ARIA Required Attributes

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ARIA Required Attributes are specific properties that certain interactive roles need in order to work correctly with assistive tools. If they are missing, screen readers may not convey the full meaning of a widget. Getting these right ensures your custom components behave as expected for all users.

ARIA Required Attributes

When you assign an ARIA role to an element, certain attributes become mandatory for that role to function correctly. ARIA required attributes are the properties assistive tools expect to find alongside a given role — like aria-valuenow on a slider or aria-checked on a checkbox. Without them, screen readers get an incomplete picture of the widget and cannot communicate its state to the user.

Why It Matters

Screen readers need complete information. A role tells the screen reader what something is; the required attributes tell it the current state. A slider without aria-valuenow is like a thermostat with no temperature display.
Incomplete roles break user expectations. When a screen reader announces "checkbox" but cannot determine whether it is checked or unchecked, the user has no way to know the current state of the control.
It is a spec-level requirement. The WAI-ARIA specification explicitly lists which attributes are required for each role. Missing them is not just bad practice — it is a violation of the standard.
Automated tools catch this reliably. This is one of the checks that accessibility audits can flag with high confidence, making it easy to find and fix.

How to Fix It

Look up the required attributes for the role. Every ARIA role has a specification page listing its required and supported attributes. Check the WAI-ARIA spec for the role you are using and add any missing required attributes.
Use native HTML elements when possible. A native <input type="checkbox"> already has all the semantics built in — no ARIA attributes needed. Only use ARIA roles on custom-built widgets where native elements cannot do the job.
Keep attribute values up to date. Required attributes often represent dynamic state (checked, expanded, selected). Make sure your JavaScript updates these values whenever the state changes, not just on initial render.
Use aria-valuemin, aria-valuemax, and aria-valuenow for range widgets. Sliders, progress indicators, and scrollbars with role="slider" or role="scrollbar" need all three to communicate their range and current position.
Validate with the accessibility tree. Open your browser's developer tools and check the accessibility tree panel. It will show you exactly what information is being exposed to assistive tools and what is missing.

Common Mistakes

Adding the role but forgetting the attributes. Dropping role="slider" on a <div> without aria-valuenow, aria-valuemin, and aria-valuemax gives screen readers a slider with no useful information.
Setting attribute values only once. If a checkbox starts as unchecked, aria-checked="false" is correct at load. But if you never update it when the user clicks, the screen reader will always announce "unchecked."
Using ARIA as a first resort. Many developers reach for ARIA roles when a native HTML element would handle everything automatically. The first rule of ARIA is: do not use ARIA if a native element will do the job.
Guessing which attributes are required. Required attributes vary by role and are not always intuitive. Always reference the specification rather than assuming — role="tab" needs aria-selected, not aria-checked.

Bottom Line: When you use an ARIA role, check what attributes it requires and include all of them. Better yet, use native HTML elements whenever possible — they come with the right semantics built in and require zero ARIA attributes to work correctly.

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Synonyms: Required ARIA Props, Role Attributes

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ARIA Required Attributes