UCC Futures - Securing our future through excellence in research | University College Cork

Scholarships and Prizes | University College Cork

Contact UCC - Main Contact Details, Phone Numbers and Email |

Courses | University College Cork

UCC Arboretum | University College Cork

Ask UCC | Student Queries | Student FAQ | Common Questions |

Cúrsaí Staidéir in COC | University College Cork

Online Courses at University College Cork | UCC

Adult Continuing Education | University College Cork

World-class Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education in Ireland - University College Cork

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

September 2025

August 2025

University College Cork

	Title / URL	Issues
	UCC Futures - Securing our future through excellence in research \| University College Corkwww.ucc.ie/en/futures/	3
	Scholarships and Prizes \| University College Corkwww.ucc.ie/en/scholarships/	2
	Contact UCC - Main Contact Details, Phone Numbers and Email \|www.ucc.ie/en/contact/	2
	Courses \| University College Corkwww.ucc.ie/en/study/courses/	2
	UCC Arboretum \| University College Corkwww.ucc.ie/en/arboretum/	2
	Ask UCC \| Student Queries \| Student FAQ \| Common Questions \|www.ucc.ie/en/ask/	2
	Cúrsaí Staidéir in COC \| University College Corkwww.ucc.ie/en/gaeilge/	2
	Online Courses at University College Cork \| UCCwww.ucc.ie/en/online/	2
	Adult Continuing Education \| University College Corkwww.ucc.ie/en/ace/	2
	World-class Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education in Ireland - University College Corkwww.ucc.ie/en/	2

Ensure form controls have labels

University College Cork

Where this issue has occurred