History and Mission | The University of Maryland

University of Maryland App | The University of Maryland

Galleries | The University of Maryland

Inclement Weather | The University of Maryland

Information for Visitors, Parents and Families | The University of Maryland

Contact Us | The University of Maryland

Privacy Notice | The University of Maryland

COVID-19 Information for UMD | The University of Maryland

Colleges and Schools | The University of Maryland

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 Maryland

Title / URL	Issues
History and Mission \| The University of Marylandwww.umd.edu/history-and-mission	39
University of Maryland App \| The University of Marylandumd.edu/app	39
Galleries \| The University of Marylandwww.umd.edu/galleries	39
Inclement Weather \| The University of Marylandumd.edu/weather	39
Information for Visitors, Parents and Families \| The University of Marylandumd.edu/information-visitors-parents-and-families	39
Contact Us \| The University of Marylandwww.umd.edu/contact-us	39
Privacy Notice \| The University of Marylandumd.edu/privacy-notice	39
COVID-19 Information for UMD \| The University of Marylandumd.edu/4Maryland	39
Contact Us \| The University of Marylandumd.edu/contact-us	39
Colleges and Schools \| The University of Marylandwww.umd.edu/colleges-and-schools	39

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

University of Maryland

Where this issue has occurred