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/CSS

:invalid

The :invalid CSS pseudo-class represents any <input> or other <form> element whose contents fail to validate.

/* Selects any invalid <input> */
input:invalid {
  background-color: pink;
}

This pseudo-class is useful for highlighting field errors for the user.

Syntax

:invalid

Example

This example presents a simple form that colors elements green when they validate and red when they don't.

HTML

<form>
  <label for="url_input">Enter a URL:</label>
  <input type="url" id="url_input" />
  <br />
  <br />
  <label for="email_input">Enter an email address:</label>
  <input type="email" id="email_input" required/>
</form>

CSS

input:invalid {
  background-color: #ffdddd;
}

form:invalid {
  border: 5px solid #ffdddd;
}

input:valid {
  background-color: #ddffdd;
}

form:valid {
  border: 5px solid #ddffdd;
}
  
input:required {
  border-color: #800000;
  border-width: 3px;
}

input:required:invalid {
  border-color: #C00000;
}

Result

Accessibility concerns

The color red is commonly used to indicate invalid input. People who have certain types of color blindness will be unable to determine the input's state unless it is accompanied by an additional indicator that does not rely on color to convey meaning. Typically, descriptive text and/or an icon are used.

Notes

Radio buttons

If any one of the radio buttons in a group is required, the :invalid pseudo-class is applied to all of them if none of the buttons in the group is selected. (Grouped radio buttons share the same value for their name attribute.)

Gecko defaults

By default, Gecko does not apply a style to the :invalid pseudo-class. However, it does apply a style (a red "glow" using the box-shadow property) to the :-moz-ui-invalid pseudo-class, which applies in a subset of cases for :invalid.

You can disable the glow using the following CSS, or completely override it to alter the appearance of invalid fields:

:invalid {
  box-shadow: none;
}

:-moz-submit-invalid {
  box-shadow: none;
}

:-moz-ui-invalid {
  box-shadow: none;
}

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
HTML Living Standard
The definition of ':invalid' in that specification.
Living Standard No change.
HTML5
The definition of ':invalid' in that specification.
Recommendation Defines the semantics of HTML and constraint validation.
Selectors Level 4
The definition of ':invalid' in that specification.
Working Draft Initial definition.

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

Desktop
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 10 12 4 10 10 5
Applies to <form> elements Yes No 13 No Yes ?
Mobile
Android webview Chrome for Android Edge Mobile Firefox for Android Opera for Android iOS Safari Samsung Internet
Basic support ? ? Yes 4 10 5 ?
Applies to <form> elements ? ? No 14 ? ? ?

See also

© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:invalid