Skip to main content

Form elements – Date input

Use date input to help users enter a date, like an appointment date.

Open this example in a new tab: date input 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <fieldset class="nhsuk-fieldset" role="group" aria-describedby="appointment-date-hint">
    <legend class="nhsuk-fieldset__legend nhsuk-fieldset__legend--l">
      <h1 class="nhsuk-fieldset__heading">
        When was your appointment?
      </h1>
    </legend>
    <div class="nhsuk-hint" id="appointment-date-hint">
      For example, 18 5 2026
    </div>
    <div class="nhsuk-date-input" id="appointment-date">
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="appointment-date-day">
            Day
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-2" id="appointment-date-day" name="appointmentDate[day]" type="text" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="appointment-date-month">
            Month
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-2" id="appointment-date-month" name="appointmentDate[month]" type="text" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="appointment-date-year">
            Year
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-4" id="appointment-date-year" name="appointmentDate[year]" type="text" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </fieldset>
</div>
Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work. These are marked as "Required" in the option description. Deprecated options are marked as "Deprecated".

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Primary options
Name Type Description
id string Required. This is used for the main component and to compose the id attribute for each item.
namePrefix string Optional prefix. This is used to prefix each date input name attribute, wrapped in [ and ]. For example, setting namePrefix: "dob" will output the name attributes dob[day], dob[month] and dob[year] respectively.
items array The inputs within the date input component. The input.errorMessage and input.hint options are not supported. See items macro options using input component macro.
hint object Can be used to add a hint to the date input component. See macro options for hint.
errorMessage object Can be used to add an error message to the date input component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for errorMessage, for example false or null. See macro options for errorMessage.
formGroup object Additional options for the form group containing the date input component. See macro options for formGroup.
fieldset object Can be used to add a fieldset to the date input component. The fieldset.html option is not supported. See macro options for fieldset.
day object Can be used to customise the day input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See day macro options using input component macro.
month object Can be used to customise the month input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See month macro options using input component macro.
year object Can be used to customise the year input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See year macro options using input component macro.
values object An optional object used to specify value attributes for the inputs within the date input component without setting items. See macro options for values.
disabled boolean If true, inputs used by the date input component will be disabled.
classes string Classes to add to the date input container.
inputWrapper object Additional options for the wrapping element containing the date input component. See macro options for inputWrapper.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the date input container.
Options for items array objects
Name Type Description
name string Required. Item-specific name attribute. Defaults to "day", "month" or "year".
label object Item-specific label. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the item input.
Options for formGroup object
Name Type Description
classes string Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the form group.
beforeInputs object Content to add before the inputs used by the date input component. See macro options for formGroup beforeInputs.
afterInputs object Content to add after the inputs used by the date input component. See macro options for formGroup afterInputs.
Options for formGroup beforeInputs object
Name Type Description
text string Required. Text to add before the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. HTML to add before the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
Options for formGroup afterInputs object
Name Type Description
text string Required. Text to add after the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. HTML to add after the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
Options for day input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the day input. Defaults to "day".
value string The value attribute for the day input.
label object The label used by the day input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the day input.
Options for month input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the month input. Defaults to "month".
value string The value attribute for the month input.
label object The label used by the month input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the month input.
Options for year input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the year input. Defaults to "year".
value string The value attribute for the year input.
label object The label used by the year input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the year input.
Options for values object
Name Type Description
day string The value attribute for the day input.
month string The value attribute for the month input.
year string The value attribute for the year input.
Options for inputWrapper object
Name Type Description
classes string Classes to add to the wrapping element.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the wrapping element.
Options for label component
Name Type Description
id string The ID of the label.
text string Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the label. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the label. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
caller nunjucks-block Not strictly a parameter but Nunjucks code convention. Using a call block enables you to call a macro with all the text inside the tag. This is helpful if you want to pass a lot of content into a macro. To use it, you will need to wrap the entire label component in a call block.
for string The value of the for attribute, the ID of the input the label is associated with.
isPageHeading boolean Whether the label also acts as the heading for the page.
size string Size of the label – "s", "m", "l" or "xl".
classes string Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag. 
{% from "date-input/macro.njk" import dateInput %}

{{ dateInput({
  id: "appointment-date",
  namePrefix: "appointmentDate",
  fieldset: {
    legend: {
      text: "When was your appointment?",
      size: "l",
      isPageHeading: true
    }
  },
  hint: {
    text: "For example, 18 5 2026"
  },
  items: [
    {
      name: "day",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-2"
    },
    {
      name: "month",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-2"
    },
    {
      name: "year",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-4"
    }
  ]
}) }}

When to use date input

We follow the GOV.UK Design System. Use date input when you're asking users for a date they already know.

