Yes. If your website hosts prerecorded video with sound, it needs captions. Under WCAG 2.2 — the standard courts and settlements reference for the ADA — captions for prerecorded video are a Level A requirement (Success Criterion 1.2.2), the minimum bar. Live video needs captions at Level AA (1.2.4), and prerecorded video also needs audio description at Level AA (1.2.5). Because most ADA website settlements are benchmarked against WCAG 2.2 AA, plan on ADA video captions for every video you publish.
That is the short answer. The details — what counts as a caption, what a transcript does and does not cover, and how to actually add them — decide whether your video passes an audit or becomes an exhibit in a demand letter. Over 5,000 digital-accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025, up roughly 20% over the prior year, and video is a routine target because it is easy for a plaintiff to spot.
What does the ADA actually require for video captions?
There is no federal regulation that spells out a web standard for private businesses under ADA Title III. Instead, the DOJ's longstanding position and most courts treat business websites as covered, and they use WCAG as the de facto benchmark. WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023, and its media requirements break down by conformance level.
Prerecorded video: captions at Level A
Any prerecorded video with a soundtrack — a product demo, a testimonial, an explainer — requires captions under SC 1.2.2. This is Level A, the floor. There is no small-business carve-out. If it has audio and it lives on your site, it needs captions.
Live video: captions at Level AA
Live streams, webinars, and real-time events require captions under SC 1.2.4, which sits at Level AA — the level courts, the DOJ rule, and the EU all reference. Live captioning is harder to deliver, since you need a real-time captioning service or a reliable automatic feed, but the obligation is the same.
Audio description: also Level AA
Captions cover people who cannot hear. Audio description (SC 1.2.5, Level AA) covers people who cannot see: a narrated track describing important visual information that isn't conveyed by the existing audio. If your video shows an on-screen phone number, a chart, or a silent demonstration, a blind visitor needs that described. Many teams handle captions and forget audio description entirely.
Aren't captions and transcripts the same thing?
No, and confusing them is one of the most common video-accessibility mistakes. Captions are time-synchronized text that appears on the video in step with the audio, including relevant non-speech sounds. A transcript is a separate block of text, usually below the player.
For prerecorded video with sound, a transcript alone does not satisfy SC 1.2.2 — you need captions. A transcript is a useful addition (and it happens to be great for SEO, since search engines can read it), but it is not a substitute. The one exception: for prerecorded audio-only content like a podcast, a full transcript is the required equivalent. For anything with a moving picture and sound, captions are the requirement.
Auto-captions are a starting point, not a finish line
YouTube and most platforms generate automatic captions. Treat them as a first draft. Auto-captions routinely mangle names, technical terms, punctuation, and speaker changes, and they omit non-speech audio. WCAG requires captions to be accurate and synchronized — garbled auto-captions can fail the criterion even though captions technically “exist.” Always review and correct the generated file before you publish.
How do you add captions to website videos, step by step?
The mechanics are straightforward once you know the sequence. Here is the practical workflow for most sites.
- Inventory every video on your site. Include background hero videos, embedded YouTube/Vimeo players, testimonials, and anything in a lightbox. You can't caption what you haven't found.
- Generate a caption file. Export auto-captions from your platform, or use a captioning service, to produce a .vtt or .srt file — the standard formats web players read.
- Correct the file. Fix misheard words, add speaker labels where needed, and note meaningful sounds like [applause] or [music]. Verify the timing tracks the speech.
- Attach the captions to the player. On a self-hosted HTML5 video, add a <track kind="captions"> element pointing to your .vtt file. On YouTube or Vimeo, upload the corrected file in the video's caption settings.
- Add audio description where visuals carry information. If important content is shown but not spoken, provide a described version or an extended audio track to meet SC 1.2.5.
- Publish a transcript below the player. Not strictly required for video-with-sound, but it helps users, screen readers, and search rankings.
- Test the caption toggle. Confirm the CC button works, the captions are readable against the footage, and they stay in sync.
If that list surfaced a dozen uncaptioned videos, it's a signal to look at the rest of your site too. A website accessibility checklist will catch the failures that share the same root causes — and if you'd rather have expert eyes on it, our free accessibility audit flags missing captions alongside contrast, alt text, and form-label problems in one report.
Will a captioning tool or overlay make my videos ADA compliant?
No tool can make that claim honestly. Automated scanning detects only about a third of WCAG success criteria, and caption quality — accuracy, sync, meaningful non-speech cues — is something only a person can judge. A scanner can tell you a caption track is present; it cannot tell you the captions are correct.
Be especially wary of surface-layer “compliance” overlays. These are third-party scripts sold on the promise that they make a broken site compliant — a claim the FTC took action against in its $1 million case against accessiBe, announced January 3, 2025, which barred unsubstantiated compliance claims. Overlays don't fix uncaptioned video; the video still lacks a real caption file. This is different from a user-facing preference widget that only adjusts display settings on a site already built accessibly — the problem is the compliance claim, not a button that lets users change contrast or text size. For the full breakdown, see why overlay widgets fail.
Captions are best verified by human review. Passing an automated scan is a useful signal, but only expert testing confirms your video content actually works for the people it's meant to serve.
Get your videos audited before someone else does
Uncaptioned video is one of the easiest accessibility failures for a plaintiff or their software to find, and it sits alongside the low-contrast text and missing alt attributes that show up on nearly every site. Rather than guess whether your captions hold up, get a clear read on where you stand. Request a free accessibility audit and we'll show you exactly which videos — and which other elements — need attention, with plain-English next steps.
Frequently asked questions
Do social media videos and background hero videos need captions too?
Videos you host or embed on your own website are within scope, so an embedded testimonial or explainer needs captions just like any other prerecorded video with sound. Silent background hero videos with no audio track don't trigger the caption requirement — but if there's any meaningful information conveyed visually, you still need an accessible way to present it. Social platforms have their own caption tools; the ADA concern is what lives on the domain you control.
What happens if my videos aren't captioned and I get a demand letter?
Missing captions are frequently cited in web-accessibility complaints, and most cases settle for between $10,000 and $75,000 plus a commitment to remediate — which means you end up captioning the videos anyway, on top of legal costs. Adding captions proactively is far cheaper than doing it under a settlement deadline. If a letter has already arrived, read what to do about an ADA demand letter before you respond.
How long do I have to add captions once I know I need them?
For private businesses under ADA Title III, there is no grace period written into law — the obligation is treated as already in effect, which is why captioning promptly matters. Government entities have specific deadlines under the DOJ's Title II rule (WCAG 2.1 AA), which in April 2026 were extended to April 26, 2027 for entities serving 50,000 or more people and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones. Most website owners aren't government entities, so the practical answer is to caption new video as you publish it and work through your back catalog now.