Do internal Power BI dashboards have to meet WCAG 2.2?

For public sector bodies, usually yes. The regulations cover intranets and extranets, and the exemption applies only to intranet or extranet content published before 23 September 2019 and not substantially revised since. Separately, the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff applies to internal tools whatever the regulations say.

Is Power BI itself accessible?

Power BI provides keyboard navigation, screen reader support, high contrast support and an accessible data table, but compliance depends on how each report is built. Missing alt text, poor contrast or meaning carried only by colour will fail even in an accessible tool. Test every report you publish rather than relying on the platform.

Can we use Publish to web for public dashboards?

Only for data that can be fully public. Publish to web needs no sign-in and exposes the detail-level data in the model, not only what the visuals show. It also does not support mobile layouts or exporting data from visuals, so add a CSV download and a text summary on the page. An admin must enable the tenant setting first.

How long should Power BI alt text be?

The alt text box allows up to 250 characters. Use it to state the insight a sighted reader would take from the visual, not a literal description of shapes and colours, because screen readers already announce the title and visual type. For reports that change with filters, a DAX measure can generate alt text dynamically.

What should our accessibility statement say about Power BI reports?

List the reports covered, any known problems against WCAG 2.2 AA and the criteria they fail, the alternatives you provide, such as a CSV download or text summary, and when you plan to fix them. If you claim disproportionate burden, the statement must say so and be backed by an assessment. Review it regularly.

Accessible Power BI Reports for UK Public Sector Teams

If you work for a UK public sector body, Power BI reports you publish on a website, app or intranet must meet WCAG 2.2 AA under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018. Power BI gives you the tools, including alt text, tab order, keyboard navigation and a screen-reader-friendly data table, but they only work when the report author sets them up deliberately.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you are unsure whether the regulations apply to your organisation, check with your legal team.

At a glance

The law: the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
The standard: WCAG 2.2 level AA, according to GOV.UK guidance.
Who checks: the Government Digital Service monitors a sample of sites and apps each year. The EHRC (Great Britain) and the ECNI (Northern Ireland) enforce.
Also required: an accessibility statement that says what is not yet accessible and why.
Power BI basics: alt text, tab order, clear titles, markers, text contrast of at least 4.5:1, and Show data table (Alt+Shift+F11).
Watch out: Publish to web exposes the underlying data and does not support mobile layouts or exporting data from visuals.

What the regulations require

GOV.UK's Understanding accessibility requirements for public sector bodies sets out the duty: meet WCAG 2.2 AA, publish an accessibility statement and keep it updated, and explain any content that is exempt or would be a disproportionate burden to fix. Failing to meet the requirements can breach the Equality Act 2010, or the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland.

How that applies to Power BI:

Reports embedded in your public website are web content, so they are in scope.
Intranet and extranet reports are exempt only if they were published before 23 September 2019 and have not been substantially revised since. A dashboard built this year is in scope.
The third-party exemption covers content you neither paid for nor developed, such as a social media button. A report your own team built does not fit that description.
Disproportionate burden needs a written assessment of costs against benefits to users, and the guidance says you cannot count things like lack of time or knowledge. Any claim must appear in the accessibility statement.

Even where an exemption applies, the duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act still applies, including for staff who use internal dashboards.

What WCAG 2.2 added that affects dashboards

The W3C published WCAG 2.2 on 5 October 2023. The new level A and AA criteria are Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), Dragging Movements, Target Size (Minimum), Consistent Help, Redundant Entry and Accessible Authentication (Minimum). The old 4.1.1 Parsing criterion was removed.

Three of these matter most on a report page:

Target Size (Minimum), 2.5.8: pointer targets should be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, with some exceptions such as enough spacing. Tiny custom buttons, bookmark navigators and icon-only filters are the usual problems.
Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), 2.4.11: when a keyboard user moves to a visual, it must not be completely hidden by overlapping visuals, pop-out panels or a sticky header on the page around the report.
Dragging Movements, 2.5.7: if an interaction needs dragging, such as a range slider, offer a single-pointer alternative, like typing start and end values.

The older criteria still cause most dashboard failures: non-text content needs a text alternative, colour cannot be the only way information is shown, text needs enough contrast, and everything must work with a keyboard in a logical order.