When not to use date input

Do not use date input if users are unlikely to know the exact date you're asking about.

How to use date input

Date input consists of 3 fields to let users enter a day, month and year.

Group the 3 date fields together in a <fieldset> with a <legend> that describes them. You can see an example at the top of this page. The legend is usually a question, like "When was your appointment?".

If you are asking just 1 question per page as we recommend, you can set the contents of the <legend> as the page heading. This is good practice as it means that screen reader users will only hear the contents once.

Read more on the GOV.UK Design System about how to ask users for dates and making labels and legends headings.

Using the autocomplete attribute

If you are asking the user for their own date of birth, use the autocomplete attributes. This lets some browsers autofill the information if the user has entered it previously.

You'll need to do this to meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.5: Identify input purpose, level AA.

Set the autocomplete attribute on the 3 fields to bday-day, bday-month and bday-year. See how to do this in the HTML and Nunjucks tabs in the following example.

Open this example in a new tab: date input your date of birth 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <fieldset class="nhsuk-fieldset" role="group" aria-describedby="date-of-birth-hint">
    <legend class="nhsuk-fieldset__legend nhsuk-fieldset__legend--l">
      <h1 class="nhsuk-fieldset__heading">
        What is your date of birth?
      </h1>
    </legend>
    <div class="nhsuk-hint" id="date-of-birth-hint">
      For example, 15 3 1984
    </div>
    <div class="nhsuk-date-input" id="date-of-birth">
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="date-of-birth-day">
            Day
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-2" id="date-of-birth-day" name="dateOfBirth[day]" type="text" autocomplete="bday-day" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="date-of-birth-month">
            Month
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-2" id="date-of-birth-month" name="dateOfBirth[month]" type="text" autocomplete="bday-month" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="date-of-birth-year">
            Year
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-4" id="date-of-birth-year" name="dateOfBirth[year]" type="text" autocomplete="bday-year" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </fieldset>
</div>
Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work. These are marked as "Required" in the option description. Deprecated options are marked as "Deprecated".

