How to make video and audio accessible

Captions for video

All videos need captions so people who cannot hear the audio can still understand the content.

On this page

Why video captions are needed

Captions provide a text alternative to spoken dialogue and can include non-dialogue sounds needed to understand the content, such as speaker names, sound effects, music, or laughter.

They help people who:

  • are deaf or hard of hearing
  • are in noisy environments or need to watch silently
  • find reading text easier than listening
  • use a screen reader (closed captions only)

All pre-recorded videos with important audio must have captions.

Live video

Live videos are exempt under accessibility regulations, but providing captions is strongly recommended. If a live stream is recorded for later access, it counts as pre-recorded and captions are required.

Types of captions

Closed captions

Closed captions are added to your video after it is created. They are better for accessibility because they can be:

  • read by screen readers
  • adjusted for appearance
  • toggled on or off

Use closed captions whenever possible.

Open captions

Open captions are always visible and cannot be read by screen readers, adjusted or turned off.

Use them only on platforms that don’t support closed captions, such as some social media channels.

Ensure open captions have good colour contrast and do not block important visuals.

When captions are needed

Pre-recorded video

Add accurate captions to all videos with important or informative audio, including:

  • speech
  • sounds that give meaning (like laughter)
  • off-screen sounds

Aim to complete this within 14 days of publication.

Silent videos or those with only background audio

You do not need captions if the video is silent or only has background audio.

Explain why near the video. For example, “No captions needed. Video has no spoken audio.”

If a video has no audio but contains important text or visuals, it is unlikely to be accessible unless it has:

Live video streams

Live streams are exempt from captions but providing them is strongly recommended.

Platforms like YouTube allow auto-generated live captions, which must be enabled for each stream. They are not retained after the live stream ends. Recordings of live streams will generate their own captions automatically.

What to include in captions

Captions provide the same information you hear to people who cannot hear the audio. They should:

  • include all important speech
  • include all important speech and non-speech sounds (like [laughter], [intro music])
  • have accurate spelling and punctuation
  • appear roughly in sync with the audio and remain visible for at least one second

Indicate a change of speaker if:

  • the speaker’s identity affects meaning
  • visuals don’t show who is speaking

Auto-generated captions

Some platforms, like YouTube, can automatically generate captions using voice recognition.

Auto-generated captions are not fully accessible, but can be a starting point. Always check and correct them for accuracy and missing information.

Creating a YouTube video with captions

Council staff can add captions using the following steps:

  1. Create a script with visual descriptions for narration.
  2. Request the video with audio description be uploaded to the council YouTube channel.
  3. Request a transcript of the auto-generated captions with timestamps
  4. Check the auto-captions are accurate and fix any errors.
  5. Check and correct captions, adding speaker changes and non-speech sounds in [square brackets]
  6. Send the corrected caption file back to update the video

For questions about adding captions, contact the Communications and Marketing team.

Captions, subtitles and transcripts

Captions are not the same as subtitles or video transcripts.

Subtitles translate dialogue into another language and usually do not include sounds or other non-speech information. For example, a British Sign Language video might have English subtitles added as closed captions so everyone can understand it.

Video transcripts are written versions of important speech and sounds. They can also describe visual information and are separate from the video.

Learn when video transcripts are needed

Making existing videos accessible 

If a video is already online and captions are missing or incomplete, follow these steps. This applies only to important audio. Background sounds or decorative music do not require captions.

Incomplete council YouTube caption

  1. Review the existing captions and correct any errors.
  2. Add missing information, such as speaker changes and important non-speech sounds ([laughter], [intro music])
  3. Send the corrected caption file back to update the video.

To request a caption transcript for a video already on our YouTube channel, contact the Communications and Marketing team.

Linking to videos without captions

  • Provide a written summary or key points of the audio near the video, or link to a separate accessible page.
  • Allow users to request the content in another accessible format if needed.
  • Update the video later with full captions when possible.

Accessibility standards

Following this guidance helps more people access council content and supports meeting UK accessibility regulations, including PSBAR 2018.

For more guidance on using captions:

If system or format limits stop you from following this guidance, contact the Communications and Marketing team before publishing.