Components

Character count

Help users know how much text they can enter when there is a limit on the number of characters.

HTML
Nunjucks

<div class="govuk-character-count" data-module="govuk-character-count" data-maxlength="200">
  <div class="govuk-form-group">
    <h1 class="govuk-label-wrapper"><label class="govuk-label govuk-label--l" for="with-hint">
        Can you provide more detail?
      </label>
    </h1>
    <div id="with-hint-hint" class="govuk-hint">
      Do not include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.
    </div>
    <textarea class="govuk-textarea govuk-js-character-count" id="with-hint" name="with-hint" rows="5" aria-describedby="with-hint-info with-hint-hint"></textarea>
  </div>

  <div id="with-hint-info" class="govuk-hint govuk-character-count__message">
    You can enter up to 200 characters
  </div>

</div>

Nunjucks

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.

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. The ID of the textarea.
name	string	Required. The name of the textarea, which is submitted with the form data.
rows	string	Optional number of textarea rows (default is 5 rows).
value	string	Optional initial value of the textarea.
maxlength	string	Required. If `maxwords` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of characters. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
maxwords	string	Required. If `maxlength` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of words. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
threshold	string	The percentage value of the limit at which point the count message is displayed. If this attribute is set, the count message will be hidden by default.
label	object	Required. Options for the label component. See label.
hint	object	Options for the hint component. See hint.
errorMessage	object	Options for the error message component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for `errorMessage`, for example `false` or `null`. See errorMessage.
formGroup	object	Options for the form-group wrapper. See formGroup.
classes	string	Classes to add to the textarea.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the textarea.
spellcheck	boolean	Optional field to enable or disable the `spellcheck` attribute on the character count.
countMessage	object	Options for the count message. See countMessage.

Options for formGroup
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).

Options for countMessage
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the count message.

Options for label
Name	Type	Description
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.
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.
classes	string	Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag.

Options for hint
Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If `html` is set, this is not required. Text to use within the hint. 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 hint. If `html` is provided, the `text` option will be ignored.
id	string	Optional ID attribute to add to the hint span tag.
classes	string	Classes to add to the hint span tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the hint span tag.

{% from "govuk/components/character-count/macro.njk" import govukCharacterCount %}

{{ govukCharacterCount({
  name: "with-hint",
  id: "with-hint",
  maxlength: 200,
  label: {
    text: "Can you provide more detail?",
    classes: "govuk-label--l",
    isPageHeading: true
  },
  hint: {
    text: "Do not include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details."
  }
}) }}

When to use this component

Always test your service without a character count first.

Only use the character count component when there is a good reason for limiting the number of characters users can enter. For example, if there is:

evidence that users are likely to enter more information than they need to
a legal or technical reason that means an entry must be no more than a certain number of characters

When not to use this component

If your users keep hitting the character limit imposed by the backend of your service then try to increase the limit rather than use a character count.

How it works

It tells users how many characters they have remaining as they type into a textarea with a character limit.

Users will get updates at a pace that works best for the way they interact with the textarea. This means:

sighted users will see a count message that updates as they type
screen reader users will hear the count announcement when they stop typing.

This component does not restrict the user from entering information. The user can enter more than the character limit, but are told they’ve entered too many characters. This lets them type or copy and paste their full answer, then edit it down.

The count message appears below the textarea so that:

it’s clearly separate from any hint text or error message above the textarea
if it’s below the visible screen area, users will still see it again when they scroll down to send their response

This component uses JavaScript. If JavaScript is not available, users will see a static message in place of the count message, telling them how many characters they can enter.

There are 2 ways to use the character count component. You can use HTML or, if you’re using Nunjucks or the GOV.UK Prototype Kit, you can use the Nunjucks macro.

