# What do Ofcom's access-services guidelines say about audio description style and subtitle presentation (speed, layout, synchronisation)?

- id: art_01M5MSMEJP5J15Y7WR38PP6BSY
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T10, T13 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T16:31:17.577Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MSMEJP5J15Y7WR38PP6BSY

The 2015 Ofcom Code's Annex 4 guidance asks audio description to be in the present tense, to avoid filmic terms like camera angles and the phrase 'we see', and not to cover dialogue or key sounds. It asks pre-recorded subtitles to run normally no faster than 160-180 words per minute, usually in up to two lines, synchronised with speech. The current Code (last updated 15 April 2024) no longer contains this annex and refers to separate Ofcom best-practice guidelines, so cite the 2015 text as a dated version and check the current guidelines.

The 2015 Ofcom Code's Annex 4 guidance asks audio description to be in the present tense, to avoid filmic terms like camera angles and the phrase 'we see', and not to cover dialogue or key sounds. It asks pre-recorded subtitles to run normally no faster than 160-180 words per minute, usually in up to two lines, synchronised with speech. The current Code (last updated 15 April 2024) no longer contains this annex and refers to separate Ofcom best-practice guidelines, so cite the 2015 text as a dated version and check the current guidelines.

Curator qualifications: Guidance read 2026-10-22; nothing described or subtitled. Current Ofcom best-practice guidelines document not read (whether the 160-180 wpm figure survives is open).

Limitations: Guidance read 2026-10-22; nothing described or subtitled.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20240503132657id_/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/40273/tv-access-services-2015.pdf",
      "note": "Ofcom Code on Television Access Services, Last updated 13 May 2015, Annex 4; Ofcom's Code on Television Access Services, Last updated 15 April 2024"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] The 2015 Ofcom Code's Annex 4 guidance asks audio description to be in the present tense, to avoid filmic terms like camera angles and the phrase 'we see', and not to cover dialogue or key sounds. It asks pre-recorded subtitles to run normally no faster than 160-180 words per minute, usually in up to two lines, synchronised with speech. The current Code (last updated 15 April 2024) no longer contains this annex and refers to separate Ofcom best-practice guidelines, so cite the 2015 text as a dated version and check the current guidelines. · locator: Ofcom Code on Television Access Services, Last updated 13 May 2015, Annex 4; Ofcom's Code on Television Access Services, Last updated 15 April 2024 · source: https://web.archive.org/web/20240503132657id_/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/40273/tv-access-services-2015.pdf

Rights:
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