OpenA11y Evaluation Library

Accessible name must be unique

Rule ID Control 10
Conformance Required
Definition Each standard HTML form control and ARIA widget role must have an accessible name that is unique on the page.
Purpose
  • Accessibe names that are unique make it possible for people to understand the different purposes of form controls on the same page.
  • For controls with required parent elements, the accessible name only needs to be unique with the sibling controls.
Conformance Required
WCAG Success Criteria

Success Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels

Other Related Success Criterion:

Rule Category Forms
Rule Scope Element
First Step Yes
Techniques
  • The preferred technique for labeling standard HTML form controls is by reference: First, include an id attribute on the form control to be labeled; then use the label element with a for attribute value that references the id value of the control.
  • NOTE: The alternative technique of using the label element to encapsulate a the form control element does not fully support some assistve technologies, like speech input for activating the control.
  • The fieldset and legend elements can be used add a grouping label to the form controls contained in the fieldeset element.
  • For ARIA widgets and special cases of standard HTML form controls, the aria-labelledby attribute can be used to reference the id(s) of the elements on the page that describe its purpose.
  • For ARIA widgets and special cases of standard HTML form controls, the aria-label attribute can be used to provide an explicit text description of its purpose.
  • For ARIA widgets and special cases of standard HTML form controls, the title attribute can be used to provide an explicit text description of its purpose.
  • For input[type=submit] the default label is "Submit", but the label can be changed using other labeling techniques if there is more than one submit button on the page.
  • For input[type=reset] the default label is "Reset", but the label can be changed using other labeling techniques if there is more than one reset button on the page.
  • For input[type=image] the default label is defined using the alt attribute.
  • For input[type=button] the default label is defined using the value attribute.
  • For the button element, the child text content can be used to define its purpose.
  • For some ARIA widgets (e.g. menuitem, tab, treeitem), the child text content can be used to define its purpose.
  • EXCEPTION: When form controls are in a table, grid or treegrid the row number and the header cells is a common practice to identify the purpose of the form control. While this technique is widely used it has not been identified as a definitive way to meet WCAG labeling requirements.
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