Consumer Information | University of Saint Mary

Faculty & Staff Directory | University of Saint Mary

International Students | University of Saint Mary

Transfer Students | University of Saint Mary

Parents & Families | University of Saint Mary

University of Saint Mary | University of Saint Mary

About USM | University of Saint Mary

Health Care Programs | University of Saint Mary

Honors Program | University of Saint Mary

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 Saint Mary

	Title / URL	Issues
	Consumer Information \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/consumer-info	100
	Faculty & Staff Directory \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/faculty/index	76
	International Students \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/international	63
	Transfer Students \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/transfer	58
	Parents & Families \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/parents	56
	University of Saint Mary \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/index	55
	University of Saint Mary \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/	55
	About USM \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/about-usm/index	55
	Health Care Programs \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/healthcare	51
	Honors Program \| University of Saint Marystmary.edu/honors	51

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

University of Saint Mary

Where this issue has occurred