<label>: The Label element
The <label>
HTML element represents a caption for an item in a user interface.
Try it
Associating a <label>
with a form control, such as <input>
or <textarea>
offers some major advantages:
- The label text is not only visually associated with its corresponding text input; it is programmatically associated with it too. This means that, for example, a screen reader will read out the label when the user is focused on the form input, making it easier for an assistive technology user to understand what data should be entered.
- When a user clicks or touches/taps a label, the browser passes the focus to its associated input (the resulting event is also raised for the input). That increased hit area for focusing the input provides an advantage to anyone trying to activate it — including those using a touch-screen device.
To explicitly associate a <label>
element with an <input>
element, you first need to add the id
attribute to the <input>
element. Next, you add the for
attribute to the <label>
element, where the value of for
is the same as the id
in the <input>
element.
Alternatively, you can nest the <input>
directly inside the <label>
, in which case the for
and id
attributes are not needed because the association is implicit:
html
<label>
Do you like peas?
<input type="checkbox" name="peas" />
</label>
The form control that a label is labeling is called the labeled control of the label element. Multiple labels can be associated with the same form control:
html
<label for="username">Enter your username:</label>
<input id="username" name="username" type="text" />
<label for="username">Forgot your username?</label>
Elements that can be associated with a <label>
element include <button>
, <input>
(except for type="hidden"
), <meter>
, <output>
, <progress>
, <select>
and <textarea>
.
Attributes
This element includes the global attributes.
for
-
The value of the
for
attribute must be a singleid
for a labelable form-related element in the same document as the<label>
element. So, any givenlabel
element can be associated with only one form control.Note: To programmatically set the
for
attribute, usehtmlFor
.The first element in the document with an
id
attribute matching the value of thefor
attribute is the labeled control for thislabel
element — if the element with thatid
is actually a labelable element. If it is not a labelable element, then thefor
attribute has no effect. If there are other elements that also match theid
value, later in the document, they are not considered.Multiple
label
elements can be given the same value for theirfor
attribute; doing so causes the associated form control (the form control thatfor
value references) to have multiple labels.Note: A
<label>
element can have both afor
attribute and a contained control element, as long as thefor
attribute points to the contained control element.
Styling with CSS
Examples
Defining an implicit label
html
<label>Click me <input type="text" /></label>
Defining an explicit label with the "for" attribute
html
<label for="username">Click me to focus on the input field</label>
<input type="text" id="username" />
Accessibility concerns
Interactive content
Don't place interactive elements such as anchors or buttons inside a label
. Doing so makes it difficult for people to activate the form input associated with the label
.
Don't do this:
html
<label for="tac">
<input id="tac" type="checkbox" name="terms-and-conditions" />
I agree to the <a href="terms-and-conditions.html">Terms and Conditions</a>
</label>
Prefer this:
html
<label for="tac">
<input id="tac" type="checkbox" name="terms-and-conditions" />
I agree to the Terms and Conditions
</label>
<p>
<a href="terms-and-conditions.html">Read our Terms and Conditions</a>
</p>
Headings
Placing heading elements within a <label>
interferes with many kinds of assistive technology, because headings are commonly used as a navigation aid. If the label's text needs to be adjusted visually, use CSS classes applied to the <label>
element instead.
If a form, or a section of a form needs a title, use the <legend>
element placed within a <fieldset>
.
Don't do this:
html
<label for="your-name">
<h3>Your name</h3>
<input id="your-name" name="your-name" type="text" />
</label>
Prefer this:
html
<label class="large-label" for="your-name">
Your name
<input id="your-name" name="your-name" type="text" />
</label>
Buttons
Technical summary
Content categories | Flow content, phrasing content, interactive content, form-associated element, palpable content. |
---|---|
Permitted content |
Phrasing content, but no descendant label elements. No
labelable
elements other than the labeled control are allowed.
|
Tag omission | None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory. |
Permitted parents | Any element that accepts phrasing content. |
Implicit ARIA role | No corresponding role |
Permitted ARIA roles | No role permitted |
DOM interface | HTMLLabelElement |
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML Standard # the-label-element |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser