HTML <form> Tag

Example

A simple HTML form with two input fields and one submit button:

<form action="form_action.asp" 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 examples at the bottom of this page)

---

Definition and Usage

The <form> tag is used to create an HTML form for user input.

A form can contain input elements like text fields, checkboxes, radio-buttons, submit buttons and more. A form can also contain select menus, textarea, fieldset, legend, and label elements.

Forms are used to pass data to a server.

---

Browser Support

IE FireFox Opera Google Chrome Safari

The <form> tag is supported in all major browsers.

---

Differences Between HTML and XHTML

In XHTML, the name attribute of the <form> tag is deprecated, and will be removed. Use the id attribute instead.

---

Tips and Notes

Note: The form element is a block-level element, and creates a line break before and after itself.

---

Required Attributes

DTD indicates in which HTML 4.01/XHTML 1.0 DTD the attribute is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset.

Attribute Value Description DTD action URL Specifies where to send the form-data when a form is submitted STF

Optional Attributes

Attribute Value Description DTD accept MIME_type Specifies the types of files that can be submitted through a file upload STF accept-charset charset Specifies the character-sets the server can handle for form-data STF enctype application/x-www-form-urlencoded
multipart/form-data
text/plain Specifies how form-data should be encoded before sending it to a server STF method get
post Specifies how to send form-data STF name name Specifies the name for a form TF target _blank
_self
_parent
_top
framename Deprecated. Specifies where to open the action URL TF

---

Standard Attributes

The <form> tag supports the following standard attributes:

Attribute Value Description DTD class classname Specifies a classname for an element STF dir rtl
ltr Specifies the text directionfor the content in an element STF id id Specifies a unique id for an element STF lang language_code Specifies a language code for the content in an element STF style style_definition Specifies an inline style for an element STF title text Specifies extra information about an element STF xml:lang language_code Specifies a language code for the content in an element, in XHTML documents STF

More information about Standard Attributes.

---

Event Attributes

The <form> tag supports the following event attributes:

Attribute Value Description DTD onclick script Script to be run on a mouse click STF ondblclick script Script to be run on a mouse double-click STF onmousedown script Script to be run when mouse button is pressed STF onmousemove script Script to be run when mouse pointer moves STF onmouseout script Script to be run when mouse pointer moves out of an element STF onmouseover script Script to be run when mouse pointer moves over an element STF onmouseup script Script to be run when mouse button is released STF onkeydown script Script to be run when a key is pressed STF onkeypress script Script to be run when a key is pressed and released STF onkeyup script Script to be run when a key is released STF onreset script Script to be run when a form is reset   onsubmit script Script to be run when a form is submitted  

More information about Event Attributes.