Terms & conditions – The DSMA Notice System

The Committee – The DSMA Notice System

How the system works – The DSMA Notice System

DPBAC Meeting 8 November 2011 – Minutes – The DSMA Notice System

DPBAC Meeting 18 November 2008 Minutes – The DSMA Notice System

DSMA Website Accessibility Statement – The DSMA Notice System

DPBAC Meeting 9 May 2012 – Minutes – The DSMA Notice System

News – Page 4 – The DSMA Notice System

The DSMA Notice System – Welcome to the website of the Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee

History – The DSMA Notice System

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

January 2026

December 2025

Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee

Title / URL	Issues
Terms & conditions – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/terms-conditions/	1
The Committee – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/the-committee/	1
How the system works – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/how-the-system-works/	1
DPBAC Meeting 8 November 2011 – Minutes – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/dpbac-meeting-8-nov-2011-minutes/	1
DPBAC Meeting 18 November 2008 Minutes – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/dpbac-meeting-18-november-2008/	1
DSMA Website Accessibility Statement – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/accessibility/	1
DPBAC Meeting 9 May 2012 – Minutes – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/dpbac-meeting-9-may-2012-minutes/	1
News – Page 4 – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/news/page/4/	1
The DSMA Notice System – Welcome to the website of the Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committeewww.dsma.uk/	1
History – The DSMA Notice Systemwww.dsma.uk/history/	1

Ensure form controls have labels

Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee

Where this issue has occurred