Tally forms are designed with accessibility in mind — built on semantic HTML so they work with keyboards, screen readers, and assistive technologies, free for everyone.
How we approach accessibility
When we build new form fields, we follow the WCAG form guidelines as our reference. Our goal is to make sure that someone using only a keyboard, a screen reader, or another assistive tool can fill out a Tally form without hitting a wall.
Most of Tally's forms use standard HTML form elements, which gives you a solid accessible foundation out of the box. When we discover gaps (from user reports, audits, or our own testing), we fix them.
Tally does not hold an official WCAG or ADA certification yet. We design and build with accessibility best practices in mind and work to continuously improve, but we can't guarantee full compliance for every use case. If accessibility is critical for your organization, we recommend testing your specific form with your target assistive technology before publishing.
What works today
Here's what we've built and improved so far:
Keyboard navigation
- You can tab through every field, open pickers, select options, and submit a form without touching a mouse
- Arrow keys work for navigating radio buttons, rating scales, dropdowns, and ranking fields
- Country and date pickers are fully keyboard-reachable
- All interactive elements have visible focus indicators
Screen readers
- Fields are properly labeled so screen readers can identify them
- Error messages are announced automatically when they appear — you don't have to go looking for them
- Rating fields announce each option with its value (e.g. "3 stars")
- Matrix questions include both the row and column label when reading a cell
- Image choices rely on their text label; the image itself is marked decorative so it isn't read twice by screen readers
- Form submission feedback is announced
Field-level improvements shipped in 2026
- Ranking — added keyboard reordering so you don't need drag and drop
- Phone number — the country picker is now keyboard-accessible
- Time input — fixed focus management and expanded/collapsed state
- Dropdown & multi-select — proper combobox and listbox roles
- Checkbox groups — wrapped in a fieldset with a legend so they're read as a group
- Validation errors — now announced live as soon as they appear
Known limitations
We're honest about what's not there yet:
- Signature field — not accessible yet for keyboard or screen reader users.
We're a small team and accessibility is an ongoing effort, not a checkbox. If you hit something that doesn't work, please let us know or upvote it on our feedback board.
Tips for creating accessible forms
The form builder can only do so much, the content of your form matters too:
- Write clear labels: don't rely on placeholder text alone; always give each field a visible label
- Add helper text: to explain what you're asking, especially for complex fields
- Don't rely on color alone: use text or icons alongside color to convey meaning
- Test with a keyboard: tab through your form before publishing
- Keep it short: fewer fields mean less friction for everyone, especially users with cognitive or motor disabilities
- Use page breaks: if your form is long, split it into pages with clear section titles
