# EPUBCheck ACC-009: MathML without alt text, how to fix it

Source: https://epubcc.com/epubcheck/acc-009/ (updated 2026-11-04)

EPUBCheck ACC-009 is a usage message: “MathML should either have an "alttext" attribute or "annotation-xml" child element.” A MathML equation has no text alternative, neither an alttext attribute nor an annotation-xml element. Screen readers that cannot read MathML then have nothing to say for the equation. It is a usage note shown with -u.

- Official message (EPUBCheck 5.4.0): MathML should either have an "alttext" attribute or "annotation-xml" child element.
- Default severity: Usage

## Typical causes

- Equations converted to MathML without a text description for screen readers.
- MathML exported from an equation editor that does not write alttext.

## How to fix it

1. Add alttext to the math element with a readable form of the equation, for example <math alttext="x squared plus 1">.
2. Or add an annotation-xml child inside semantics with an alternative representation.
3. Check the book with an accessibility checker such as Ace by DAISY for other missing alternatives.
4. Rebuild the EPUB and run EPUBCheck again to confirm the message is gone.

## When it's not this

If the missing name is on a link inside SVG, the note is ACC-011.

## Sources

- EPUB 3.3, §6.1.4.1 Embedded MathML: https://www.w3.org/TR/epub-33/#sec-xhtml-mathml (read 2026-11-04)
- EPUB Accessibility 1.1, §3.3.1 WCAG conformance requirements: https://www.w3.org/TR/epub-a11y-11/#sec-wcag-conf (read 2026-11-04)

Message text and severity: EPUBCheck (W3C, BSD-3-Clause). Explanation: EpubCC.