HTML <form> Tag
Example
An HTML form with two input fields and one submit button:
<form
action="/action_page.php"
method="get">
First name: <input type="text" name="fname"><br>
Last name:
<input type="text" name="lname"><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
Try it Yourself »
More "Try it Yourself" examples below.
Definition and Usage
The <form> tag is used to create an HTML form for user input.
The <form> element can contain one or more of the following form elements:
Browser Support
| Element | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <form> | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML5
HTML5 has added two new attributes: autocomplete and novalidate, and removed the accept attribute.
Differences Between HTML and XHTML
In XHTML, the name attribute is deprecated. Use the global id attribute instead.
Attributes
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| accept | file_type | Not supported in HTML5. Specifies a comma-separated list of file types that the server accepts (that can be submitted through the file upload) |
| accept-charset | character_set | Specifies the character encodings that are to be used for the form submission |
| action | URL | Specifies where to send the form-data when a form is submitted |
| autocomplete | on off |
Specifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off |
| enctype | application/x-www-form-urlencoded multipart/form-data text/plain |
Specifies how the form-data should be encoded when submitting it to the server (only for method="post") |
| method | get post |
Specifies the HTTP method to use when sending form-data |
| name | text | Specifies the name of a form |
| novalidate | novalidate | Specifies that the form should not be validated when submitted |
| target | _blank _self _parent _top |
Specifies where to display the response that is received after submitting the form |
Global Attributes
The <form> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.
Event Attributes
The <form> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.
Try it Yourself - Examples
Form with
checkboxes
A form with two checkboxes, and a submit button.
Form with
radiobuttons
A form with two radio buttons, and a submit button.
Related Pages
HTML tutorial: HTML Forms and Input
HTML DOM reference: Form Object
CSS Tutorial: Styling Forms
Default CSS Settings
Most browsers will display the <form> element with the following default values:
