HTML option tag

Example

A drop-down list with four options:

<label for="cars">Choose a car:</label>

<select id="cars">
<option value="volvo">Volvo</option>
<option value="saab">Saab</option>
<option value="opel">Opel</option>
<option value="audi">Audi</option>
</select>

Definition and Usage

The <option> tag defines an option in a select list.

<option> elements go inside a <select>, <optgroup>, or <datalist> element.

Note: The <option> tag can be used without any attributes, but you usually need the value attribute, which indicates what is sent to the server on form submission.

Tip: If you have a long list of options, you can group related options within the <optgroup> tag. 

Browser Support

Element
<option>	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Attributes

Attribute	Value	Description
disabled	disabled	Specifies that an option should be disabled
label	text	Specifies a shorter label for an option
selected	selected	Specifies that an option should be pre-selected when the page loads
value	text	Specifies the value to be sent to a server

Global Attributes

The <option> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.

Event Attributes

The <option> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.

More Examples

Example

Use of <option> in a <datalist> element:

<label for="browser">Choose your browser from the list:</label>
<input list="browsers" name="browser" id="browser">

<datalist id="browsers">
<option value="Edge">
<option value="Firefox">
<option value="Chrome">
<option value="Opera">
<option value="Safari">
</datalist>

Example

Use of <option> in <optgroup> elements:

<label for="cars">Choose a car:</label>
<select id="cars">
<optgroup label="Swedish Cars">
<option value="volvo">Volvo</option>
<option value="saab">Saab</option>
</optgroup>
<optgroup label="German Cars">
<option value="mercedes">Mercedes</option>
<option value="audi">Audi</option>
</optgroup>
</select>

Default CSS Settings

None.