HTML
Nunjucks

HTML

<div class="govuk-character-count" data-module="govuk-character-count" data-maxlength="200">
  <div class="govuk-form-group">
    <h1 class="govuk-label-wrapper"><label class="govuk-label govuk-label--l" for="with-hint">
        Can you provide more detail?
      </label>
    </h1>
    <div id="with-hint-hint" class="govuk-hint">
      Do not include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.
    </div>
    <textarea class="govuk-textarea govuk-js-character-count" id="with-hint" name="with-hint" rows="5" aria-describedby="with-hint-info with-hint-hint"></textarea>
  </div>

  <div id="with-hint-info" class="govuk-hint govuk-character-count__message">
    You can enter up to 200 characters
  </div>

</div>

Nunjucks

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.

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. The ID of the textarea.
name	string	Required. The name of the textarea, which is submitted with the form data.
rows	string	Optional number of textarea rows (default is 5 rows).
value	string	Optional initial value of the textarea.
maxlength	string	Required. If `maxwords` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of characters. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
maxwords	string	Required. If `maxlength` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of words. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
threshold	string	The percentage value of the limit at which point the count message is displayed. If this attribute is set, the count message will be hidden by default.
label	object	Required. Options for the label component. See label.
hint	object	Options for the hint component. See hint.
errorMessage	object	Options for the error message component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for `errorMessage`, for example `false` or `null`. See errorMessage.
formGroup	object	Options for the form-group wrapper. See formGroup.
classes	string	Classes to add to the textarea.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the textarea.
spellcheck	boolean	Optional field to enable or disable the `spellcheck` attribute on the character count.
countMessage	object	Options for the count message. See countMessage.

Options for formGroup
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).

Options for countMessage
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the count message.

Options for label
Name	Type	Description
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.
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.
classes	string	Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag.

Options for hint
Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If `html` is set, this is not required. Text to use within the hint. 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 hint. If `html` is provided, the `text` option will be ignored.
id	string	Optional ID attribute to add to the hint span tag.
classes	string	Classes to add to the hint span tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the hint span tag.

{% from "govuk/components/character-count/macro.njk" import govukCharacterCount %}

{{ govukCharacterCount({
  name: "with-hint",
  id: "with-hint",
  maxlength: 200,
  label: {
    text: "Can you provide more detail?",
    classes: "govuk-label--l",
    isPageHeading: true
  },
  hint: {
    text: "Do not include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details."
  }
}) }}

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.

HTML
Nunjucks

HTML

<div class="govuk-character-count" data-module="govuk-character-count" data-maxlength="200">
  <div class="govuk-form-group">
    <label class="govuk-label" for="label-as-page-heading">
      Describe the nature of your event
    </label>
    <textarea class="govuk-textarea govuk-js-character-count" id="label-as-page-heading" name="label-as-page-heading" rows="5" aria-describedby="label-as-page-heading-info"></textarea>
  </div>

  <div id="label-as-page-heading-info" class="govuk-hint govuk-character-count__message">
    You can enter up to 200 characters
  </div>

</div>

Nunjucks

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.

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. The ID of the textarea.
name	string	Required. The name of the textarea, which is submitted with the form data.
rows	string	Optional number of textarea rows (default is 5 rows).
value	string	Optional initial value of the textarea.
maxlength	string	Required. If `maxwords` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of characters. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
maxwords	string	Required. If `maxlength` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of words. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
threshold	string	The percentage value of the limit at which point the count message is displayed. If this attribute is set, the count message will be hidden by default.
label	object	Required. Options for the label component. See label.
hint	object	Options for the hint component. See hint.
errorMessage	object	Options for the error message component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for `errorMessage`, for example `false` or `null`. See errorMessage.
formGroup	object	Options for the form-group wrapper. See formGroup.
classes	string	Classes to add to the textarea.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the textarea.
spellcheck	boolean	Optional field to enable or disable the `spellcheck` attribute on the character count.
countMessage	object	Options for the count message. See countMessage.

Options for formGroup
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).

Options for countMessage
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the count message.

