Public Programs | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

School of the Art Institute of Chicago - Best Art School & Top Fine Arts College in The US

SAIC Parents & Families | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Why SAIC | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Latest News & Stories | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Campus Safety | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Faculty Resources | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Student Resources | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Our Museum & Facilities | School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Title / URL	Issues
Public Programs \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/events	3
Public Programs \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/public-programs	1
School of the Art Institute of Chicago - Best Art School & Top Fine Arts College in The USwww.saic.edu/	1
SAIC Parents & Families \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/parents	1
Why SAIC \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/why-saic	1
Latest News & Stories \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/news	1
Campus Safety \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/campus-safety	1
Faculty Resources \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/faculty	1
Student Resources \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/students	1
Our Museum & Facilities \| School of the Art Institute of Chicagowww.saic.edu/museum-facilities	1

Ensure form controls have labels

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Where this issue has occurred