What This Rule Checks
ARIA roles help define the purpose of elements for assistive technologies like screen readers. However, some roles are deprecated or abstract, meaning they are no longer recommended for use. Ensuring your elements use supported roles improves accessibility and compatibility across devices.
Who Is Affected
This issue primarily affects: Blind users, who rely entirely on screen readers or braille displays to navigate and interact with content; Deafblind users, who rely on braille displays and cannot access visual or auditory content; Mobility users, who navigate using keyboards, switches, voice control, or other assistive input devices.
Why This Matters
Deprecated ARIA roles may be ignored entirely by modern assistive technologies, leaving elements without semantic meaning. While current browsers may still partially support them, future updates could remove support without notice.
How to Fix
Ensure that any ARIA roles assigned to elements are valid and not deprecated. Deprecated roles may still work in some cases, but they are not guaranteed to be supported by all assistive technologies. It is best to replace deprecated roles with supported alternatives.
Example of a Deprecated Role and Its Replacement:
Deprecated Role: directory
Replacement Options: Consider using section, list, or tree, depending on how the directory role was used in the page structure.
Code Examples
<!-- Using deprecated ARIA role -->
<div role="directory">
<ul>
...
</ul>
</div>
Copy
<!-- Using current ARIA role -->
<div role="list">
<ul>
...
</ul>
</div>
<!-- Or better: use native HTML -->
<nav aria-label="Directory">
<ul>
...
</ul>
</nav>
Copy
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not checking the current WAI-ARIA specification for deprecated roles.
- Copying old code examples that use roles like “directory” or “status” incorrectly.
- Assuming deprecated roles still function in modern screen readers.
AI Auto-Fix Available
This rule supports ACE™ AI Auto-Fix. When a violation is detected, ACE can automatically generate a code fix for review. The AI analyzes the specific element in context and proposes a targeted remediation that preserves your existing markup and styling. You can preview, modify, and approve the fix before it is applied.
Tip: Remember the first rule of ARIA: don’t use ARIA if a native HTML element can provide the same semantics. Native elements come with built-in keyboard handling and screen reader support that ARIA cannot replicate.
Related WCAG Criteria
- 4.1.2: Name, Role, Value