diff --git a/.changeset/modern-otters-bake.md b/.changeset/modern-otters-bake.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9ed2c89192
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/modern-otters-bake.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"@hashicorp/design-system-components": patch
+---
+
+`SideNav` - Made a11y related improvements including:
+- Changed `List::Title` to h3 & added visually hidden h2 to AppSideNav
+- Replaced aria-label for `ToggleButton` with aria-labelledby and aria-expanded
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/base.hbs b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/base.hbs
index c304832972..7c9362e928 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/base.hbs
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/base.hbs
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 }}
 {{! IMPORTANT: we need to add "squishies" here (~) because otherwise the whitespace added by Ember causes the empty element to still have visible padding - See https://handlebarsjs.com/guide/expressions.html#whitespace-control }}
 <div class="hds-side-nav" ...attributes>
+  <h2 class="sr-only" id="hds-side-nav-header">Application local navigation</h2>
+
   <div class="hds-side-nav__wrapper">
     {{yield to="root"}}
     <div class="hds-side-nav__wrapper-header">
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.hbs b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.hbs
index 2a7df14374..69914a8001 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.hbs
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.hbs
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@
       {{! template-lint-enable no-invalid-interactive}}
       <Hds::SideNav::ToggleButton
         aria-label={{this.ariaLabel}}
+        aria-labelledby="hds-side-nav-header"
+        aria-expanded={{if this.isMinimized "false" "true"}}
         @icon={{if this.isMinimized "chevrons-right" "chevrons-left"}}
         {{on "click" this.toggleMinimizedStatus}}
       />
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.ts b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.ts
index 5ed5df55e3..5dcae5650b 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.ts
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/index.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
  */
 
 import Component from '@glimmer/component';
+import { deprecate } from '@ember/debug';
 import { tracked } from '@glimmer/tracking';
 import { action } from '@ember/object';
 import { registerDestructor } from '@ember/destroyable';
@@ -21,7 +22,10 @@ export interface HdsSideNavSignature {
     a11yRefocusNavigationText?: string;
     a11yRefocusRouteChangeValidator?: string;
     a11yRefocusExcludeAllQueryParams?: boolean;
-    ariaLabel?: string;
+    /**
+     * @deprecated The `@ariaLabel` argument for "Hds::SideNav" has been deprecated. It is replaced by aria-labelledby and aria-expanded on the toggle button
+     */
+    ariaLabel?: string | undefined;
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
     onToggleMinimizedStatus?: (arg: boolean) => void;
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
@@ -73,6 +77,23 @@ export default class HdsSideNav extends Component<HdsSideNavSignature> {
     registerDestructor(this, (): void => {
       this.removeEventListeners();
     });
+
+    if (args.ariaLabel !== undefined) {
+      deprecate(
+        'The `@ariaLabel` argument for "Hds::SideNav" has been deprecated. It is replaced by aria-labelledby and aria-expanded on the toggle button',
+        false,
+        {
+          id: 'hds.sidenav',
+          until: '5.0.0',
+          url: 'https://helios.hashicorp.design/components/sidenav?tab=version%20history#4140',
+          for: '@hashicorp/design-system-components',
+          since: {
+            available: '4.14.0',
+            enabled: '5.0.0',
+          },
+        }
+      );
+    }
   }
 
   addEventListeners(): void {
@@ -107,15 +128,10 @@ export default class HdsSideNav extends Component<HdsSideNavSignature> {
   }
 
   /**
-   * @param ariaLabel
-   * @type {string}
-   * @default 'close menu'
+   * @deprecated The `@ariaLabel` argument for "Hds::SideNav" has been deprecated. It is replaced by aria-labelledby and aria-expanded on the toggle button
    */
-  get ariaLabel(): string {
-    if (this.isMinimized) {
-      return this.args.ariaLabel ?? 'Open menu';
-    }
-    return this.args.ariaLabel ?? 'Close menu';
+  get ariaLabel(): string | undefined {
+    return this.args.ariaLabel;
   }
 
   get classNames(): string {
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.hbs b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.hbs
index 255723ea2f..9b547bf8f8 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.hbs
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.hbs
@@ -3,14 +3,14 @@
   SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
 }}
 
