Labels or Instructions
Tier 1 · The normative floor
Baseline compliance
What the normative text of WCAG 2.2 requires, and nothing more. Only a failure of this tier is a WCAG failure.
The bare minimum
Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input. WCAG defines a label as text, or a component with a text alternative, presented to the user to identify a component.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input.
Known failures
These fail this criterion or a related one named in the text. Log them as WCAG failures.
- Placeholder text used as the only label is text, so 1.4.3 requires 4.5:1 contrast. Many default placeholder colors fail it.
Not required by the normative text
Common claims that this criterion does not support. Don't log these as WCAG failures.
- Labels that stay visible while typing. Placeholder text shown before input can meet the definition of a label presented to the user.
- The HTML label element. W3C's note says a label isn't limited to it.
- Programmatic association with the field. That's 1.3.1 and 4.1.2.
Definitions used (1)
Glossary definitions are normative. Their notes are informative.
- label
-
text or other component with a text alternative that is presented to a user to identify a component within web content
Informative notes (2)
A label is presented to all users whereas the name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology. In many (but not all) cases the name and the label are the same.
The term label is not limited to the label element in HTML.
Tier 2 · The gap
Usability & user impact
Where content can meet this criterion and still make things harder for people with disabilities. These are not failures of SC 3.3.2, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
Placeholder-only labels disappear as soon as people type, so users with memory or attention difficulties lose track of what a field wants, and prefilled fields can't be checked.
Tier 3 · The golden path
Recommended best practice
The pattern that meets the floor, closes the gap, and avoids audit disputes. A recommendation, not a requirement.
Put a persistent, visible label above every field, with format hints in helper text that stays on screen.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 3.3.2 ↗ are informative: sufficient techniques show ways to pass, and documented failures show common ways to fail, but neither changes what the criterion requires.
How SC 3.3.2 maps to the WCAG 3 draft
From this site's reviewed map to the WCAG 3 editor's draft. It's an interpretation: W3C has not published a mapping.
Successor provisions
Related, not a successor
From WCAG 2.2, section 5.1: “The main content of WCAG 2.2 is normative and defines requirements that impact conformance claims. Introductory material, appendices, sections marked as "non-normative", diagrams, examples, and notes are informative (non-normative). Non-normative material provides advisory information to help interpret the guidelines but does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim.”