Visit Us | University of Denver

Staff Resources | University of Denver

Businesses | University of Denver

Current Student Resources | University of Denver

Research Overview | University of Denver

About DU | University of Denver

Research Showcase 2023 | University of Denver

Admission & Aid | University of Denver

4D Experience | University of Denver

Neighbors | University of Denver

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

University of Denver

Title / URL	Issues
Visit Us \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/admission-aid/undergraduate/visit	16
Staff Resources \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/info/staff	6
Businesses \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/info/businesses	6
Current Student Resources \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/info/students	6
Research Overview \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/research/overview	6
About DU \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/about/overview	6
Research Showcase 2023 \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/research/showcase	6
Admission & Aid \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/admission-aid	6
4D Experience \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/4D-experience	6
Neighbors \| University of Denverwww.du.edu/info/neighbors	6

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

University of Denver

Where this issue has occurred