-<nav class="hds-side-nav__list-wrapper" ...attributes>
+<nav class="hds-side-nav__list-wrapper" aria-labelledby="hds-side-nav-header" ...attributes>
   {{yield (hash ExtraBefore=(component "hds/yield"))}}
-  <ul class="hds-side-nav__list" role="list">
+  <ul class="hds-side-nav__list" role="list" aria-labelledby={{this.titleIds}}>
     {{yield
       (hash
         Item=(component "hds/side-nav/list/item")
         BackLink=(component "hds/side-nav/list/back-link")
-        Title=(component "hds/side-nav/list/title")
+        Title=(component "hds/side-nav/list/title" didInsertTitle=this.didInsertTitle)
         Link=(component "hds/side-nav/list/link")
       )
     }}
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.ts b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.ts
index 38364b6a8b..a24e97f0b5 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.ts
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/index.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
  */
 
-import TemplateOnlyComponent from '@ember/component/template-only';
-
+import Component from '@glimmer/component';
+import { action } from '@ember/object';
+import { tracked } from '@glimmer/tracking';
 import type { ComponentLike } from '@glint/template';
 import type { HdsYieldSignature } from '../../yield';
 import type { HdsSideNavListItemSignature } from './item';
@@ -28,6 +29,15 @@ export interface HdsSideNavListSignature {
   Element: HTMLElement;
 }
 
-const HdsSideNavList = TemplateOnlyComponent<HdsSideNavListSignature>();
+export default class HdsSideNavList extends Component<HdsSideNavListSignature> {
+  @tracked _titleIds: string[] = [];
+
+  get titleIds(): string {
+    return this._titleIds.join(' ');
+  }
 
-export default HdsSideNavList;
+  @action
+  didInsertTitle(titleId: string): void {
+    this._titleIds = [...this._titleIds, titleId];
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.hbs b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.hbs
index accf806b3b..53c7a8a6fd 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.hbs
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.hbs
@@ -4,5 +4,10 @@
 }}
 
 <Hds::SideNav::List::Item>
-  <div class="hds-side-nav__list-title hds-typography-body-100 hds-font-weight-semibold" ...attributes>{{~yield~}}</div>
+  <div
+    class="hds-side-nav__list-title hds-typography-body-100 hds-font-weight-semibold"
+    id={{this.titleId}}
+    {{did-insert this.didInsertTitle}}
+    ...attributes
+  >{{~yield~}}</div>
 </Hds::SideNav::List::Item>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.ts b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.ts
index 8318979104..205df3fe04 100644
--- a/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.ts
+++ b/packages/components/src/components/hds/side-nav/list/title.ts
@@ -3,16 +3,30 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
  */
 
-import TemplateOnlyComponent from '@ember/component/template-only';
+import { guidFor } from '@ember/object/internals';
+import { action } from '@ember/object';
+import Component from '@glimmer/component';
 
 export interface HdsSideNavListTitleSignature {
+  Args: {
+    didInsertTitle?: (titleId: string) => void;
+  };
   Blocks: {
     default: [];
   };
   Element: HTMLDivElement;
 }
 
-const HdsSideNavListTitle =
-  TemplateOnlyComponent<HdsSideNavListTitleSignature>();
+export default class HdsSideNavListTitle extends Component<HdsSideNavListTitleSignature> {
+  /*  Generate a unique ID for each Title */
+  titleId = 'title-' + guidFor(this);
+
+  @action
+  didInsertTitle(element: HTMLElement): void {
+    const { didInsertTitle } = this.args;
 
-export default HdsSideNavListTitle;
+    if (typeof didInsertTitle === 'function') {
+      didInsertTitle(element.id);
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/showcase/tests/acceptance/components/hds/side-nav-test.js b/showcase/tests/acceptance/components/hds/side-nav-test.js
index 61a4b8c915..147bafabaa 100644
--- a/showcase/tests/acceptance/components/hds/side-nav-test.js
+++ b/showcase/tests/acceptance/components/hds/side-nav-test.js
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ module('Acceptance | Component | hds/side-nav', function (hooks) {
           enabled: false,
           selectors: [['.shw-placeholder']],
         },
+        'landmark-unique': {
+          enabled: false,
+          selectors: [['.hds-side-nav__list-wrapper']],
+        },
       },
     };
 
