Name, Role, Value
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
For all interface components (including form elements, links and scripted components), the name and role can be programmatically determined; states, properties and values the user can set can be programmatically set; and changes to them are notified to user agents, including assistive technologies.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
For all user interface components (including but not limited to: form elements, links and components generated by scripts), the name and role can be programmatically determined; states, properties, and values that can be set by the user can be programmatically set; and notification of changes to these items is available to user agents, including assistive technologies.
Not required by the normative text
Common claims that this criterion does not support. Don't log these as WCAG failures.
- Using ARIA. Standard HTML controls used as specified already meet it (W3C's informative note says so).
- A visible label. That's 3.3.2 and 2.5.3.
Definitions used (8)
Glossary definitions are normative. Their notes are informative.
- user interface component
-
a part of the content that is perceived by users as a single control for a distinct function
Informative notes (3)
Multiple user interface components may be implemented as a single programmatic element. "Components" here is not tied to programming techniques, but rather to what the user perceives as separate controls.
User interface components include form elements and links as well as components generated by scripts.
What is meant by "component" or "user interface component" here is also sometimes called "user interface element".
- name
-
text by which software can identify a component within web content to the user
Informative notes (2)
The name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology, whereas a label is presented to all users. In many (but not all) cases, the label and the name are the same.
This is unrelated to the name attribute in HTML.
- role
-
text or number by which software can identify the function of a component within Web content
- programmatically determined
-
determined by software from author-supplied data provided in a way that different user agents, including assistive technologies, can extract and present this information to users in different modalities
- state
-
dynamic property expressing characteristics of a user interface component that may change in response to user action or automated processes
States do not affect the nature of the component, but represent data associated with the component or user interaction possibilities. Examples include focus, hover, select, press, check, visited/unvisited, and expand/collapse.
- programmatically set
-
set by software using methods that are supported by user agents, including assistive technologies
- user agent
-
any software that retrieves and presents web content for users
- assistive technology
-
hardware and/or software that acts as a user agent, or along with a mainstream user agent, to provide functionality to meet the requirements of users with disabilities that go beyond those offered by mainstream user agents
Informative notes (3)
Functionality provided by assistive technology includes alternative presentations (e.g., as synthesized speech or magnified content), alternative input methods (e.g., voice), additional navigation or orientation mechanisms, and content transformations (e.g., to make tables more accessible).
Assistive technologies often communicate data and messages with mainstream user agents by using and monitoring APIs.
The distinction between mainstream user agents and assistive technologies is not absolute. Many mainstream user agents provide some features to assist individuals with disabilities. The basic difference is that mainstream user agents target broad and diverse audiences that usually include people with and without disabilities. Assistive technologies target narrowly defined populations of users with specific disabilities. The assistance provided by an assistive technology is more specific and appropriate to the needs of its target users. The mainstream user agent may provide important functionality to assistive technologies like retrieving web content from program objects or parsing markup into identifiable bundles.
Notes in the criterion Informative
WCAG 2.2 lists notes among its informative material, which "does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim." They help interpret the criterion but are not part of the floor.
This success criterion is primarily for web authors who develop or script their own user interface components. For example, standard HTML controls already meet this success criterion when used according to specification.
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 4.1.2, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
Custom widgets can expose a valid name and role yet not match expected keyboard behavior or announce in a useful order.
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.
Use native elements first, and follow established ARIA design patterns when you must build custom widgets.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 4.1.2 ↗ 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 4.1.2 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
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.”