diff --git a/src/main/java/com/applitools/imagetester/lib/EyesFactory.java b/src/main/java/com/applitools/imagetester/lib/EyesFactory.java
index dfabda1..705c187 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/applitools/imagetester/lib/EyesFactory.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/applitools/imagetester/lib/EyesFactory.java
@@ -225,6 +225,10 @@ public EyesFactory imageCut(String[] cutArgs) {
     public EyesFactory accSettings(String[] settings) {
         if (settings == null)
             return this;
+        // commons-cli 1.6.0 ignores valueSeparator(':') on options with optionalArg(true),
+        // so "-ac AA:WCAG_2_1" arrives here as one unsplit token — split it ourselves.
+        if (settings.length == 1 && settings[0].contains(":"))
+            settings = settings[0].split(":", 2);
         AccessibilityLevel level = AccessibilityLevel.AA;
         AccessibilityGuidelinesVersion version = AccessibilityGuidelinesVersion.WCAG_2_0;
         if (settings.length > 2)
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/applitools/imagetester/EyesFactoryTest.java b/src/test/java/com/applitools/imagetester/EyesFactoryTest.java
index 539eefd..dae7012 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/applitools/imagetester/EyesFactoryTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/applitools/imagetester/EyesFactoryTest.java
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 import com.applitools.imagetester.lib.EyesFactory;
 import com.applitools.imagetester.lib.Logger;
+import org.apache.commons.cli.CommandLine;
+import org.apache.commons.cli.DefaultParser;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 
@@ -64,6 +66,26 @@ public void accSettings_null_isNoOp() {
         assertNotNull(factory);
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void accSettings_combinedLevelColonVersionToken_enablesValidation() {
+        EyesFactory factory = createFactory().accSettings(new String[]{"AA:WCAG_2_1"});
+        assertTrue(factory.hasAccessibilityValidation());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void accSettings_combinedTokenWithBlankLevel_enablesValidation() {
+        EyesFactory factory = createFactory().accSettings(new String[]{":WCAG_2_1"});
+        assertTrue(factory.hasAccessibilityValidation());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void accSettings_cliParsedColonSeparatedValue_enablesValidation() throws Exception {
+        CommandLine cmd = new DefaultParser().parse(ImageTester.getOptions(),
+                new String[]{"-ac", "AA:WCAG_2_1"});
+        EyesFactory factory = createFactory().accSettings(cmd.getOptionValues("ac"));
+        assertTrue(factory.hasAccessibilityValidation());
+    }
+
     @Test(expected = IllegalArgumentException.class)
     public void accSettings_moreThanTwoValues_throws() {
         createFactory().accSettings(new String[]{"AA", "WCAG_2_1", "extra"});