diff --git a/showcase/tests/integration/components/hds/side-nav/index-test.js b/showcase/tests/integration/components/hds/side-nav/index-test.js
index 110ae5696e..c8fb01d8df 100644
--- a/showcase/tests/integration/components/hds/side-nav/index-test.js
+++ b/showcase/tests/integration/components/hds/side-nav/index-test.js
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ module('Integration | Component | hds/side-nav/index', function (hooks) {
     assert.dom('#test-side-nav').hasClass('hds-side-nav--is-not-minimized');
     assert
       .dom('.hds-side-nav__toggle-button')
-      .hasAttribute('aria-label', 'Close menu');
+      .hasAttribute('aria-expanded', 'true');
     assert
       .dom('.hds-side-nav__toggle-button .hds-icon')
       .hasClass('hds-icon-chevrons-left');
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ module('Integration | Component | hds/side-nav/index', function (hooks) {
     assert.dom('#test-side-nav').hasClass('hds-side-nav--is-minimized');
     assert
       .dom('.hds-side-nav__toggle-button')
-      .hasAttribute('aria-label', 'Open menu');
+      .hasAttribute('aria-expanded', 'false');
     assert
       .dom('.hds-side-nav__toggle-button .hds-icon')
       .hasClass('hds-icon-chevrons-right');
diff --git a/website/docs/components/app-side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md b/website/docs/components/app-side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md
index f4ac8113fa..b8135a7fc6 100644
--- a/website/docs/components/app-side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md
+++ b/website/docs/components/app-side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md
@@ -21,9 +21,6 @@ This is the full-fledged component (responsive and animated).
   <C.Property @name="isMinimized" @type="boolean" @default="false">
     Controls if the App Side Nav is rendered collapsed or expanded when initialized. This allows an application to preserve the collapsed/expanded state across sessions. After the initial render, this argument is altered based on user interactions (collapse/expand the App Side Nav or resize the window) and it is not a suitable way of controlling the App Side Nav state from outside after render (it’s an internal state).
   </C.Property>
-  <C.Property @name="toggleButtonAriaLabel" @type="string">
-    Accepts a localized string; the fallback is set to `Open menu` if the menu is closed, and `Close menu` if the menu is open.
-  </C.Property>
   <C.Property @name="onToggleMinimizedStatus" @type="function">
     Callback function invoked when the `AppSideNav` is collapsed or expanded. The function receives a boolean argument stating if the `AppSideNav` is minimized or not.
   </C.Property>
diff --git a/website/docs/components/side-nav/index.md b/website/docs/components/side-nav/index.md
index cd228f299a..2706cd33b7 100644
--- a/website/docs/components/side-nav/index.md
+++ b/website/docs/components/side-nav/index.md
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ navigation:
 </section>
 
 <section data-tab="Version history">
+  @include "partials/version-history/4.14.0.md"
   @include "partials/version-history/4.10.0.md"
   @include "partials/version-history/4.8.0.md"
 </section>
diff --git a/website/docs/components/side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md b/website/docs/components/side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md
index 29045edf18..83cfb0edc7 100644
--- a/website/docs/components/side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md
+++ b/website/docs/components/side-nav/partials/code/component-api.md
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ This is the full-fledged component (responsive and animated).
       </C.Property>
     </Doc::ComponentApi>
   </C.Property>
-  <C.Property @name="ariaLabel" @type="string">
-    Accepts a localized string; the fallback is set to `Open menu` if the menu is closed, and `Close menu` if the menu is open.
+  <C.Property @name="ariaLabel" @type="string" @deprecated={{true}}>
+    Accepts a localized string; the fallback is set to `Open menu` if the menu is closed, and `Close menu` if the menu is open.<br /><br />Note: The purpose of this argument has been replaced by an `aria-labelledby` attribute referencing the "hds-side-nav-header" `h2` combined with the use of `aria-expanded` on the Toggle button tab.
   </C.Property>
   <C.Property @name="onToggleMinimizedStatus" @type="function">
     Callback function invoked when the `SideNav` is collapsed or expanded. The function receives a boolean argument stating if the `SideNav` is minimized or not.
diff --git a/website/docs/components/side-nav/partials/version-history/4.14.0.md b/website/docs/components/side-nav/partials/version-history/4.14.0.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0ac536d7c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/website/docs/components/side-nav/partials/version-history/4.14.0.md
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+## 4.14.0
+
+### Updated
+
+`SideNav`
+
+- Made a11y related improvements including:
+  - Changed `List::Title` to h3 & added visually hidden h2 to AppSideNav
+  - Replaced aria-label for `ToggleButton` with aria-labelledby and aria-expanded
+- Fixed bug with hidden panels sometimes causing unnecessary overflow scrolling.
+
+### Deprecated
+
+`SideNav`
+
+Deprecated the `ariaLabel` argument as it is no longer needed. Its purpose is replaced by an added `aria-labelledby` attribute referencing the "hds-side-nav-header" `h2` combined with the use of `aria-expanded` on the Toggle button tab.