Level A · WCAG 2.0
3.3.1 Error Identification
When input is rejected, the error is identified in text and the field at fault is named.
Manual only No automated check says anything useful.
How it fails in practice
A form that turns three borders red and says nothing else. A screen-reader user is told the form failed and not which field or why.
How to fix it
Describe the error in text next to the field, associate it with aria-describedby, and add an error summary at the top that links to each field.
At a glance
- Level
- Level A — the minimum. Failing one of these usually makes something impossible rather than merely hard.
- Principle
- Understandable
- Guideline
- 3.3 Input Assistance
- Added in
- WCAG 2.0
- EN 301 549
- 9.3.3.1
- Automated check
- Manual only
Manual only
How far an automated check gets
Nothing automatic decides this. A scanner that reports it as passing is reporting that it did not look. It stays untested until a person tests it and records what they did — which is exactly how we treat it: as untested, not as passed.
An unassociated error message is detectable. Whether the wording actually explains the problem is a judgement — and usually the part that is wrong.
Related criteria
Other criteria under the same guideline.
Find out which criteria your site fails
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