Options for label
Name	Type	Description
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.
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.
classes	string	Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag.

Options for hint
Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If `html` is set, this is not required. Text to use within the hint. 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 hint. If `html` is provided, the `text` option will be ignored.
id	string	Optional ID attribute to add to the hint span tag.
classes	string	Classes to add to the hint span tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the hint span tag.

{% from "govuk/components/character-count/macro.njk" import govukCharacterCount %}
 {{ govukCharacterCount({
  id: "label-as-page-heading",
  name: "label-as-page-heading",
  maxlength: 200,
  label: {
    text: "Describe the nature of your event"
  }
}) }}

Consider if a word count is more helpful

In some cases it may be more helpful to show a word count. For example, if your question requires a longer answer.

Do this by setting data-maxwords in the component markup. For example, data-maxwords="150" will set a word limit of 150.

HTML
Nunjucks

HTML

<div class="govuk-character-count" data-module="govuk-character-count" data-maxwords="150">
  <div class="govuk-form-group">
    <h1 class="govuk-label-wrapper"><label class="govuk-label govuk-label--l" for="word-count">
        Enter a job description
      </label>
    </h1>
    <textarea class="govuk-textarea govuk-js-character-count" id="word-count" name="word-count" rows="5" aria-describedby="word-count-info"></textarea>
  </div>

  <div id="word-count-info" class="govuk-hint govuk-character-count__message">
    You can enter up to 150 words
  </div>

</div>

Nunjucks

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.

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. The ID of the textarea.
name	string	Required. The name of the textarea, which is submitted with the form data.
rows	string	Optional number of textarea rows (default is 5 rows).
value	string	Optional initial value of the textarea.
maxlength	string	Required. If `maxwords` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of characters. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
maxwords	string	Required. If `maxlength` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of words. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
threshold	string	The percentage value of the limit at which point the count message is displayed. If this attribute is set, the count message will be hidden by default.
label	object	Required. Options for the label component. See label.
hint	object	Options for the hint component. See hint.
errorMessage	object	Options for the error message component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for `errorMessage`, for example `false` or `null`. See errorMessage.
formGroup	object	Options for the form-group wrapper. See formGroup.
classes	string	Classes to add to the textarea.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the textarea.
spellcheck	boolean	Optional field to enable or disable the `spellcheck` attribute on the character count.
countMessage	object	Options for the count message. See countMessage.

Options for formGroup
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).

Options for countMessage
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the count message.

Options for label
Name	Type	Description
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.
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.
classes	string	Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag.

Options for hint
Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If `html` is set, this is not required. Text to use within the hint. 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 hint. If `html` is provided, the `text` option will be ignored.
id	string	Optional ID attribute to add to the hint span tag.
classes	string	Classes to add to the hint span tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the hint span tag.

{% from "govuk/components/character-count/macro.njk" import govukCharacterCount %}

{{ govukCharacterCount({
  name: "word-count",
  id: "word-count",
  maxwords: 150,
  label: {
    text: "Enter a job description",
    classes: "govuk-label--l",
    isPageHeading: true
  }
}) }}

Avoid narrow limits

When using a character count, try to set the limit higher than most users will need. Find out what this is by doing user research and data analysis.

If the limit is much higher than most users are likely to reach, you can choose to only display the message after a user has entered a certain amount.

To do this, set a threshold in the component markup. For example, data-threshold="75" will show the count message only when users have entered 75% of the limit.

Screen reader users will hear the character limit when they first interact with a textarea using the threshold option. Sighted users will not see anything until the count message is shown — though you might choose to include the character limit in the hint text.

