Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Business fire safety

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Fire and Rescue Authority

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Your safety

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | News & Incidents

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Working for us

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Education

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | About Us

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Safer housing

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Safe and Well visits

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | Flooding

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

August 2025

July 2025

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

	Title / URL	Issues
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Business fire safetywww.dwfire.org.uk/business-fire-safety/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Fire and Rescue Authoritywww.dwfire.org.uk/fire-rescue-authority/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Your safetywww.dwfire.org.uk/safety/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| News & Incidentswww.dwfire.org.uk/news-incidents/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Working for uswww.dwfire.org.uk/working-for-us/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Educationwww.dwfire.org.uk/education/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| About Uswww.dwfire.org.uk/about-us/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Safer housingwww.dwfire.org.uk/safer-housing/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Safe and Well visitswww.dwfire.org.uk/safe-and-well-visits/	3
	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service \| Floodingwww.dwfire.org.uk/safety/flooding/	2

Ensure form controls have labels

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Where this issue has occurred