StepChange Debt Charity. Free Expert Debt Help & Advice

7 Days 7 Ways To Reboot Your Finances. StepChange

Debt Solutions. How To Manage Your Debt. StepChange

About StepChange. The UK's Largest Debt Charity.

What We Do. How StepChange Debt Charity Can Help You.

Get Debt Help. Our Free Debt Advice. StepChange Debt Charity

Debt Information. Free Help With Your Debts. StepChange

Finish Your Online Advice Session. StepChange.

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County Court Judgment. CCJ. Free Debt Advice. StepChange

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

StepChange Debt Charity

	Title / URL	Issues
	StepChange Debt Charity. Free Expert Debt Help & Advicewww.stepchange.org/	2
	7 Days 7 Ways To Reboot Your Finances. StepChangewww.stepchange.org/7-days-7-ways.aspx	1
	Debt Solutions. How To Manage Your Debt. StepChangewww.stepchange.org/debt-info/debt-solutions.aspx	1
	About StepChange. The UK's Largest Debt Charity.www.stepchange.org/about-us.aspx	1
	What We Do. How StepChange Debt Charity Can Help You.www.stepchange.org/about-us/what-we-do.aspx	1
	Get Debt Help. Our Free Debt Advice. StepChange Debt Charitywww.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-advice.aspx	1
	Debt Information. Free Help With Your Debts. StepChangewww.stepchange.org/debt-info.aspx	1
	Finish Your Online Advice Session. StepChange.www.stepchange.org/return.aspx	1
	Partner With Us. Make A Difference Together. StepChangewww.stepchange.org/about-us/partner-with-us.aspx	1
	County Court Judgment. CCJ. Free Debt Advice. StepChangewww.stepchange.org/debt-info/ccj.aspx	1

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

StepChange Debt Charity

Where this issue has occurred