HTML
Nunjucks

HTML

<div class="govuk-character-count" data-module="govuk-character-count" data-maxlength="112" data-threshold="75">
  <div class="govuk-form-group">
    <h1 class="govuk-label-wrapper"><label class="govuk-label govuk-label--l" for="threshold">
        Can you provide more detail?
      </label>
    </h1>
    <textarea class="govuk-textarea govuk-js-character-count" id="threshold" name="threshold" rows="5" aria-describedby="threshold-info">Type another letter into this field after this message to see the threshold feature</textarea>
  </div>

  <div id="threshold-info" class="govuk-hint govuk-character-count__message">
    You can enter up to 112 characters
  </div>

</div>

Nunjucks

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.

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. The ID of the textarea.
name	string	Required. The name of the textarea, which is submitted with the form data.
rows	string	Optional number of textarea rows (default is 5 rows).
value	string	Optional initial value of the textarea.
maxlength	string	Required. If `maxwords` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of characters. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
maxwords	string	Required. If `maxlength` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of words. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
threshold	string	The percentage value of the limit at which point the count message is displayed. If this attribute is set, the count message will be hidden by default.
label	object	Required. Options for the label component. See label.
hint	object	Options for the hint component. See hint.
errorMessage	object	Options for the error message component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for `errorMessage`, for example `false` or `null`. See errorMessage.
formGroup	object	Options for the form-group wrapper. See formGroup.
classes	string	Classes to add to the textarea.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the textarea.
spellcheck	boolean	Optional field to enable or disable the `spellcheck` attribute on the character count.
countMessage	object	Options for the count message. See countMessage.

Options for formGroup
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).

Options for countMessage
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the count message.

Options for label
Name	Type	Description
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.
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.
classes	string	Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag.

Options for hint
Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If `html` is set, this is not required. Text to use within the hint. 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 hint. If `html` is provided, the `text` option will be ignored.
id	string	Optional ID attribute to add to the hint span tag.
classes	string	Classes to add to the hint span tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the hint span tag.

{% from "govuk/components/character-count/macro.njk" import govukCharacterCount %}

{{ govukCharacterCount({
  name: "threshold",
  id: "threshold",
  maxlength: 112,
  threshold: 75,
  value: "Type another letter into this field after this message to see the threshold feature",
  label: {
    text: "Can you provide more detail?",
    classes: "govuk-label--l",
    isPageHeading: true
  }
}) }}

Error messages

Error messages should be styled like this:

HTML
Nunjucks

HTML

<div class="govuk-character-count" data-module="govuk-character-count" data-maxlength="350">
  <div class="govuk-form-group govuk-form-group--error">
    <h1 class="govuk-label-wrapper"><label class="govuk-label govuk-label--l" for="exceeding-characters">
        Enter a job description
      </label>
    </h1>
    <p id="exceeding-characters-error" class="govuk-error-message">
      <span class="govuk-visually-hidden">Error:</span> Job description must be 350 characters or less
    </p>
    <textarea class="govuk-textarea govuk-textarea--error govuk-js-character-count govuk-textarea--error" id="exceeding-characters" name="exceeding" rows="5" aria-describedby="exceeding-characters-info exceeding-characters-error">A content designer works on the end-to-end journey of a service to help users complete their goal and government deliver a policy intent. Their work may involve the creation of, or change to, a transaction, product or single piece of content that stretches across digital and offline channels. They make sure appropriate content is shown to a user in the right place and in the best format.</textarea>
  </div>

  <div id="exceeding-characters-info" class="govuk-hint govuk-character-count__message">
    You can enter up to 350 characters
  </div>

</div>

Nunjucks

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.

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. The ID of the textarea.
name	string	Required. The name of the textarea, which is submitted with the form data.
rows	string	Optional number of textarea rows (default is 5 rows).
value	string	Optional initial value of the textarea.
maxlength	string	Required. If `maxwords` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of characters. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
maxwords	string	Required. If `maxlength` is set, this is not required. The maximum number of words. If `maxwords` is provided, the `maxlength` option will be ignored.
threshold	string	The percentage value of the limit at which point the count message is displayed. If this attribute is set, the count message will be hidden by default.
label	object	Required. Options for the label component. See label.
hint	object	Options for the hint component. See hint.
errorMessage	object	Options for the error message component. The error message component will not display if you use a falsy value for `errorMessage`, for example `false` or `null`. See errorMessage.
formGroup	object	Options for the form-group wrapper. See formGroup.
classes	string	Classes to add to the textarea.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the textarea.
spellcheck	boolean	Optional field to enable or disable the `spellcheck` attribute on the character count.
countMessage	object	Options for the count message. See countMessage.

