Blog | Artsmark

Organisations | Artsmark

Artswork | Artsmark

When Science Meets Dance | Artsmark

Curious Minds | Artsmark

Support & Resources | Artsmark

Déda | Artsmark

Bucks County Museum | Artsmark

Bristol Museums | Artsmark

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

March 2026

February 2026

Artsmark

	Title / URL	Issues
	Blog \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/blog?f%5B0%5D=category%3ACovid-19	1
	Organisations \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/organisations?page=4	1
	Organisations \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/organisations?page=6	1
	Artswork \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/organisations/artswork	1
	When Science Meets Dance \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/blog/when-science-meets-dance	1
	Curious Minds \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/organisations/curious-minds	1
	Support & Resources \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/support-resources	1
	Déda \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/organisations/deda	1
	Bucks County Museum \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/organisations/bucks-county-museum	1
	Bristol Museums \| Artsmarkwww.artsmark.org.uk/organisations/bristol-museums	1

Ensure form controls have labels

Artsmark

Where this issue has occurred