Date input
Use the date input component to help users enter a memorable date or one they can easily look up.
<div id="passport-issued" class="govuk-form-group">
<fieldset
aria-describedby="passport-issued-hint"
class="govuk-fieldset"
>
<legend class="govuk-fieldset__legend">
<h1 class="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
</legend>
<div id="passport-issued-hint" class="govuk-hint">
For example, 12 11 2007
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input">
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-day"
class="govuk-label"
>
Day
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-day"
name="passport-issued[day]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-month"
class="govuk-label"
>
Month
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-month"
name="passport-issued[month]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-year"
class="govuk-label"
>
Year
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-year"
name="passport-issued[year]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-4 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
</div>
<DateInput
label={
<h1 className="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
}
name="passport-issued"
hint="For example, 12 11 2007"
/>
Props
Name | Type | Default | Description |
---|---|---|---|
toString | function | Returns a string representation of a string. Returns a string representation of an object. | |
charAt | function | Returns the character at the specified index. | |
charCodeAt | function | Returns the Unicode value of the character at the specified location. | |
concat | function | Returns a string that contains the concatenation of two or more strings. | |
indexOf | function | Returns the position of the first occurrence of a substring. | |
lastIndexOf | function | Returns the last occurrence of a substring in the string. | |
localeCompare | other | Determines whether two strings are equivalent in the current locale. Determines whether two strings are equivalent in the current or specified locale. | |
match | other | Matches a string with a regular expression, and returns an array containing the results of that search. Matches a string or an object that supports being matched against, and returns an array containing the results of that search, or null if no matches are found. | |
replace | other | Replaces text in a string, using a regular expression or search string. Passes a string and {@linkcode replaceValue} to the `[Symbol.replace]` method on {@linkcode searchValue}. This method is expected to implement its own replacement algorithm. Replaces text in a string, using an object that supports replacement within a string. | |
search | other | Finds the first substring match in a regular expression search. | |
slice | function | Returns a section of a string. | |
split | other | Split a string into substrings using the specified separator and return them as an array. | |
substring | function | Returns the substring at the specified location within a String object. | |
toLowerCase | function | Converts all the alphabetic characters in a string to lowercase. | |
toLocaleLowerCase | function | Converts all alphabetic characters to lowercase, taking into account the host environment's current locale. | |
toUpperCase | function | Converts all the alphabetic characters in a string to uppercase. | |
toLocaleUpperCase | function | Returns a string where all alphabetic characters have been converted to uppercase, taking into account the host environment's current locale. | |
trim | function | Removes the leading and trailing white space and line terminator characters from a string. | |
length | number | Returns the length of a String object. | |
substr | function | Gets a substring beginning at the specified location and having the specified length. | |
valueOf | function | Returns the primitive value of the specified object. | |
codePointAt | function | Returns a nonnegative integer Number less than 1114112 (0x110000) that is the code point value of the UTF-16 encoded code point starting at the string element at position pos in the String resulting from converting this object to a String. If there is no element at that position, the result is undefined. If a valid UTF-16 surrogate pair does not begin at pos, the result is the code unit at pos. | |
includes | function | Returns true if searchString appears as a substring of the result of converting this object to a String, at one or more positions that are greater than or equal to position; otherwise, returns false. | |
endsWith | function | Returns true if the sequence of elements of searchString converted to a String is the same as the corresponding elements of this object (converted to a String) starting at endPosition – length(this). Otherwise returns false. | |
normalize | other | Returns the String value result of normalizing the string into the normalization form named by form as specified in Unicode Standard Annex #15, Unicode Normalization Forms. | |
repeat | function | Returns a String value that is made from count copies appended together. If count is 0, the empty string is returned. | |
startsWith | function | Returns true if the sequence of elements of searchString converted to a String is the same as the corresponding elements of this object (converted to a String) starting at position. Otherwise returns false. | |
anchor | function | Returns an `<a>` HTML anchor element and sets the name attribute to the text value | |
big | function | Returns a `<big>` HTML element | |
blink | function | Returns a `<blink>` HTML element | |
bold | function | Returns a `<b>` HTML element | |
fixed | function | Returns a `<tt>` HTML element | |
fontcolor | function | Returns a `<font>` HTML element and sets the color attribute value | |
fontsize | other | Returns a `<font>` HTML element and sets the size attribute value | |
italics | function | Returns an `<i>` HTML element | |
link | function | Returns an `<a>` HTML element and sets the href attribute value | |
small | function | Returns a `<small>` HTML element | |
strike | function | Returns a `<strike>` HTML element | |
sub | function | Returns a `<sub>` HTML element | |
sup | function | Returns a `<sup>` HTML element | |
padStart | function | Pads the current string with a given string (possibly repeated) so that the resulting string reaches a given length. The padding is applied from the start (left) of the current string. | |
padEnd | function | Pads the current string with a given string (possibly repeated) so that the resulting string reaches a given length. The padding is applied from the end (right) of the current string. | |
trimEnd | function | Removes the trailing white space and line terminator characters from a string. | |
trimStart | function | Removes the leading white space and line terminator characters from a string. | |
trimLeft | function | Removes the leading white space and line terminator characters from a string. | |
trimRight | function | Removes the trailing white space and line terminator characters from a string. | |
matchAll | function | Matches a string with a regular expression, and returns an iterable of matches containing the results of that search. | |
replaceAll | other | Replace all instances of a substring in a string, using a regular expression or search string. | |
at | function | Returns a new String consisting of the single UTF-16 code unit located at the specified index. | |
__@iterator@51 | function | Iterator | |
toFixed | function | Returns a string representing a number in fixed-point notation. | |
toExponential | function | Returns a string containing a number represented in exponential notation. | |
toPrecision | function | Returns a string containing a number represented either in exponential or fixed-point notation with a specified number of digits. | |
toLocaleString | function | Returns a date converted to a string using the current locale. Converts a number to a string by using the current or specified locale. | |
type | other | ||
props | other | ||
key | string | ||
day | string | ||
month | string | ||
year | string |
When to use this component
Use the date input component when you’re asking users for a date they’ll already know, or can look up without using a calendar.
