Writing Accessible Option-Group Labels
Writing Accessible Option-Group Labels keeps the scope on naming grouped listbox choices, a distinct content task from writing the individual option text or the overall form-field label.
Give each option group a concise, distinguishing category name that makes the grouped choices understandable.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This page covers wording for option-group names; listbox keyboard interaction, selection state, and ARIA wiring are separate implementation concerns.
Further guidance
Content
Name each option group with a short category label that clearly distinguishes the options it contains from neighboring groups.
Purpose
Meaningful group labels let users understand the category or relationship shared by the options in each group.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Listbox Pattern — WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) · W3C APG guidance for listbox and option-group accessible naming, plus concise option wording and repeated-prefix cautions.