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Contrast Audit Sheet — Evidence, Not a Certificate
A printable sheet that records your palette's measured contrast: every role, every graded pairing, the thresholds applied, and the date. Built for the file you keep for clients, auditors and your future self — and labelled, on its face, with what it cannot do.
Say it plainly: this sheet records measured colour-contrast ratios against WCAG 2.1 criteria. It is working evidence for one part of accessibility conformance. It is not a certification of WCAG, EAA, or ADA compliance, and no tool can issue one from colour values alone.
Build the sheet from a palette
Colour Contrast Audit Sheet
This sheet records measured colour-contrast ratios against WCAG 2.1 criteria. It is working evidence for one part of accessibility conformance. It is not a certification of WCAG, EAA, or ADA compliance, and no tool can issue one from colour values alone.
Thresholds applied
| Use | Minimum ratio | Criterion |
|---|---|---|
| Normal text, AA | 4.5:1 | WCAG 2.1 §1.4.3 |
| Large text (24px+, or 18.66px+ bold), AA | 3:1 | WCAG 2.1 §1.4.3 |
| Normal text, AAA | 7:1 | WCAG 2.1 §1.4.6 |
| Non-text: component boundaries, focus indicators, meaningful graphics | 3:1 against the adjacent colour | WCAG 2.1 §1.4.11 |
Every verdict compares the unrounded ratio with the threshold; the two-decimal figures printed here are display only. The method, the formula and the test record behind these numbers are published on the methodology page.
What the European Accessibility Act actually requires (dated summary)
The European Accessibility Act — Directive (EU) 2019/882 — has applied since 28 June 2025. For digital products and services in its scope, the practical technical route is the harmonised standard EN 301 549, which references WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the contrast criteria this sheet measures (§1.4.3 at 4.5:1 and 3:1, §1.4.11 at 3:1). A newer edition of EN 301 549 (v4.1.1, pointing to WCAG 2.2) has been published but was not yet cited in the EU Official Journal when this page was last verified, so WCAG 2.1 AA remains the referenced target — and WCAG 2.2 leaves the contrast thresholds unchanged in any case. Enforcement is national, service providers that are microenterprises are exempt, some existing services have a transition to 28 June 2030, and the Act does not apply in the UK. The full explainer, with the same care about dates, is the Accessibility Act contrast guide.
Audit sheet questions
Will this sheet make my product compliant with the European Accessibility Act?
No — and any tool that promises that is misleading you. The Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882, in application since 28 June 2025) requires covered products and services to meet accessibility requirements, with EN 301 549 — which points to WCAG 2.1 AA for colour contrast — as the technical route. Contrast is one criterion family among many: keyboard operation, focus visibility as a whole, labels, error handling and more are outside what any colour tool can measure. This sheet is dated, checkable evidence for the contrast part of your records. It states that boundary on its face, because an audit sheet that overclaims is worse than none.
Who actually has to comply?
The Act covers specified products and services sold in the EU — e-commerce services, consumer banking, e-books, transport services and more — with enforcement handled nationally. Service providers that are microenterprises are exempt; some pre-existing services have a transition running to 28 June 2030. The Act does not apply in the UK (the UK position rests on the Equality Act and sector rules). Whether your service is covered is a question about your service, not about your palette — take it to your own legal advice; this page dates and sources the summary in the explainer below.
What should I keep with the sheet?
The palette it was generated from (the token export makes a good companion file), the date, and a note of who ran it. If a pairing on the sheet fails, keep the repair record too — the sheet lists excluded pairings openly, and a file that shows a failure found and fixed is stronger evidence of a working process than a spotless sheet nobody believes.