HTML <fieldset> Tag

The HTML <fieldset> tag represents a group of form elements in an HTML document.

The <fieldset> tag can be used with the <legend> tag to make a form more readable and/or easier to comprehend.

Syntax

The <fieldset> tag is written as <fieldset></fieldset> with the grouped form controls inserted between the start and end tags.

You can use the disabled attribute to disable all child form controls within the <fieldset> element. You can also use the form attribute to associate the element with a <form> element on the same document.

Like this:

Examples

Basic tag usage

Here we create two groups of form elements - one for name details, the other for gender.

Add a Legend

You can use the <legend> element to provide a legend for the <fieldset> elements. This makes it easier for users to understand what each <fieldset> element represents.

This is especially important for accessibility. Many screen readers announce the legend text along with the label of each form control inside the <fieldset>, giving non-visual users the same context that sighted users get from the grouping. Because of this, it's best practice to always pair a <fieldset> with a <legend> rather than using either element on its own.

The disabled Attribute

You can disable all elements within a <fieldset> element by using the disabled attribute. This prevents users from being able to interact with the form controls.

The disabled attribute is a boolean attribute (its value is either true or false). The mere presence of this attribute sets its value to true. Therefore, you don't need to add a value (simply writing disabled is all that is required to disable the element).

Note that if the <fieldset> element's first <legend> element contains any form controls, those controls are not disabled, even though the disabled attribute is present on the <fieldset> element itself. This allows for a common pattern where a checkbox placed in the legend is used to toggle the disabled state of the rest of the group.

Here, we disable the first <fieldset> element ("Name Details").

Add Styles

You can add styles to the <fieldset> element, just as you can with any other element.

Attributes

Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.

The <fieldset> element accepts the following attributes.

AttributeDescription
disabledDisables all form control descendants of the <fieldset> element.

This is a boolean attribute. If the attribute is present, its value must either be the empty string or a value that is an ASCII case-insensitive match for the attribute's canonical name, with no leading or trailing whitespace (i.e. either disabled or disabled="disabled").

Possible values:

  • [Empty string]
  • disabled
formSpecifies a form to associate this <fieldset> element with. The value must be the id of a <form> element in the same document, even if the <fieldset> element isn't nested inside that form.
nameSpecifies the name of the <fieldset>.

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <fieldset> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handlers

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.

For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.