Level AA · WCAG 2.1
1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose
Fields asking for the user’s own information have to declare what they collect, so browsers and assistive tools can fill them in.
Partly automated Some failures are detectable, others need judgement.
How it fails in practice
A checkout with a dozen fields and not one autocomplete attribute, so every address has to be typed again by hand.
How to fix it
Add the right autocomplete token to each field: given-name, email, postal-code, cc-number. It is a one-line change per field and it helps every user, not only the ones the criterion is written for.
At a glance
- Level
- Level AA — the level EN 301 549 requires, and therefore the level the BFSG and the EAA are measured against.
- Principle
- Perceivable
- Guideline
- 1.3 Adaptable
- Added in
- WCAG 2.1
- EN 301 549
- 9.1.3.5
- Automated check
- Partly automated
Partly automated
How far an automated check gets
A tool finds some failures here and cannot see the rest. A clean automated result means the checks that exist found nothing — not that the criterion is met. This is the gap that makes a green scan look like an accessible site, and it is where our agents and a human reviewer do the remaining work.
A wrong or missing token on a field that obviously wants personal data is detectable. Whether a custom field should have carried one is a judgement about your form.
Related criteria
Other criteria under the same guideline.
Find out which criteria your site fails
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