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§10.5.2

Form Reading Order

Ids say one order, geometry says another—which wins?

✅ NormativeSettled. The requirement holds as written.📄 Page ruleCan be applied from the page alone.Read §10.5.2 in the RFC ↗

The requirement

The fields of a form MUST be ordered by the form's printed indexing scheme — its ids — rather than by column-first or row-first geometry.

When it applies

A form's ids are its intended order. Where lettered and numbered fields share a page, one scheme MUST be read through, then the other, rather than sweeping across the page and interleaving them.

Reading the examples. Each one pairs a source page with the output the rule expects. ✅ Sample: the rule applies. ❌ Counter-sample: it looks like it applies and does not, or a rendering got it wrong. A non-conforming output, in red, is shown only for contrast. … marks content left out of an excerpt.

The point, in a small example

Compare separate lettered/numbered sections with a single numbered sequence. Printed grouping and IDs govern field order, not a row-wise scan. These pages are made up to isolate the rule.

01

✅ SampleConstructedThe rule applies

Lettered and numbered sections do not interleave

The page prints two distinct section headings. Complete CONTACT’s A/B sequence, then PAYMENT’s 1/2 sequence. Do not produce A, 1, B, 2 or invent a common wrapper around the sections.

Source page
Form Reading Order — Lettered and numbered sections do not interleave. Source page.
Expected output
Markdown
### CONTACT

- \[A\] **Name:** Ada
- \[B\] **City:** Dover

### PAYMENT

- \[1\] **Amount:** 12.50
- \[2\] **Code:** 007
Form Reading Order · Source page

Lettered and numbered sections do not interleave

Form Reading Order — Lettered and numbered sections do not interleave. Source page.
02

✅ SampleConstructedThe rule applies

Printed IDs override a row-wise scan

Read fields 1, 2, 3, 4. A geometric left-to-right sweep across each row would incorrectly produce 1, 3, 2, 4.

Source page
Form Reading Order — Printed IDs override a row-wise scan. Source page.
Expected output
Markdown
- \[1\] **Name:** Ada
- \[2\] **Code:** 007
- \[3\] **City:** Dover
- \[4\] **Zone:** East
Form Reading Order · Source page

Printed IDs override a row-wise scan

Form Reading Order — Printed IDs override a row-wise scan. Source page.

An id sequence stays contiguous

  • Fields whose ids run in sequence MUST stay together and in order, with no un-id'd field between them.
  • Unlabelled fields MUST be placed around the sequence, not inside it. A 1099-MISC is the standard case.

Sections do not interleave

Fields from different printed sections MUST NOT be mixed, even when they sit side by side on the page.

Where this differs from block reading order

Reading Order (§5.9) orders regions on a page the way a person reads them. This rule orders fields within a form, and the form's own numbering overrides visual position when the two disagree — which on a dense tax form they routinely do. Where a group of fields prints no ids, the order of Reading Order (§5.9) applies.

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Rule id forms-form-reading-order · forms