School of Business | Mercy University

Campus Life | Mercy University

Office of the Provost | Mercy University

Mercy University | New York | Apply Today

CARE Team | Mercy University

Special Programs | Mercy University

Programs & Degrees | Mercy University

Campus Locations | Mercy University

Student Support | Mercy University

Libraries | Mercy 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

December 2025

November 2025

Mercy College

Title / URL	Issues
School of Business \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/academics/school-business	3
Campus Life \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/campus-life	3
Office of the Provost \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/academics/office-provost	3
Mercy University \| New York \| Apply Todaymercy.edu/	3
CARE Team \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/student-support/care-team	3
Special Programs \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/academics/special-programs	3
Programs & Degrees \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/academics/programs	3
Campus Locations \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/campus-locations	3
Student Support \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/student-support	3
Libraries \| Mercy Universitymercy.edu/academics/libraries	2

Ensure form controls have labels

Mercy College

Where this issue has occurred