WCAG 3.2.5 Change on Request: What It Means and How to Test It

Anton StewartAuthor Reviewed September 28, 2026 against the W3C Understanding document

What WCAG 3.2.5 Requires

AAA only: changes of context (new windows, form auto-submission) only happen when the visitor requests it, with no automatic exceptions.

Yes. AccessBell's scanner runs axe-core, which includes 1 rule that catch code-level failures of this criterion:

meta-refresh-no-exceptions — Ensure <meta http-equiv="refresh"> is not used for delayed refresh (details (opens in a new tab))

Confirm no context change occurs anywhere without an explicit visitor-initiated action.

A timed redirect changes the page automatically with no visitor action or advance opt-out.

What does WCAG 3.2.5 require?

AAA only: changes of context (new windows, form auto-submission) only happen when the visitor requests it, with no automatic exceptions.

Can AccessBell test WCAG 3.2.5 automatically?

Yes. AccessBell runs 1 automated rule that can catch failures of this criterion.

What level is WCAG 3.2.5?

Level AAA, added in WCAG 2.0. Level AAA is the highest, most demanding conformance level in WCAG.

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