Products | Simmons & Simmons

Expertise | Simmons & Simmons

Locations | Simmons & Simmons

About us | Simmons & Simmons

Graduate Opportunities | Simmons & Simmons

Dublin | Simmons & Simmons

Milan | Simmons & Simmons

Tokyo | Simmons & Simmons

Dubai | Simmons & Simmons

Careers | Simmons & Simmons

When selecting a user interface component with the keyboard, the focus indicator must 
not be completely obscured by anything in front of it.

## Why this matters

When using a keyboard, it is important that the user can see where they are on the page.
If the focus indicator is obscured, the user may not know where they are, and may not
be able to interact with the page.

## Examples

Most common examples include:

* Banners at the top or bottom of the page, such as cookie banners
* Fixed navigation bars
* Fixed footers
* Popup modals, such as cookie consent modals

## How to fix

With elements that cover part of the screen, such as cookie banners, ensure
that the user can scroll to see any content behind the banner, without having to close
the banner.

With popup modals, it should usually be impossible to focus anything behind the modal.
Most common modal frameworks will automatically trap focus within the modal, so that
this is impossible. Example: [Bootstrap Modal](https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.2/components/modal/#live-demo).

## Further reading

This is part of the draft WCAG 2.2 specification and is subject to change.

* [WCAG 2.4.12](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/focus-not-obscured.html)

ensure-focus-is-not-obscured-minimum

June 2025

May 2025

Simmons & Simmons

Title / URL	Issues
Products \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/products	55
Expertise \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/expertise	42
Locations \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/locations	40
About us \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/about-us	20
Graduate Opportunities \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/graduates	14
Dublin \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/offices/dublin	13
Milan \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/offices/milan	13
Tokyo \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/offices/tokyo	11
Dubai \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/offices/dubai	11
Careers \| Simmons & Simmonswww.simmons-simmons.com/en/about-us/careers	11

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

Simmons & Simmons

Where this issue has occurred