# EPUBCheck RSC-014: fragment of the wrong type, how to fix it

Source: https://epubcc.com/epubcheck/rsc-014/ (updated 2026-11-04)

EPUBCheck RSC-014 is a usage message: “Fragment identifier defines an incompatible resource type.” A fragment identifier points to something of a different type than the reference expects. It is a usage message, shown only with -u, for example a link that should target an SVG element but resolves to another kind of resource.

- Official message (EPUBCheck 5.4.0): Fragment identifier defines an incompatible resource type.
- Default severity: Usage

## Typical causes

- A fragment copied from another file that has an element with the same id but of another type.
- A reference to an SVG fragment that actually points into an XHTML document, or the reverse.

## How to fix it

1. Read the reference EPUBCheck names and check what kind of element the #fragment resolves to.
2. Point the reference at an element of the expected type, or at the right file.
3. Validate again with -u to confirm.

## When it's not this

If the fragment does not exist at all, the error is RSC-012.

## Sources

- EPUB 3.3, §4.2.5 URLs in the OCF abstract container: https://www.w3.org/TR/epub-33/#sec-container-iri (read 2026-11-04)
- EPUBCheck 5.4.0 message texts (MessageBundle.properties, w3c/epubcheck on GitHub): https://github.com/w3c/epubcheck/blob/v5.4.0/src/main/resources/com/adobe/epubcheck/messages/MessageBundle.properties (read 2026-11-04)

Message text and severity: EPUBCheck (W3C, BSD-3-Clause). Explanation: EpubCC.