John E. Robbins Library | Brandon University

Faculty of Arts | Brandon University

Convocation | Brandon University

School of Music | Brandon University

Give | Brandon University

Education | Brandon University

Accessibility Hub | Brandon University

Pay Your BU Account | Brandon University

Scholarships and Awards | Brandon University

Registration Guides | Brandon University

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

Brandon University

	Title / URL	Issues
	John E. Robbins Library \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/library/	2
	Faculty of Arts \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/arts/	1
	Convocation \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/convocation/	1
	School of Music \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/music/	1
	Give \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/give/	1
	Education \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/education/	1
	Accessibility Hub \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/ama/	1
	Pay Your BU Account \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/pay/	1
	Scholarships and Awards \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/scholarships/	1
	Registration Guides \| Brandon Universitywww.brandonu.ca/registration/	1

Ensure form controls have labels

Brandon University

Where this issue has occurred