When not to use this component
Do not use the date input component if users are unlikely to know the exact date of the event you’re asking about.
Read more about how to ask users for dates.
How it works
The date input component consists of 3 fields to let users enter a day, month and year.
The 3 date fields are grouped together in a <fieldset>
with a <legend>
that
describes them, as shown in the examples on this page. This is usually a
question, like ‘What is your date of birth?’.
If you’re asking one question per page, you can set the contents of the
<legend>
as the page heading. This is good practice as it means that users of
screen readers will only hear the contents once.
Read more about why and how to set legends as headings.
<div id="passport-issued" class="govuk-form-group">
<fieldset
aria-describedby="passport-issued-hint"
class="govuk-fieldset"
>
<legend class="govuk-fieldset__legend">
<h1 class="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
</legend>
<div id="passport-issued-hint" class="govuk-hint">
For example, 12 11 2007
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input">
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-day"
class="govuk-label"
>
Day
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-day"
name="passport-issued[day]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-month"
class="govuk-label"
>
Month
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-month"
name="passport-issued[month]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-year"
class="govuk-label"
>
Year
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-year"
name="passport-issued[year]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-4 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
</div>
<DateInput
label={
<h1 className="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
}
name="passport-issued"
hint="For example, 12 11 2007"
/>
Never automatically tab users between the fields of the date input because this can be confusing and may clash with normal keyboard controls.
If you’re asking more than one question on the page
If you’re asking more than one question on the page, do not set the contents of
the <label>
as the page heading. Read more about asking multiple questions on
question pages.
<div id="passport-issued" class="govuk-form-group">
<fieldset
aria-describedby="passport-issued-hint"
class="govuk-fieldset"
>
<legend class="govuk-fieldset__legend">
When was your passport issued?
</legend>
<div id="passport-issued-hint" class="govuk-hint">
For example, 12 11 2007
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input">
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-day"
class="govuk-label"
>
Day
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-day"
name="passport-issued[day]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-month"
class="govuk-label"
>
Month
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-month"
name="passport-issued[month]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-year"
class="govuk-label"
>
Year
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-year"
name="passport-issued[year]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-4 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
</div>
<DateInput
label="When was your passport issued?"
name="passport-issued"
hint="For example, 12 11 2007"
/>
Use the autocomplete attribute for a date of birth
Use the autocomplete attribute on the date input component when you’re asking for a date of birth. This lets browsers autofill the information on a user’s behalf if they’ve entered it previously.
To do this, set the autocomplete prop to bday
. See how to do this in the code
snippet in the following example.
<div id="dob" class="govuk-form-group">
<fieldset
aria-describedby="dob-hint"
class="govuk-fieldset"
>
<legend class="govuk-fieldset__legend">
<h1 class="govuk-heading-l">
What is your date of birth?
</h1>
</legend>
<div id="dob-hint" class="govuk-hint">
For example, 31 3 1980
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input">
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label for="dob-day" class="govuk-label">
Day
</label>
<input
id="dob-day"
name="dob[day]"
inputmode="numeric"
autocomplete="bday-day"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label for="dob-month" class="govuk-label">
Month
</label>
<input
id="dob-month"
name="dob[month]"
inputmode="numeric"
autocomplete="bday-month"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label for="dob-year" class="govuk-label">
Year
</label>
<input
id="dob-year"
name="dob[year]"
inputmode="numeric"
autocomplete="bday-year"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-4 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
</div>
<DateInput
label={
<h1 className="govuk-heading-l">
What is your date of birth?
