dir attribute does not match language direction Accessibility Checkpoint

Description

The dir attribute does not match the writing direction of the lang attribute.

Help

English and other European languages use dir='ltr'. Arabic and Hebrew use dir='rtl'.

Applicable standards

• WCAG 2.0 (Success Criteria: 1.3.2 level A)
• WCAG 2.1 (Success Criteria: 1.3.2 level A)
• WCAG 2.2 (Success Criteria: 1.3.2 level A)
• Section 508 (2017) (Success Criteria: 1.3.2 level A)
• EN 301 549 (Success Criteria: 1.3.2 level A)

Note: Section 508 Refresh (2017) checkpoints are equivalent to WCAG 2.0 level A and level AA checkpoints. EN 301 549 checkpoints are equivalent to WCAG 2.1 level A and level AA checkpoints.

Change history

• 2026.61 Improved detection of additional RTL languages including Kashmiri and Urdu.
• 6.47 Dec 2022 Improved detection.
• 5.38 Jul 2020 Implemented dir inheritance.
• 5.30 Jul 2018 Added.

This page describes a web site issue detected in HTML documents by SortSite Desktop and OnDemand Suite.

Rule ID: AccLangWrongDir