Power BI features to use, and how

Microsoft's Design Power BI reports for accessibility separates built-in features, such as keyboard navigation, screen reader support, high contrast and Show data table, from features the author must configure. The second group is where reports fail.

Alt text that says something

Add alt text to every visual that carries meaning, in Format, then General, then Alt text. The box takes up to 250 characters. Screen readers already announce the title and visual type, so use the space for the message, not a description of bars and colours. The Government Analysis Function's guidance on accessible publications makes the same point: describe what a sighted reader would take from the chart.

Because Power BI data changes with filters, use conditional formatting with a DAX measure so the alt text changes too:

Alt Text Collisions =
COMBINEVALUES (
    " ",
    "Collisions in the selected period:",
    FORMAT ( [Collisions], "#,0" ),
    "which is a change of",
    FORMAT ( [Collisions YoY %], "0.0%" ),
    "on the same period last year."
)

Tab order and decorative items

Open the Selection pane from the View ribbon and choose Tab order. Order objects the way people read the page, usually title, key figures, main chart, then detail. Hide decorative shapes and images from the tab order so screen readers do not announce them.

Titles, labels and plain language

Write titles a member of the public understands, without internal acronyms. Label axes, turn on data labels where they help, and keep fonts and slicer positions consistent from page to page.

Colour, contrast and markers

Microsoft's checklist asks for at least 4.5:1 contrast between text and background. WCAG also asks for 3:1 for the parts of a chart people need to see, such as lines and bars against the background. Do not rely on colour alone: turn on markers with a different shape for each line, or label series directly. Avoid hard-to-distinguish pairs such as green and red, or blue and purple, and build a report theme from colours you have already contrast-checked.

Show data table, sort order and tooltips

Alt+Shift+F11 opens a table version of a visual that works with screen readers, and it uses the sort order you set on the visual, so set sorting on purpose. Keep essential information out of tooltips: report page tooltips cannot be read by screen readers, and keyboard users struggle to reach them.

Test with a keyboard and a screen reader

Do a full walkthrough without a mouse. Ctrl+F6 moves between sections such as page tabs and the canvas, Tab moves between objects, Ctrl+Right arrow enters a visual and Esc leaves it. Repeat with a screen reader, turning off scan or browse mode as Microsoft advises, and with Windows high contrast mode switched on.

Publishing: the choice that decides compliance

Method	Who can see it	Accessibility note
Publish to web	Anyone, no sign-in	Open data only; no mobile layout
Secure embed or SharePoint	Signed-in users	Intranet rules apply
Paginated report	Download	Accessible PDF export available

Publish to web is the quickest way onto a public site, but Microsoft warns that anyone can view the report and the detail-level data in its model. It is off by default and needs an admin to enable it. It also does not support mobile layout views or exporting data from visuals. So add what it cannot do: a CSV download of the data and a short text summary on the same page, which the Analysis Function guidance recommends anyway.

For statistical releases that are really documents, a paginated report can be exported from the Power BI service in an accessible PDF format. Whatever you choose, the page around the report counts too: give the embedded frame a meaningful title, keep a proper heading structure, and mention the report in your accessibility statement.

A pre-publication checklist

Alt text on every meaningful visual, stating the insight
Decorative items hidden, and tab order matching the reading order
Plain-English titles with no unexplained acronyms
Text contrast of at least 4.5:1, and 3:1 for lines, bars and markers
No meaning carried by colour alone
Sort order set on every visual, and Show data table checked
Nothing essential only in tooltips or behind an interaction
Buttons and navigators at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels
Keyboard-only and screen reader walkthroughs done
A CSV download and a text summary beside any public report
The accessibility statement updated with known issues and fix dates

How CertTulen Academy can help

The PL-300 exam's skills measured include designing and configuring Power BI reports for accessibility, alongside modelling, DAX and security. Our Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300) course is taught live online by a Microsoft Certified Trainer, with hands-on labs. For a whole analytics or digital team, a private corporate cohort can focus on your own reports and theme. New to the field? Start with our guide to becoming a data analyst in the UK, or contact us for a batch that suits your time zone.