University of Helsinki on social media | University of Helsinki

Find a researcher | University of Helsinki

Strategic research | University of Helsinki

Public examinations | University of Helsinki

Admissions and education | University of Helsinki

Careers at the University of Helsinki | University of Helsinki

Research | University of Helsinki

We are the University of Helsinki | University of Helsinki

Research units | University of Helsinki

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

July 2025

June 2025

University of Helsinki

	Title / URL	Issues
	University of Helsinki on social media \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/news/university-social-media	2
	Find a researcher \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/research/find-researcher	2
	Strategic research \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/research/strategic-research	2
	Public examinations \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/news/public-examinations	2
	Admissions and education \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/admissions-and-education	2
	Careers at the University of Helsinki \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers	2
	Research \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/research	2
	We are the University of Helsinki \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/university-helsinki	2
	Research units \| University of Helsinkiwww.helsinki.fi/en/research/research-units	2

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

University of Helsinki

Where this issue has occurred