Success Criteria

WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and Labels

Success Criterion 2.4.6 requires that headings and labels describe the topic or purpose of the content they introduce. It's a Level AA criterion under Guideline 2.4 (Navigable) — a step beyond simply having headings and labels; this criterion is about whether they're actually descriptive.

The distinction from structural criteria

1.3.1 Info and Relationships and Improper Heading Order are about whether headings exist and are correctly nested in the markup. This criterion is about content quality: does the heading or label's actual wording tell you what follows? A page can have perfectly nested <h1>/<h2>/<h3> structure and still fail this criterion if the headings themselves say nothing useful — "Section 1," "More Info," "Details."

Why descriptive text matters specifically for navigation

Screen reader users frequently navigate by pulling up a list of all headings on a page and jumping directly to the one they need — similar to how a sighted user scans bolded section titles. A list of headings reading "Overview, Details, More Information, Section 4" gives that user nothing to navigate by; a list reading "Pricing, Refund Policy, Shipping Times, Contact Support" lets them jump straight to what they need without reading the page top to bottom first.

What "descriptive" doesn't require

This criterion doesn't require headings to be exhaustively detailed — brevity is fine, and often better. "Refund Policy" is a perfectly descriptive heading; it doesn't need to be "Our Company's Complete Refund and Return Policy for All Products." The bar is whether the heading conveys its section's topic, not how long or elaborate it is.

The same principle applies to form labels

A form field labeled simply "Name" is usually clear enough in context. A field labeled ambiguously as "Input 3" or "Field" gives no indication of what's expected, failing this criterion even if it has a technically well-associated <label> satisfying 3.3.2. Both headings and labels are held to the same underlying standard: the actual wording has to do real descriptive work, not just exist as a formality.

Official references

• W3C Technique G130

Common questions

What is WCAG 2.4.6?

A Level AA criterion: headings and labels that are present must describe their topic or purpose clearly, helping users find content and understand controls.

Does 2.4.6 require adding headings and labels?

No — it governs the quality of headings and labels you do use; other criteria (like 1.3.1 and 3.3.2) govern whether they must exist at all.

What is a vague-label example?

A heading like 'More' or a form label 'Field 1' that doesn't describe what the section or input is actually for.