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HTML <input> pattern Attribute

❮ HTML <input> tag

Example

An HTML form with an input field that can contain only three letters (no numbers or special characters):

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="country_code">Country code:</label>
  <input type="text" id="country_code" name="country_code"
  pattern="[A-Za-z]{3}" title="Three letter country code"><br><br>
  <input type="submit">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The pattern attribute specifies a regular expression that the <input> element's value is checked against on form submission.

Note: The pattern attribute works with the following input types: text, date, search, url, tel, email, and password.

Tip: Use the global title attribute to describe the pattern to help the user.

Tip: Learn more about regular expressions in our JavaScript tutorial.


Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the attribute.

Attribute
pattern 5.0 10.0 4.0 10.1 9.6

Syntax

<input pattern="regexp">

Attribute Values

Value Description
regexp Specifies a regular expression that the <input> element's value is checked against


More Examples

Example

An <input> element with type="password" that must contain 8 or more characters:

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="pwd">Password:</label>
  <input type="password" id="pwd" name="pwd"
  pattern=".{8,}" title="Eight or more characters">
  <input type="submit">
</form>
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Example

An <input> element with type="password" that must contain 8 or more characters that are of at least one number, and one uppercase and lowercase letter:

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="pwd">Password:</label>
  <input type="password" id="pwd" name="pwd"
  pattern="(?=.*\d)(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z]).{8,}"
  title="Must contain at least one  number and one uppercase and lowercase letter, and at least 8 or more characters">
  <input type="submit">
</form>
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Example

An <input> element with type="email" that must be in the following order: characters@characters.domain (characters followed by an @ sign, followed by more characters, and then a "."

After the "." sign, add at least 2 letters from a to z:

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="email">Email:</label>
  <input type="email" id="email" name="email"
  pattern="[a-z0-9._%+-]+@[a-z0-9.-]+\.[a-z]{2,}$">
  <input type="submit">
</form>
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Example

An <input> element with type="search" that CANNOT contain the following characters: ' or "

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="search">Search:</label>
  <input type="search" id="search" name="search"
  pattern="[^'\x22]+" title="Invalid input">
  <input type="submit">
</form>
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Example

An <input> element with type="url" that must start with http:// or https:// followed by at least one character:

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="website">Homepage:</label>
  <input type="url" id="website" name="website"
  pattern="https?://.+" title="Include http://">
  <input type="submit">
</form>
Try it Yourself »

❮ HTML <input> tag