International Admissions | George Mason University

The George | George Mason University

Admissions and Financial Aid | George Mason University

First time visit: View without clicking anything

Campuses | George Mason University

Research | George Mason University

George Mason University | A Top 50 Public R1 Research University | George Mason University

Get a Job | George Mason University

Mason Online | George Mason University

Study Abroad | George Mason 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

June 2025

May 2025

George Mason University

	Title / URL	Issues
	International Admissions \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/international	1
	The George \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/news	1
	Admissions and Financial Aid \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/admissions-aid	1
	First time visit: View without clicking anythingwww.gmu.edu/	1
	Campuses \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/about/campuses	1
	Research \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/research	1
	George Mason University \| A Top 50 Public R1 Research University \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/	1
	Get a Job \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/student-life/get-job	1
	Mason Online \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/academics/mason-online	1
	Study Abroad \| George Mason Universitywww.gmu.edu/academics/study-abroad	1

Ensure form controls have labels

George Mason University

Where this issue has occurred