Success Criteria

WCAG 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus

Success Criterion 1.4.13 requires that additional content shown on hover or keyboard focus (tooltips, popovers) is dismissible, hoverable, and persistent. It's a Level AA criterion under Guideline 1.4 (Distinguishable), added in WCAG 2.1.

The three required properties

Dismissible — a user can make the extra content go away without moving the pointer or focus off the triggering element, typically via the Escape key, unless the content doesn't obscure or interfere with other content.

Hoverable — a user can move their mouse pointer onto the tooltip/popover content itself without it disappearing, so they can read it or, if it contains a link, actually click that link.

Persistent — the content stays visible until the user dismisses it, moves focus/hover away, or the information genuinely becomes invalid — not on a fixed timeout that might expire before the user finishes reading.

Why this matters, concretely

Someone using screen magnification often has to move their mouse toward the extra content just to bring it into their (very narrow) magnified view — if the tooltip vanishes the instant the pointer moves in that direction, it's functionally unreadable for them. Someone with a hand tremor or limited fine motor control might trigger a tooltip accidentally and need a reliable, deliberate way to dismiss it rather than fighting to keep their pointer in an exact, tiny hover zone.

Common failure patterns

• A tooltip that disappears the instant the mouse moves even slightly, before it can be moved onto the tooltip itself
• A hover-triggered dropdown menu with no keyboard equivalent, or one that closes the moment focus leaves the triggering element
• Extra content with no Escape-key dismissal and no other way to close it besides moving focus elsewhere entirely

Common exemption

Content whose visual presentation is a native browser/OS feature outside the page's own control — like a native HTML title attribute tooltip — is exempt, since the page has no control over that browser-native behavior.

Common questions

What is WCAG 1.4.13?

A Level AA criterion governing tooltips and popovers triggered by hover or focus: they must be dismissable, hoverable, and persistent until dismissed or no longer valid.

What are the three requirements?

Dismissable (can close it without moving focus, e.g. via Escape), hoverable (the pointer can move onto the popup without it disappearing), and persistent (it stays visible until dismissed).

What is a common violation?

A custom tooltip that disappears the moment the mouse moves toward it, or that can't be dismissed with the keyboard while it covers other content.