News | University of London

Events | University of London

Alumni ambassadors | University of London

Student blog | University of London

Our blogs | University of London

Past events | University of London

The Student Insider | University of London

People using screen readers are not able to see the layout of a form. To make forms
accessible, they must define explicit text labels for each form control. 

Usually the best solution is to use a `<label>` element. The label may be linked to 
by the form control:

```html
<label for="name">Full name</label>
<input type="name" id="name">
```

or the `<label>` can be wrapped around the form control:

```html
<label>
    Full name <input type="name">
</label>
```

Buttons are different, as their labels are specified by the code for the button, e.g.

```html
<input type="submit" value="Send message">
<button>Send message</button>
```

Alternatively ARIA attributes, such as `aria-label` may be used, but this information
will not be conveyed to visual users. For more information, see [W3C's guide to labeling controls](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/forms/labels/).

Hidden input fields (`<input type="hidden">`) do not require labels.
Note that the `placeholder` attribute 
[should not be used as an alternative to a label](https://www.w3.org/TR/html/sec-forms.html#the-placeholder-attribute),
nor should the `title` attribute.

## Custom roles

Note that this check considers the underlying accessible role of an element, which can be 
different from the tag itself.

For example, this `<div>` has a `role` of `button`, and so is expected to have a label, like
a button would.

```html
<div role="button"></div>
```

form-control-labels

November 2025

October 2025

University of London

	Title / URL	Issues
	News \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/news	1
	Events \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/events?filter_event_category=1642	1
	Alumni ambassadors \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/alumni-supporters/alumni/alumni-ambassadors	1
	Student blog \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/student-blog	1
	Our blogs \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/blogs	1
	Past events \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/past-events	1
	The Student Insider \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/student-insider	1
	News \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/news?filter_news_category=1558	1
	Events \| University of Londonwww.london.ac.uk/news-events/events	1

Ensure form controls have labels

University of London

Where this issue has occurred