HTML · FORM ATTRIBUTE

HTML form enctype: urlencoded vs multipart/form-data

Last reviewed November 3, 2026

The enctype attribute on a <form> sets how the browser encodes the data of a method="post" submission. The default is application/x-www-form-urlencoded. Paste any body into the URL encoder and decoder to see exactly how a form is encoded. Use multipart/form-data whenever the form has an <input type="file"> (see the file input page). With method="get", enctype is ignored.

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Fill in the form above and press its button. The demo stops the request and lists every name=value pair the browser would send, plus the controls it leaves out.

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Example HTML (changes re-run the live demo)

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Minimal snippet

form-enctype-example.html

<form action="/upload" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  <input type="file" name="file">
</form>

Copy-paste code

HTML Form Enctype Attribute code you can paste today.

Replace YOUR_ACCESS_KEY with a key from your free splitforms dashboard. The form posts to one endpoint — submissions land in your inbox and dashboard with spam filtering built in.

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form-enctype.html

<form action="https://splitforms.com/api/submit" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  <input type="hidden" name="access_key" value="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY">

  <label for="name">Name</label>
  <input type="text" id="name" name="name" autocomplete="name" required>

  <label for="email">Email</label>
  <input type="email" id="email" name="email" autocomplete="email" required>

  <label for="attachment">Attachment</label>
  <input type="file" id="attachment" name="attachment">

  <!-- Honeypot: hidden from people, bots fill it in -->
  <input type="checkbox" name="botcheck" style="display:none" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off">

  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

Values

Which enctype values are there?

There are three: application/x-www-form-urlencoded (the default), multipart/form-data for forms with files, and text/plain. They only apply when the form uses method="post".

Which enctype values are there?
Value	What is sent	Use it for
`application/x-www-form-urlencoded`	The default. `name=value` pairs joined with `&`; spaces and special characters are percent-encoded.	Text-only forms.
`multipart/form-data`	Each field is a separate part, split by a boundary, with file contents included.	Any form with a file input.
`text/plain`	`name=value` lines with no escaping, so the data can't be decoded reliably.	Debugging only, never in production.
Invalid or missing value	The browser falls back to the default, `application/x-www-form-urlencoded`.	Nothing: set a real value or leave it out.

Sources: WHATWG HTML Standard: enctype · MDN: HTMLFormElement.enctype

Attributes · <form enctype>

Which HTML Form Enctype Attribute attributes matter?

These attributes decide how the <form enctype> behaves and what actually gets emailed to your inbox when someone submits.

HTML Form Enctype Attribute attributes and what each one does
Attribute	What it does
`enctype`	Set on the `<form>`. Picks how POST data is encoded: `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` (default), `multipart/form-data` or `text/plain`.
`formenctype`	Set on a submit button. Overrides the form's `enctype` for that button only.
`method`	`enctype` only applies when `method="post"`. With `get`, the data always goes in the URL.
`accept-charset`	The character encoding used for the data. Normally leave it out so the page's UTF-8 is used.

Common mistakes

HTML Form Enctype Attribute not working? Here's why.

Most broken forms come down to a few small mistakes with the <form enctype>. Check these before you ship, then forward every submission to Slack or a webhook.

No multipart, no file
Without enctype="multipart/form-data", a file input sends only the file name, not the file. There is no error; the upload just never arrives.
enctype is ignored with GET
A method="get" form always puts its data in the URL, whatever enctype says. File uploads need method="post".
Don't set Content-Type with fetch()
When you send a form with fetch(), pass the FormData object as the body and leave the Content-Type header out. The browser adds the multipart boundary; a hand-set header breaks the upload.
Avoid text/plain
text/plain doesn't escape the data, so a value with = or a line break can't be read back reliably. Use it only for debugging.

Sources: WHATWG HTML Standard: enctype · MDN: HTMLFormElement.enctype

Copy-paste ready

The HTML Form Enctype Attribute example below is a complete, working form — paste it into any HTML page and it submits, no edits to the markup required.

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File uploads need a paid splitforms plan with Storage connected (up to 5 files of 5 MB per submission); on the Free plan, text fields are saved and files are dropped.

How it works

How to add HTML Form Enctype Attribute to any page.

Copy the html form enctype attribute example, drop in your free access key, and paste it into any page — submissions start landing in your dashboard.

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Copy the HTML Form Enctype Attribute example below.

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Questions

HTML Form Enctype Attribute questions, answered.

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What does enctype multipart/form-data mean?

It tells the browser to send each form field as its own part of the request body, separated by a boundary string. File contents can travel this way, so any form with a file input needs enctype="multipart/form-data" and method="post".

What is the default enctype of a form?

application/x-www-form-urlencoded. The browser joins the fields as name=value pairs with & and percent-encodes spaces and special characters. It is also used when enctype is missing or has an invalid value.

Do I need enctype if my form has no file input?

No. For a text-only form the default, application/x-www-form-urlencoded, is fine, so you can leave the attribute out. Add enctype="multipart/form-data" only when the form uploads files.

What does formenctype do?

formenctype goes on a submit button and overrides the form's enctype for submissions made with that button only. Other buttons keep using the form's own enctype.

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