Clausecheck

All checks / html-xml-lang-mismatch

HTML elements with lang and xml:lang must have the same base language

Ensure that HTML elements with both valid lang and xml:lang attributes agree on the base language of the page

Check IDhtml-xml-lang-mismatch
EN 301 5499.3.1.1
WCAG 2.1 SC3.1.1
LevelA

Why this is a legal issue in the EU

The European Accessibility Act requires covered digital services to meet the harmonised standard EN 301 549. Clause 9 of that standard adopts the WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria directly, so a failure of SC 3.1.1 is a failure of EN 9.3.1.1 — which is the reference a supervising authority or a complainant will cite, not the WCAG number on its own.

What an automated check can and cannot tell you

The html-xml-lang-mismatch check is machine-decidable: where it reports a failure, the failure is real. It cannot confirm the opposite. Passing this check does not mean you satisfy EN 9.3.1.1, because parts of that criterion depend on human judgement about meaning and context.

Related clauses

Check your own page for this

Scan any URL against EN 301 549 v3.2.1 and get the clause-referenced report free. One page, no signup, about 20 seconds.

Run a free scan →

Reference

Full technique documentation for html-xml-lang-mismatch →