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Content presentation – Tag

WCAG 2.2: Make sure that users can successfully interact with tags without relying on click and drag movements (if you choose to add functionality to reorder tags).

When to use a tag

Use the tag component when it's possible for something to have more than 1 status and it's useful for the user to know about that status. For example, you can use a tag to show whether an item in a task list has been "completed".

How it works

Tags are just used to indicate a status. Do not add links. Use adjectives rather than verbs for the names of your tags. Using a verb might make a user think that clicking on them will do something.

Showing 1 or 2 statuses

Sometimes a single status is enough. For example, if you need to tell users which parts of an application they've finished and which they have not, you may only need a "Completed" tag. Because the user understands that if something does not have a tag, that means it's incomplete.

Or it can make sense to have 2 statuses. For example, you may find that you need 1 tag for "Active" users and 1 for "Inactive" users.

Open this example in a new tab: tag 
<table class="nhsuk-table">
  <thead class="nhsuk-table__head">
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <th scope="col" class="nhsuk-table__header">
        Name of user
      </th>
      <th scope="col" class="nhsuk-table__header">
        Status
      </th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody class="nhsuk-table__body">
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Les Hunter
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--grey">
          Inactive
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Naomi Edwards
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--grey">
          Inactive
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Lyra Louth
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag">
          Active
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Michelle Flynn
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag">
          Active
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Brian Okello
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--grey">
          Inactive
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Lisa Lenehan
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag">
          Active
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Emily Snailham
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--grey">
          Inactive
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
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. Deprecated options are marked as "Deprecated".

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.

Primary options
Name Type Description
id string The ID of the tag.
text string Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the tag component. If html is provided, the text argument will be ignored.
html string Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the tag component. If html is provided, the text argument will be ignored.
classes string Classes to add to the tag.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the tag.
colour string Optional colour modifier for the tag – "white", "grey", "green", "aqua-green", "blue", "purple", "pink", "red", "orange" or "yellow".
border boolean If set to false, remove border from the tag. 
{% from "tag/macro.njk" import tag %}
{% from "tables/macro.njk" import table %}

{{ table({
  head: [
    {
      text: "Name of user"
    },
    {
      text: "Status"
    }
  ],
  rows: [
    [
      {
        text: "Les Hunter"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Inactive",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--grey"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Naomi Edwards"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Inactive",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--grey"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Lyra Louth"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Active"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Michelle Flynn"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Active"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Brian Okello"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Inactive",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--grey"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Lisa Lenehan"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Active"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Emily Snailham"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Inactive",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--grey"
        })
      }
    ]
  ]
}) }}

Showing multiple statuses

Tags should be helpful to users. The more you add, the harder it is for users to remember them. So start with the smallest number of statuses you think might work, then add more if your user research shows there's a need for them.

Open this example in a new tab: tag multiple 
<table class="nhsuk-table">
  <thead class="nhsuk-table__head">
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <th scope="col" class="nhsuk-table__header">
        Application
      </th>
      <th scope="col" class="nhsuk-table__header">
        Status
      </th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody class="nhsuk-table__body">
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Leo Cashin
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--red">
          Urgent
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Amy Louth
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--blue">
          New
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Barbara Angel
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--blue">
          New
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Annette Armstrong
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--blue">
          New
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Vishal Gurudutt
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--blue">
          New
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Rachel Preece
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--green">
          Finished
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        Tom Hunter
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--yellow">
          Waiting on
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
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. Deprecated options are marked as "Deprecated".

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.

Primary options
Name Type Description
id string The ID of the tag.
text string Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the tag component. If html is provided, the text argument will be ignored.
html string Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the tag component. If html is provided, the text argument will be ignored.
classes string Classes to add to the tag.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the tag.
colour string Optional colour modifier for the tag – "white", "grey", "green", "aqua-green", "blue", "purple", "pink", "red", "orange" or "yellow".
border boolean If set to false, remove border from the tag. 
{% from "tag/macro.njk" import tag %}
{% from "tables/macro.njk" import table %}

{{ table({
  head: [
    {
      text: "Application"
    },
    {
      text: "Status"
    }
  ],
  rows: [
    [
      {
        text: "Leo Cashin"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Urgent",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--red"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Amy Louth"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "New",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--blue"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Barbara Angel"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "New",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--blue"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Annette Armstrong"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "New",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--blue"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Vishal Gurudutt"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "New",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--blue"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Rachel Preece"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Finished",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--green"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        text: "Tom Hunter"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Waiting on",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--yellow"
        })
      }
    ]
  ]
}) }}
Information: WCAG 2.2

Any tag implementation that allows the user to change the order of tags must offer a way to do so without relying on click and drag movements. This is to comply with WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (W3C).

