Techniques for WCAG 2.0

Skip to Content (Press Enter)


H63: Using the scope attribute to associate header cells and data cells in data tables



This technique relates to:

User Agent and Assistive Technology Support Notes

The row and col values of the scope attribute are currently supported to a large extent by most current versions of JAWS. However, there are still some problems and WindowEyes support for scope is inconsistent. The same is true for Japanese versions of these screen readers. Versions of JAWS prior to version 5 and older versions of WindowsEyes have inconsistent support for scope.

At the current time, those who want to ensure consistent support across Assistive Technologies for tables where the headers are not in the first row/column may want to use the technique for complex tables H43: Using id and headers attributes to associate data cells with header cells in data tables. For simple tables that have headers in the first column or row we recommend the use of the th and td elements.


The objective of this technique is to associate header cells with data cells using the scope attribute. The scope attribute may be used to clarify the scope of any cell used as a header. The scope identifies whether the cell is a header for a row, column, or group of rows or columns. The values row, col, rowgroup, and colgroup identify these possible scopes respectively.

For simple data tables where the header is not in the first row or column, like the one in Example 1, this technique can be used. Based on screen reader support today, its use is suggested in two situations both relating to simple tables: :

Note: For simple tables that have the headers in the first row or column then it is sufficient to simply use the TH elements without scope.

Note: For complex tables use ids and headers as in H43: Using id and headers attributes to associate data cells with header cells in data tables.


Example 1: A simple schedule

In the following example, column #1 contains serial numbers for rows in the table and the second column contains the key value for the row. The cells in the second column may then use scope="row". The cells in the first row too are marked up with td and use scope="col".

Example Code:

 <table border="1">
  <caption>Contact Information</caption>
    <td scope="col">Name</td>
    <td scope="col">Phone#</td>
    <td scope="col">Fax#</td>
    <td scope="col">City</td>
    <td scope="row">Joel Garner</td>
    <td scope="row">Clive Lloyd</td>
    <td scope="row">Gordon Greenidge</td>


Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.



For each data table:

  1. Check that all th elements have a scope attribute.

  2. Check that all td elements that act as headers for other elements have a scope attribute.

  3. Check that all scope attributes have the value row, col, rowgroup, or colgroup.

Expected Results