ favicon.ico Present

✓ PNG Icons Present

✓ Apple Touch Present

✗ SVG Favicon Missing

✗ Manifest Icons Missing

✓ Multiple Sizes Present

Color Contrast (Screenshot)

Action

20 text elements analyzed, 17 fail WCAG AA

REVIEW

Analyzes text contrast against the actual rendered page, including background images, gradients, and overlays that CSS-based tools cannot detect.

3 pass 17 fail WCAG AA

h1 Find government services and information

2.50:1

#000000

#035376

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

32px · mid-page

h2 Get disaster help

2.16:1

#000000

#034968

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Popular services

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Popular topics

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 California highlights

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 California by the numbers

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 In the spotlight

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Did you find what you were looking for?

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h3 DMV/Auto

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Personal records

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Businesses

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Jobs and unemployment

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Social services

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Taxes

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Gavin Newsom

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Eleni Kounalakis

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Governor’s cabinet

1.73:1

#000000

#023A53

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

Show all checked elements (20)

Element	Ratio	Required	FG	BG	Result
h1 Find government serv…	2.50:1	3.0:1	#000000	#035376	Fail
h2 Get disaster help	2.16:1	3.0:1	#000000	#034968	Fail
h2 Popular services	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h2 Popular topics	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h2 California highlight…	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h2 California by the nu…	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h2 In the spotlight	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h2 Did you find what yo…	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 DMV/Auto	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Personal records	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Businesses	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Jobs and unemploymen…	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Social services	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Taxes	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Gavin Newsom	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Eleni Kounalakis	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
h3 Governor’s cabinet	1.73:1	3.0:1	#000000	#023A53	Fail
title California State Por…	19.81:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F5F9FA	Pass
a Skip to Main Content	19.81:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F5F9FA	Pass
span Official California …	20.57:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FBFDFD	Pass

Methodology: The top 20 text elements by font size were checked. Background color was sampled from the desktop screenshot using a 5-point pattern. WCAG 2.1 AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

A+

Landmark Structure

6 landmarks

PASS

6 landmarks

<main> landmark present

1 <nav> landmark(s) found

Skip navigation link present

Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it

A+

Heading Hierarchy

29 headings

PASS

29 headings

Single H1 present

H1 Find government services and information
H2 Get disaster help
H2 Popular services
H3 Real ID/license
H3 Birth certificates
H3 Check your refund
H3 Traffic tickets
H3 Business license
H3 Seller’s permit
H2 Popular topics
H3 DMV/Auto
H3 Personal records
H3 Businesses
H3 Jobs and unemployment
H3 Social services
H3 Taxes
H2 California highlights
H3 Places to visit(external link)
H3 State parks(external link)
H3 Camping reservations(external link)
H2 California by the numbers
H2 In the spotlight
H3 Governor Newsom delivers $520 million in utility bill relief to millions of Californians with more coming this summer(external link)
H3 Tax Day Reminder: California pays Trump’s bills(external link)
H3 On Tax Day, Governor Newsom encourages families to claim free college savings, invest in their children’s future(external link)
H3 Gavin Newsom
H3 Eleni Kounalakis
H3 Governor’s cabinet
H2 Did you find what you were looking for?

A+

Alt Text Quality

All 10 images OK

PASS

All 10 images OK

10 image(s) with good alt text

10 images 10 good alt text

All images have appropriate alt text.

Form Accessibility

1 of 2 controls have issues

PASS

1 of 2 controls have issues

1 control(s) rely on placeholder only

Placeholder text disappears on focus and is not a reliable label.

Got: <input type="search" name="q">

1 control(s) properly labeled

2 controls

1 labeled

1 placeholder only

0 unlabeled

Control	Type	Label	Method
#add-feedback	textarea	What was the problem?	for/id
q	search	(Search CA.gov)	placeholder only

Placeholder text disappears on focus and is not a reliable label.

Why this matters

Placeholder-only labels disappear when the user starts typing — they must remember what the field was for.

Learn more ▾

Placeholders are NOT labels. They vanish on input, fail color contrast checks (most are gray), and don't satisfy WCAG SC 3.3.2. Always use a real <label> alongside (or aria-labelledby).