Using colour with tags

You can use colour to help distinguish between different tags – or to help draw the user's attention to a tag if it's especially important. For example, it makes sense to use nhsuk-tag--red for a tag that reads "Urgent".

Do not rely on colour alone to convey information because it's not accessible. If you use the same tag in more than 1 place, make sure you keep the colour consistent.

Because tags with solid colours tend to stand out more, it's usually best to avoid mixing solid colours and tints: use one or the other. This matters less if you're only using 2 colours. For example, it's okay to use the tint nhsuk-tag--grey and solid blue tags together if you only need 2 statuses.

We use a border of the same colour as the tag text to stand out against the NHS page background colour.

Additional colours

If you need more tag colours, you can use the following tints.

Open this example in a new tab: tag colours 
<table class="nhsuk-table">
  <thead class="nhsuk-table__head">
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <th scope="col" class="nhsuk-table__header">
        Class name
      </th>
      <th scope="col" class="nhsuk-table__header">
        Tag
      </th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody class="nhsuk-table__body">
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--white</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--white">
          In progress
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--grey</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--grey">
          Inactive
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--green</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--green">
          New
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--blue</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--blue">
          Active
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--aqua-green</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--aqua-green">
          Pending
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--purple</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--purple">
          Received
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--pink</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--pink">
          Sent
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--red</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--red">
          Rejected
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--orange</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--orange">
          Declined
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr class="nhsuk-table__row">
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <code>nhsuk-tag--yellow</code>
      </td>
      <td class="nhsuk-table__cell">
        <strong class="nhsuk-tag nhsuk-tag--yellow">
          Delayed
        </strong>
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
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. Deprecated options are marked as "Deprecated".

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.

Primary options
Name Type Description
id string The ID of the tag.
text string Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the tag component. If html is provided, the text argument will be ignored.
html string Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the tag component. If html is provided, the text argument will be ignored.
classes string Classes to add to the tag.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the tag.
colour string Optional colour modifier for the tag – "white", "grey", "green", "aqua-green", "blue", "purple", "pink", "red", "orange" or "yellow".
border boolean If set to false, remove border from the tag. 
{% from "tag/macro.njk" import tag %}
{% from "tables/macro.njk" import table %}

{{ table({
  head: [
    {
      text: "Class name"
    },
    {
      text: "Tag"
    }
  ],
  rows: [
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--white</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "In progress",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--white"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--grey</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Inactive",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--grey"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--green</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "New",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--green"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--blue</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Active",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--blue"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--aqua-green</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Pending",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--aqua-green"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--purple</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Received",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--purple"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--pink</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Sent",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--pink"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--red</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Rejected",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--red"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--orange</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Declined",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--orange"
        })
      }
    ],
    [
      {
        html: "<code>nhsuk-tag--yellow</code>"
      },
      {
        html: tag({
          text: "Delayed",
          classes: "nhsuk-tag--yellow"
        })
      }
    ]
  ]
}) }}

Accessibility

All contrasts between text and background meet level AAA of WCAG 2.0. Read more about accessibility and colour.

Research

We have tested tags in the NHS e-referral service, the "Submit your electronic declaration" service and the NHS App prescriptions service. We found that they helped users:

  • make a decision about whether or not to proceed with their journey
  • understand their progress or the status of an order
  • save time as they could see the information they needed quickly

We also found that it helped to use sentence case rather than block capitals for readability.

Help us improve this guidance

Share insights or feedback and take part in the discussion. We use GitHub as a collaboration space. All the information on it is open to the public.

Feed back or share insights on GitHub

Read more about how to feed back or share insights.

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

Updated: November 2025