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Primary options
Name Type Description
id string Required. This is used for the main component and to compose the id attribute for each item.
namePrefix string Optional prefix. This is used to prefix each date input name attribute, wrapped in [ and ]. For example, setting namePrefix: "dob" will output the name attributes dob[day], dob[month] and dob[year] respectively.
items array The inputs within the date input component. The input.errorMessage and input.hint options are not supported. See items macro options using input component macro.
hint object Can be used to add a hint to the date input component. See macro options for hint.
errorMessage object Can be used to add an error message to the date input component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for errorMessage, for example false or null. See macro options for errorMessage.
formGroup object Additional options for the form group containing the date input component. See macro options for formGroup.
fieldset object Can be used to add a fieldset to the date input component. The fieldset.html option is not supported. See macro options for fieldset.
day object Can be used to customise the day input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See day macro options using input component macro.
month object Can be used to customise the month input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See month macro options using input component macro.
year object Can be used to customise the year input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See year macro options using input component macro.
values object An optional object used to specify value attributes for the inputs within the date input component without setting items. See macro options for values.
disabled boolean If true, inputs used by the date input component will be disabled.
classes string Classes to add to the date input container.
inputWrapper object Additional options for the wrapping element containing the date input component. See macro options for inputWrapper.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the date input container.
Options for items array objects
Name Type Description
name string Required. Item-specific name attribute. Defaults to "day", "month" or "year".
label object Item-specific label. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the item input.
Options for formGroup object
Name Type Description
classes string Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the form group.
beforeInputs object Content to add before the inputs used by the date input component. See macro options for formGroup beforeInputs.
afterInputs object Content to add after the inputs used by the date input component. See macro options for formGroup afterInputs.
Options for formGroup beforeInputs object
Name Type Description
text string Required. Text to add before the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. HTML to add before the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
Options for formGroup afterInputs object
Name Type Description
text string Required. Text to add after the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. HTML to add after the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
Options for day input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the day input. Defaults to "day".
value string The value attribute for the day input.
label object The label used by the day input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the day input.
Options for month input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the month input. Defaults to "month".
value string The value attribute for the month input.
label object The label used by the month input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the month input.
Options for year input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the year input. Defaults to "year".
value string The value attribute for the year input.
label object The label used by the year input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the year input.
Options for values object
Name Type Description
day string The value attribute for the day input.
month string The value attribute for the month input.
year string The value attribute for the year input.
Options for inputWrapper object
Name Type Description
classes string Classes to add to the wrapping element.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the wrapping element.
Options for label component
Name Type Description
id string The ID of the label.
text string Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the label. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the label. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
caller nunjucks-block Not strictly a parameter but Nunjucks code convention. Using a call block enables you to call a macro with all the text inside the tag. This is helpful if you want to pass a lot of content into a macro. To use it, you will need to wrap the entire label component in a call block.
for string The value of the for attribute, the ID of the input the label is associated with.
isPageHeading boolean Whether the label also acts as the heading for the page.
size string Size of the label – "s", "m", "l" or "xl".
classes string Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag. 
{% from "date-input/macro.njk" import dateInput %}

{{ dateInput({
  id: "date-of-birth",
  namePrefix: "dateOfBirth",
  fieldset: {
    legend: {
      text: "What is your date of birth?",
      size: "l",
      isPageHeading: true
    }
  },
  hint: {
    text: "For example, 15 3 1984"
  },
  items: [
    {
      name: "day",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-2",
      autocomplete: "bday-day"
    },
    {
      name: "month",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-2",
      autocomplete: "bday-month"
    },
    {
      name: "year",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-4",
      autocomplete: "bday-year"
    }
  ]
}) }}

Error messages

Style error messages like this.

Open this example in a new tab: date input with errors 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group nhsuk-form-group--error">
  <fieldset class="nhsuk-fieldset" role="group" aria-describedby="appointment-date-hint appointment-date-error">
    <legend class="nhsuk-fieldset__legend nhsuk-fieldset__legend--l">
      <h1 class="nhsuk-fieldset__heading">
        When was your appointment?
      </h1>
    </legend>
    <div class="nhsuk-hint" id="appointment-date-hint">
      For example, 18 5 2026
    </div>
    <span class="nhsuk-error-message" id="appointment-date-error">
      <span class="nhsuk-u-visually-hidden">Error:</span> Enter your appointment date
    </span>
    <div class="nhsuk-date-input" id="appointment-date">
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group nhsuk-form-group--error">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="appointment-date-day">
            Day
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--error nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-2 nhsuk-input--error" id="appointment-date-day" name="appointmentDate[day]" type="text" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group nhsuk-form-group--error">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="appointment-date-month">
            Month
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--error nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-2 nhsuk-input--error" id="appointment-date-month" name="appointmentDate[month]" type="text" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="nhsuk-date-input__item">
        <div class="nhsuk-form-group nhsuk-form-group--error">
          <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-date-input__label" for="appointment-date-year">
            Year
          </label>
          <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--error nhsuk-date-input__input nhsuk-input--width-4 nhsuk-input--error" id="appointment-date-year" name="appointmentDate[year]" type="text" inputmode="numeric">
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </fieldset>
</div>
Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work. These are marked as "Required" in the option description. Deprecated options are marked as "Deprecated".

