ARIA property
aria-readonly
The value can be read but not changed. Unlike disabled, it is still part of the form.
It says the value is fixed while leaving the control operable, focusable and submitted with the form. The difference from disabled is what happens to the data. A read-only field still sends its value.
Which roles may carry aria-readonly
- Value
- true/false
- Filed as
- A property, which is how ARIA files it and not a rule about how often it changes.
- Roles that may carry it
checkbox,combobox,grid,gridcell,listbox,radiogroup,slider,spinbutton,textbox- Roles that inherit it
columnheader,rowheader,searchbox,switch,treegrid
Those lists are not advice. Browsers are required to ignore a non-global attribute sitting on a role that does not support it, so aria-readonly on the wrong element is not weak, it is absent. You can read it in the DOM and nobody using a screen reader can.
Every role above comes from the specification's own list for this attribute, checked name for name. The normative definition stays with the W3C, in the aria-readonly section of the ARIA specification.
Keeping aria-readonly true
The attribute reports a restriction your code has to actually apply, so the two come apart the moment one of them changes. A field that becomes editable once an order moves out of draft has to lose this in the same step. It is worth being clear about which of the three you mean, because they announce differently and they behave differently. Read-only means look but do not change. Disabled means not available. Required means it has to be filled in before the form goes anywhere.
How aria-readonly gets checked
There are test rules that check an ARIA attribute is one that exists, is allowed on the role underneath it, and carries a value of the right type. What they map to is ARIA's own author requirements rather than any WCAG criterion, so a misplaced attribute breaks ARIA without being a WCAG failure by itself. It becomes one under 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value the moment the missing or wrong value means the control's state cannot be worked out programmatically, which is what usually happens next.
Nothing automated catches the failure this page is about. A stale value is a valid value, on a permitted role, with the right type. It is only wrong about the world.
Attributes you will meet alongside aria-readonly
- aria-activedescendant Points at the item inside a composite widget that is currently active, when focus stays on the container.
- aria-autocomplete How a text field predicts what you are typing.
- aria-checked Whether a checkbox, radio or switch is on, off, or partly on.
- aria-disabled Says a control is present but not available. Unlike the disabled attribute, it stays focusable, so people can still find out it is there.
- aria-errormessage Points at the message explaining why this field is invalid. Only meaningful while aria-invalid is set.
- aria-expanded Whether the thing this control opens is currently open.
- aria-haspopup Says this control opens something, and what kind of thing it opens. A menu, a dialog, a listbox.
- aria-invalid Says a field's value has failed validation.
Every ARIA state and property · Every ARIA role · ARIA explained