Education | University of Groningen

Alumni | University of Groningen

Masters | Education | University of Groningen

Bachelors | Education | University of Groningen

Research | University of Groningen

Magazine | University of Groningen

About us | University of Groningen

Society/business | University of Groningen

Browse news | News articles | University of Groningen

University of Groningen Library | University of Groningen

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

July 2025

June 2025

University of Groningen

Title / URL	Issues
Education \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/education/	10
Alumni \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/alumni/	8
Masters \| Education \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/education/master/	8
Bachelors \| Education \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/education/bachelor/	8
Research \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/research/	7
Magazine \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/magazine/	6
About us \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/about-ug/	6
Society/business \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/society-business/	6
Browse news \| News articles \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/news/	3
University of Groningen Library \| University of Groningenwww.rug.nl/library/	3

Ensure form controls have labels

University of Groningen

Where this issue has occurred