Signature Programs | University of South Dakota

Dual Credit | University of South Dakota

Graduate Programs | University of South Dakota

About | University of South Dakota

Admissions & Aid | University of South Dakota

Apply | University of South Dakota

Colleges & Schools | University of South Dakota

USD – Online | University of South Dakota

USD Home | University of South Dakota

Career Services | University of South Dakota

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 South Dakota

Title / URL	Issues
Signature Programs \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Academics/Signature-Programs	2
Dual Credit \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Academics/Dual-Credit	2
Graduate Programs \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Academics/Graduate-Programs	2
About \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/About	2
Admissions & Aid \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Admissions-and-Aid	2
Apply \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Admissions-and-Aid/Apply	2
Colleges & Schools \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Academics/Colleges-and-Schools	2
USD – Online \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Academics/USD-Online	2
USD Home \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/	2
Career Services \| University of South Dakotausd.edu/Student-Life/Career-Services	2

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

University of South Dakota

Where this issue has occurred