Options for formGroup
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the form group (for example to show error state for the whole group).

Options for countMessage
Name	Type	Description
classes	string	Classes to add to the count message.

Options for label
Name	Type	Description
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.
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.
classes	string	Classes to add to the label tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the label tag.

Options for hint
Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If `html` is set, this is not required. Text to use within the hint. 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 hint. If `html` is provided, the `text` option will be ignored.
id	string	Optional ID attribute to add to the hint span tag.
classes	string	Classes to add to the hint span tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the hint span tag.

{% from "govuk/components/character-count/macro.njk" import govukCharacterCount %}

{{ govukCharacterCount({
  id: "exceeding-characters",
  name: "exceeding",
  maxlength: 350,
  value: "A content designer works on the end-to-end journey of a service to help users complete their goal and government deliver a policy intent. Their work may involve the creation of, or change to, a transaction, product or single piece of content that stretches across digital and offline channels. They make sure appropriate content is shown to a user in the right place and in the best format.",
  label: {
    text: "Enter a job description",
    classes: "govuk-label--l",
    isPageHeading: true
  },
  errorMessage: {
    text: "Job description must be 350 characters or less"
  }
}) }}

If a user tries to send their response with too many characters, you must show an error message above the field as well as the count message below it.

The error message tells users what went wrong and how to fix it. The count message provides live feedback and updates as a user types.

The input shows a red border only when the user tries to enter more than the character limit. If the number of characters is within the limit, the input does not show this border even when there’s been an error. We felt it might cause the user difficulty if the border disappeared once they started typing.

Make sure errors follow GOV.UK guidance on writing error messages and have specific error messages for specific error states.

If the input is empty

Say ‘Enter [whatever it is]’.
For example, ‘Enter a summary’.

If the input is too long

Say ‘[whatever it is] must be [number] characters or less’.
For example, ‘Summary must be 400 characters or less’.

Research on this component

The Government Digital Service (GDS) developed and tested this component in a prototype of the ‘Apply for a temporary event notice’ service.

During this research, the component was tested with 17 users, including those with low digital skills and users with disabilities.

Known issues and gaps

In Internet Explorer 11, JAWS will ignore any set threshold and announce the character count, even if the user entered less than the threshold.

In Chrome version 99, JAWS will not announce the hint or character count of a pre-populated textarea. This is a known issue for the developer of JAWS.

Also, this component counts some characters as multiple characters. For example, emojis and some non-Latin characters.

Services using this component

The component is used in a number of services, including the following.

Department for Education
Publish teacher training courses

Government Digital Service
Content publisher application

Next steps

More user research is needed to find out:

how to decide between a character limit and a word limit
if highlighting characters over the limit in red would be helpful for users
how the component might work with lower as well as upper limits
if enabling a character count on text inputs would be useful

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

Help improve this component

To help make sure that this page is useful, relevant and up to date, you can:

take part in the 'Character count' discussion on GitHub and share your research
propose a change – read more about how to propose changes in GitHub

Need help?

If you’ve got a question about the GOV.UK Design System, contact the team.

Cookies on GOV.UK Design System

Character count

When to use this component

When not to use this component

How it works

If you’re asking more than one question on the page

Consider if a word count is more helpful

Avoid narrow limits

Error messages

If the input is empty

If the input is too long

Research on this component

Known issues and gaps

Services using this component

Next steps

Help improve this component

Need help?