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Primary options
Name Type Description
id string Required. This is used for the main component and to compose the id attribute for each item.
namePrefix string Optional prefix. This is used to prefix each date input name attribute, wrapped in [ and ]. For example, setting namePrefix: "dob" will output the name attributes dob[day], dob[month] and dob[year] respectively.
items array The inputs within the date input component. The input.errorMessage and input.hint options are not supported. See items macro options using input component macro.
hint object Can be used to add a hint to the date input component. See macro options for hint.
errorMessage object Can be used to add an error message to the date input component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for errorMessage, for example false or null. See macro options for errorMessage.
formGroup object Additional options for the form group containing the date input component. See macro options for formGroup.
fieldset object Can be used to add a fieldset to the date input component. The fieldset.html option is not supported. See macro options for fieldset.
day object Can be used to customise the day input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See day macro options using input component macro.
month object Can be used to customise the month input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See month macro options using input component macro.
year object Can be used to customise the year input within the date input component. The input.formGroup and input.inputWrapper options are not supported. See year macro options using input component macro.
values object An optional object used to specify value attributes for the inputs within the date input component without setting items. See macro options for values.
disabled boolean If true, inputs used by the date input component will be disabled.
classes string Classes to add to the date input container.
inputWrapper object Additional options for the wrapping element containing the date input component. See macro options for inputWrapper.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the date input container.
Options for items array objects
Name Type Description
name string Required. Item-specific name attribute. Defaults to "day", "month" or "year".
label object Item-specific label. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the item input.
Options for formGroup object
Name Type Description
classes string Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the form group.
beforeInputs object Content to add before the inputs used by the date input component. See macro options for formGroup beforeInputs.
afterInputs object Content to add after the inputs used by the date input component. See macro options for formGroup afterInputs.
Options for formGroup beforeInputs object
Name Type Description
text string Required. Text to add before the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. HTML to add before the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
Options for formGroup afterInputs object
Name Type Description
text string Required. Text to add after the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. HTML to add after the inputs. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
Options for day input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the day input. Defaults to "day".
value string The value attribute for the day input.
label object The label used by the day input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the day input.
Options for month input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the month input. Defaults to "month".
value string The value attribute for the month input.
label object The label used by the month input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the month input.
Options for year input component
Name Type Description
name string The name attribute for the year input. Defaults to "year".
value string The value attribute for the year input.
label object The label used by the year input. The label.size and label.isPageHeading options are not supported. Defaults to the name option capitalised. See macro options for label.
error boolean If set to true, show a red border on the year input.
Options for values object
Name Type Description
day string The value attribute for the day input.
month string The value attribute for the month input.
year string The value attribute for the year input.
Options for inputWrapper object
Name Type Description
classes string Classes to add to the wrapping element.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the wrapping element.
Options for label component
Name Type Description
id string The ID of the label.
text string Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the label. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html string Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the label. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
caller nunjucks-block Not strictly a parameter but Nunjucks code convention. Using a call block enables you to call a macro with all the text inside the tag. This is helpful if you want to pass a lot of content into a macro. To use it, you will need to wrap the entire label component in a call block.
for string The value of the for attribute, the ID of the input the label is associated with.
isPageHeading boolean Whether the label also acts as the heading for the page.
size string Size of the label – "s", "m", "l" or "xl".
classes string Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes object HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag. 
{% from "date-input/macro.njk" import dateInput %}

{{ dateInput({
  id: "appointment-date",
  namePrefix: "appointmentDate",
  fieldset: {
    legend: {
      text: "When was your appointment?",
      size: "l",
      isPageHeading: true
    }
  },
  hint: {
    text: "For example, 18 5 2026"
  },
  errorMessage: {
    text: "Enter your appointment date"
  },
  items: [
    {
      name: "day",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-2 nhsuk-input--error"
    },
    {
      name: "month",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-2 nhsuk-input--error"
    },
    {
      name: "year",
      classes: "nhsuk-input--width-4 nhsuk-input--error"
    }
  ]
}) }}

Follow:

Research

Our date input is based on the component in the GOV.UK Design System. GOV.UK says that they need to do more research to understand if users struggle to enter months as numbers and whether it's more helpful to let them enter months as text.

If you've used this component, get in touch to share your user research findings.

Help us improve this guidance

Share insights or feedback and take part in the discussion. We use GitHub as a collaboration space. All the information on it is open to the public.

Feed back or share insights on GitHub

Read more about how to feed back or share insights.

If you have any questions, get in touch with the service manual team.

Updated: April 2026