</h1>
}
name="dob"
hint="For example, 31 3 1980"
autoComplete="bday"
/>
If you are working in production you’ll need to do this to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
You will not normally need to use the autoComplete
attribute in prototypes, as
users will not generally be using their own devices.
Error messages
Error messages should be styled like this:
<div
id="passport-issued"
class="govuk-form-group govuk-form-group--error"
>
<fieldset
aria-describedby="passport-issued-hint passport-issued-error"
class="govuk-fieldset"
>
<legend class="govuk-fieldset__legend">
<h1 class="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
</legend>
<div id="passport-issued-hint" class="govuk-hint">
For example, 12 11 2007
</div>
<p
id="passport-issued-error"
class="govuk-error-message"
>
<span class="govuk-visually-hidden">
Error:
</span>
The date your passport was issued must be in the
past
</p>
<div class="govuk-date-input">
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-day"
class="govuk-label"
>
Day
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-day"
name="passport-issued[day]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-month"
class="govuk-label"
>
Month
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-month"
name="passport-issued[month]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-year"
class="govuk-label"
>
Year
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-year"
name="passport-issued[year]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-4 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
</div>
<DateInput
label={
<h1 className="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
}
name="passport-issued"
hint="For example, 12 11 2007"
error="The date your passport was issued must be in the past"
/>
If you’re highlighting just one field - either the day, month or year - only style the field that has an error. The error message must say which field has an error, like this:
<div
id="passport-issued"
class="govuk-form-group govuk-form-group--error"
>
<fieldset
aria-describedby="passport-issued-hint passport-issued-error"
class="govuk-fieldset"
>
<legend class="govuk-fieldset__legend">
<h1 class="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
</legend>
<div id="passport-issued-hint" class="govuk-hint">
For example, 12 11 2007
</div>
<p
id="passport-issued-error"
class="govuk-error-message"
>
<span class="govuk-visually-hidden">
Error:
</span>
The date your passport was issued must include a
year
</p>
<div class="govuk-date-input">
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-day"
class="govuk-label"
>
Day
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-day"
name="passport-issued[day]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-month"
class="govuk-label"
>
Month
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-month"
name="passport-issued[month]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-2 govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
<div class="govuk-date-input__item">
<label
for="passport-issued-year"
class="govuk-label"
>
Year
</label>
<input
id="passport-issued-year"
name="passport-issued[year]"
inputmode="numeric"
class="govuk-input govuk-input--width-4 govuk-input--error govuk-date-input__input"
type="text"
/>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
</div>
<DateInput
label={
<h1 className="govuk-heading-l">
When was your passport issued?
</h1>
}
name="passport-issued"
hint="For example, 12 11 2007"
error={{
year: "The date your passport was issued must include a year",
}}
/>
Make sure errors follow the guidance in error message and have specific error messages for specific error states.
If there’s more than one error, show the highest priority error message. In order of priority, show error messages about:
- missing or incomplete information
- information that cannot be correct (for example, the number ‘13’ in the month field)
- information that fails validation for another reason
If nothing is entered
Say ‘Enter [whatever it is]’.
For example, ‘Enter your date of birth’.
If an incomplete date is entered and you know what is missing
Say ‘[whatever it is] must include a [whatever is missing]’.
For example, ‘Date of birth must include a month’ or ‘Date of birth must include a day and month’.
If an incomplete date is entered and you do not know what is missing
Say ‘Enter [whatever it is] and include a day, month and year’.
For example, ‘Enter your date of birth and include a day, month and year’.
If the date entered is not a real one
Say ‘Enter a real [whatever it is]’.
For example, ‘Enter a real date of birth’.
If the date is in the future when it needs to be in the past
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be in the past’.
For example, ‘Date of birth must be in the past’.
If the date is in the future when it needs to be today or in the past
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be today or in the past’.
For example, ‘Date of birth must be today or in the past’.
If the date is in the past when it needs to be in the future
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be in the future’.
For example, ‘The date your course ends must be in the future’.
If the date is in the past when it needs to be today or in the future
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be today or in the future’.
For example, ‘The date your course ends must be today or in the future’.
If the date must be the same as or after another date
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be the same as or after [date and optional description]’.
For example, ‘The date your course ends must be the same as or after 1 September 2017 when you started the course’.
If the date must be after another date
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be after [date and optional description]’.
For example, ‘The day your course ends must be after 1 September 2017’.
If the date must be the same as or before another date
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be the same as or before [date and optional description]’.
For example, ‘The date of Gordon’s last exam must be the same as or before 31 August 2017 when they left school’.
If the date must be before another date
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be before [date and optional description]’.
For example, ‘The date of Gordon’s last exam must be the same as or before 31 August 2017’.
If the date must be between two dates
Say ‘[whatever it is] must be between [date] and [date and optional description]’.
For example, ‘The date your contract started must be between 1 September 2017 and 30 September 2017 when you were self-employed’.