# Assessing uncertain results

What the occurrences listed for review mean, how to classify them as a defect or not, and why they count neither as passed nor as failed.

**In short**

- The review section lists spots the scan could not decide reliably – for example text over a background image.
- For each occurrence you decide “not a defect” or “is a defect”.
- Uncertain results do not block publication, but they never count as passed either.

Some requirements cannot always be decided even by a real browser. If text sits on a background image, its contrast cannot be measured reliably. Instead of guessing, the service puts such spots in front of you.

## Where to find uncertain results

In the scan report, in the review section, with the count in brackets. Each occurrence names the page, the spot and – where available – a screenshot.

## How to assess an occurrence

Look at the spot on your website and choose:

- “not a defect” – the requirement is met here. The occurrence disappears from the list.
- “is a defect” – the requirement is not met. The occurrence becomes an open finding and appears in the statement until it is fixed or you assess it differently: [Reviewing findings](https://barrierepruefung.de/en/help/reviewing-findings).

## What “neither” means

As long as you have not assessed an occurrence, it counts in no conformance statement: neither as a defect nor as passed. It does not block publication.

If there are more uncertain results than the report evaluates individually, it says so: the remaining ones count as not evaluated, not as passed.

## Typical cases

- **Contrast of text over images or gradients.** Check whether the text is easy to read everywhere – including over the lightest part of the image.
- **Consistent labels in the navigation.** If the same destination has different names on different pages, that is often a defect.
- **Focus in a dialog.** If a dialog – such as a consent layer – deliberately keeps the focus, that is not an error as long as it can be closed.

## Not to be confused with manual checks

Uncertain results are individual occurrences. Manual checks are questions about the whole website – and those must be answered before publishing: [Answering the manual checks](https://barrierepruefung.de/en/help/manual-checks).

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Last checked against the product: 2026-09-13 · https://barrierepruefung.de/en/help/uncertain-results