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 3.3.2 / Nielsen Norman

A+

Link & Button Quality

56 links, 10 buttons — all OK

PASS

56 links, 10 buttons — all OK

56 link(s) with descriptive text

56 links

0 empty

0 generic text

0 new tab

0 empty buttons

All links and buttons have descriptive accessible text.

66 links and buttons have descriptive text

404 Error Page

HTTP 404, custom page

PASS

HTTP 404, custom page

Correct 404 status code returned

Got: HTTP 404

Custom styled 404 page

Navigation links present on 404 page

Homepage link present on 404 page

Search form present on 404 page

404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page

Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title 404 | CA.gov ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✓

A+

Lighthouse Accessibility Audits

Score 100/100 — 0 failing, 26 passed

PASS

100

Accessibility

These checks highlight opportunities to improve the accessibility of your web app. Automatic detection can only detect a subset of issues and does not guarantee the accessibility of your web app, so manual testing is also encouraged.

○Interactive controls are keyboard focusable

○Interactive elements indicate their purpose and state

○The page has a logical tab order

○Visual order on the page follows DOM order

○User focus is not accidentally trapped in a region

○The user's focus is directed to new content added to the page

○HTML5 landmark elements are used to improve navigation

○Offscreen content is hidden from assistive technology

○Custom controls have associated labels

○Custom controls have ARIA roles

●`[aria-*]` attributes match their roles

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` is not present on the document `<body>`

●`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes

●`[role]` values are valid

●`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values

●`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled

●Buttons have an accessible name

●Image elements have `[alt]` attributes

●Form elements have associated labels

●`[user-scalable="no"]` is not used in the `<meta name="viewport">` element and the `[maximum-scale]` attribute is not less than 5.

●ARIA attributes are used as specified for the element's role

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents

●Elements use only permitted ARIA attributes

●Background and foreground colors have a sufficient contrast ratio

●Document has a `<title>` element

●`<html>` element has a `[lang]` attribute

●`<html>` element has a valid value for its `[lang]` attribute

●Links are distinguishable without relying on color.

●Links have a discernible name

●Lists contain only `<li>` elements and script supporting elements (`<script>` and `<template>`).

●List items (`<li>`) are contained within `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` parent elements

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●`[lang]` attributes have a valid value

●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order

●Document has a main landmark.

●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

○`[accesskey]` values are unique

○`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names

○Elements with `role="dialog"` or `role="alertdialog"` have accessible names.

○ARIA input fields have accessible names

○ARIA `meter` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `progressbar` elements have accessible names

○Elements with an ARIA `[role]` that require children to contain a specific `[role]` have all required children.

○`[role]`s are contained by their required parent element

○Elements with the `role=text` attribute do not have focusable descendents.

○ARIA toggle fields have accessible names

○ARIA `tooltip` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `treeitem` elements have accessible names

○The page contains a heading, skip link, or landmark region

○`<dl>`'s contain only properly-ordered `<dt>` and `<dd>` groups, `<script>`, `<template>` or `<div>` elements.

○Definition list items are wrapped in `<dl>` elements

○ARIA IDs are unique

○No form fields have multiple labels

○`<frame>` or `<iframe>` elements have a title

○`<html>` element has an `[xml:lang]` attribute with the same base language as the `[lang]` attribute.

○Input buttons have discernible text.

○`<input type="image">` elements have `[alt]` text

○The document does not use `<meta http-equiv="refresh">`

○`<object>` elements have alternate text

○Select elements have associated label elements.

○Skip links are focusable.

○No element has a `[tabindex]` value greater than 0

○Cells in a `<table>` element that use the `[headers]` attribute refer to table cells within the same table.

○`<th>` elements and elements with `[role="columnheader"/"rowheader"]` have data cells they describe.

○`<video>` elements contain a `<track>` element with `[kind="captions"]`

○Tables have different content in the summary attribute and `<caption>`.

○All heading elements contain content.

○Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements

○Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.

○Identical links have the same purpose.

○Elements with visible text labels have matching accessible names.

○Tables use `<caption>` instead of cells with the `[colspan]` attribute to indicate a caption.

○`<td>` elements in a large `<table>` have one or more table headers.

All checks on this page are automated. Results are estimates - run targeted manual reviews when the score affects a release decision.