The “aria-labelledby” attribute must not be used on any “label” element that is an ancestor of a labelable element.

The aria-labelledby attribute is not allowed on a <label> element when that <label> contains a labelable element (such as <input>, <select>, <textarea>, or <button>).

A <label> that wraps a form control gives that control its accessible name from the label's text. aria-labelledby also sets an accessible name, by pointing at other elements through their id. Putting it on the <label> names the label itself, not the control, and browsers differ on whether that referenced text replaces the label's own text when they compute the control's name. A screen reader user may hear the visible label, the referenced text, or a mix of both.

The spec avoids that ambiguity by rejecting aria-labelledby on a <label> that is an ancestor of a labelable element. A "labelable element" is any element a <label> can be associated with: <input> (except type="hidden"), <select>, <textarea>, <button>, <meter>, <output>, and <progress>.

If the label's visible text is enough, remove aria-labelledby. If the control needs a name built from other text on the page, put aria-labelledby on the control instead. On the control it overrides the <label>, so include the label's own id in the list to keep the visible text in the name.

Examples

Invalid: aria-labelledby on a label that wraps an input

<h2 id="shipping-heading">Shipping address</h2>
<label aria-labelledby="shipping-heading">
  Postcode
  <input type="text" name="postcode">
</label>

Fixed: remove the attribute

<h2 id="shipping-heading">Shipping address</h2>
<label>
  Postcode
  <input type="text" name="postcode">
</label>

Fixed: move it to the input

<h2 id="shipping-heading">Shipping address</h2>
<label id="postcode-label" for="postcode">Postcode</label>
<input type="text" id="postcode" name="postcode" aria-labelledby="shipping-heading postcode-label">

Learn more:

MDN Reference

aria-labelledby - MDN Web Docs

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MDN Reference

The label element - MDN Web Docs

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WHATWG Spec

WHATWG HTML Standard - Forms

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