State form requirements before the fields
G184 puts instructions about the expected format at the start of the form, before the reader meets a field that will reject them. Date order, required fields, character limits. W3C scopes it narrowly. It works best on short forms, or on forms where many fields want data in the same format. It is a poor fit for a long form where every field has its own rules. Status matters here. W3C marks G184 sufficient for 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions at Level A only when it is used with the technique that makes labels descriptive. It is half an answer, not a whole one. W3C's own test is lighter than good practice, asking only that the instructions sit at the top of the form. There is no check that they are programmatically tied to it, which is worth doing anyway.
How we find it in an audit
Our reviewers read each form from the top the way a first-time visitor does, and note where the format rules appear. Instructions inside a tooltip, in placeholder text, or after the submit button all arrive too late. Then we tab through and check that the instructions are reachable before the first input rather than only visible near it.
How affected users experience it
Screen readers announce a form field, its label and often its instructions, in that order. A rule sitting in a tooltip icon after the submit button is never announced at all, so the user meets the requirement as an error message rather than as a rule. People with cognitive disabilities and short-term memory difficulties benefit from the same placement for a different reason, because a rule they read on the way in is a rule they still have when they reach the field.
Passes vs. fails
Passes
The form opens with 'All fields are required unless marked optional. Enter dates as DD/MM/YYYY, for example 07/03/2026', sitting before the first input.
Fails
The only mention that dates must be DD/MM/YYYY appears in a tooltip icon after the submit button.
Other ways to satisfy this rule
17 guides on this site are filed under 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions. W3C lists this one as sufficient for that rule only alongside G131, so the pair is what passes and neither half does on its own.
- ARIA1sufficientAttach help text to inputs with aria-describedby
- ARIA9sufficientAssemble one label from several text pieces
- ARIA17sufficientGroup related form fields with ARIA roles
- G83sufficientTell users which required fields they missed
- G89sufficientShow the expected format with an example
- G131sufficientWrite labels that describe their fields
This guide is our interpretation of W3C technique G184: Providing text instructions at the beginning of a form or set of fields that describes the necessary input. W3C publishes its techniques as guidance rather than as the standard, and says so on every one of them. The success criterion is what conformance is measured against, and a technique is one documented way to meet it.