Form elements - Select

Use select to let users choose an option from a long list but only use it as a last resort.

WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 affects this component

To meet new success criteria introduced in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, make sure that users can successfully:

use select without relying on click and drag movements (if you add functionality to select multiple options)

See the full list of design system changes to meet WCAG 2.2.

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HTML

Copy code

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="select-1">
    Label text goes here
  </label>
  <select class="nhsuk-select" id="select-1" name="select-1">
    <option value="1">NHS.UK frontend option 1</option>
    <option value="2" selected>NHS.UK frontend option 2</option>
    <option value="3" disabled>NHS.UK frontend option 3</option>
  </select>
</div>

Nunjucks

Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work; these are marked as "Required" in the option description.

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Nunjucks arguments for default select
Name	Type	Required	Description
id	string	true	Id for each select box.
name	string	true	Name property for the select.
items	array	true	Array of option items for the select.
items[].value	string	false	Value for the option item. Defaults to an empty string.
items[].text	string	true	Text for the option item.
items[].selected	boolean	false	Sets the option as the selected.
items[].disabled	boolean	false	Sets the option item as disabled.
items[].attributes	object	false	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the option.
label	object	false	Label text or HTML by specifying value for either text or html keys.
hint	object	false	Options for the hint component.
errorMessage	object	false	Options for the error message component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for `errorMessage`, for example `false` or `null`.
classes	string	false	Classes to add to the select.
attributes	object	false	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the select.

Copy code

{% from 'select/macro.njk' import select %}

{{ select({
  id: "select-1",
  name: "select-1",
  label: {
    text: "Label text goes here"
  },
  items: [
    {
      value: 1,
      text: "NHS.UK frontend option 1"
    },
    {
      value: 2,
      text: "NHS.UK frontend option 2",
      selected: true
    },
    {
      value: 3,
      text: "NHS.UK frontend option 3",
      disabled: true
    }
  ]
}) }}

How to use select

The select component allows users to choose an option from a long list. Before using it, try other questions which will allow you to present users with fewer options. Consider using a different solution, such as radios.

WCAG 2.2

Any input that's designed to let a user select multiple options must offer a way to do so without relying on click and drag movements or keyboard and mouse combination actions. This is to comply with WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (W3C).

Research

Watch a video about how some users struggle with selects: Alice Bartlett: Burn your select tags.

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If you have any questions, get in touch with the service manual team.

Updated: April 2024