HTML Guide
An end tag for X has been found that does not correspond to a previous open tag. This usually happens when you close the same tag twice, for example:
<ul>
<li>item</li>
</ul>
</ul>Last reviewed: September 02, 2024
Related W3C validator issues
An </a> end tag has been found to violate nesting rules. <a> tags can’t include other <a> tags inside. Most probable cause is an unclosed <a> tag, like in this example:
<a href="one.html">Page 1
<a href="two.html">Page 2</a>An end tag </code> has been found violating nesting rules. Check other errors in the same document related to the <code> element, and fix the unallowed nested elements.
A closing </body> tag has been found, but there are unclosed elements before it. For example this has an unclosed <section> element:
<body>
<section>
</body>End tags in HTML must not have any attributes.
According to the HTML specification, only start tags (also called opening tags) may contain attributes, while end tags must appear as a plain </tagname> with nothing else.
For example, this is invalid and will trigger the error:
<p>Welcome to the site.</p class="welcome">Correct code removes the attribute from the end tag:
<p>Welcome to the site.</p>If you need the element to have an attribute, only include it in the start tag:
<p class="welcome">Welcome to the site.</p>End tag “i” violates nesting rules because the closing </i> does not match the most recently opened still-unclosed inline element, causing mis-nested tags.
HTML requires elements to be properly nested in a stack-like order: last opened, first closed. Inline elements like the i element (for idiomatic text), em, strong, a, and span must not overlap. When you open i and then open b, you must close b before closing i. Mis-nesting often happens around links or emphasis tags, e.g., i inside a but closed outside. The i element is purely presentational/idiomatic; consider em for emphasis or CSS with font-style: italic;, but whichever you use, keep the nesting consistent.
Common patterns that trigger the error:
- Overlapping inline elements: i … b … </i> … </b>
- Closing order mismatch across a, span, em, strong, i
- Copy/paste around icons or screen-reader text
Fix by reordering the tags so they close in reverse order of opening, or by merging styles into one element to avoid overlaps.
HTML Examples
Incorrect (reproduces the validator error)
<p>
<a href="/about"><i>About <strong>Us</i></strong></a>
</p>Correct (properly nested)
<p>
<a href="/about"><i>About <strong>Us</strong></i></a>
</p>And end tag has been found that does not match the current open element. Check the context to fix the start and end tags.
An end tag has been found after the closing </body> tag, which breaks the expected HTML document structure.
Check out the document structure, a basic example follows:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="">
<head>
<title>Test</title>
</head>
<body>
<p></p>
</body>
</html>All HTML documents must start with a <!DOCTYPE> (Document Type Declaration), that informs browsers about the type and version of HTML used to build the document. In HTML5, this is simply <!DOCTYPE html> and must appear at the start of the document.
Here is an example of a minimal HTML document, including the Document Type Declaration at its start:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Test</title>
</head>
<body>
<p></p>
</body>
</html>A stray <br> happens when the <br> element, which is phrasing content, is placed in contexts that only allow specific children. Common mistakes include putting <br> directly inside <ul>, <ol>, <table>, <tr>, or outside <body>, and inserting it between block-level siblings to add spacing instead of using CSS. The validator flags this because it violates the HTML content model.
This matters for standards compliance, predictable rendering, and accessibility. Screen readers and assistive tech rely on correct structure (lists made of li, tables built from tr/td, sections within body). Misplaced <br> can produce confusing reading orders and inconsistent layout across browsers.
How to fix:
- Keep <br> only where phrasing content is allowed (typically inside text-flowing elements like p, span, li, td, caption).
- For spacing between blocks, use CSS margins instead of <br>.
- For lists, use proper li items; for tables, place text inside td/th; for forms, use grouping and CSS.
- Ensure no <br> appears outside <body> or inside elements that have restricted content models (ul, ol, table, tr, thead, tbody, tfoot, colgroup, select, dl directly, etc.).
- If a line break is purely presentational across viewports, consider CSS (display:block, white-space) instead of <br>.
Examples
Valid use inside phrasing content
<p>
First line.<br>
Second line.
</p>Invalid: <br> directly inside a list (triggers the error)
<ul>
<br>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 2</li>
</ul>Fix: remove the stray <br>; use list items only
<ul>
<li>Item 1</li>
<li>Item 2</li>
</ul>Invalid: <br> outside <body> (triggers the error)
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Stray br Tag Example</title>
</head>
<br>
<body>
Content here.
</body>
</html>Fix: move <br> inside the body (or use CSS if only spacing is needed)
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>No Stray br Tag</title>
</head>
<body>
Content here.<br>
New line in body.
</body>
</html>Invalid: <br> as a child of <table> (triggers the error)
<table>
<br>
<tr>
<td>A</td>
<td>B</td>
</tr>
</table>Fix: use proper table rows and cells; place text inside cells
<table>
<tr>
<td>A</td>
<td>B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>More A</td>
<td>More B</td>
</tr>
</table>Invalid: using <br> for spacing between blocks (not allowed between siblings)
<div>Section A</div>
<br>
<div>Section B</div>Fix: use CSS margins for spacing
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Spacing with CSS</title>
<style>
.block { margin-bottom: 1rem; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="block">Section A</div>
<div>Section B</div>
</body>
</html>Valid alternatives where a break is needed in phrasing context
<li>
Address: 123 Main St.<br>
Suite 400
</li>Tips:
- Use exactly <br> (no closing tag needed) and do not self-close as XML (<br />) unless your tooling requires it; both parse in HTML, but stick to HTML style for consistency.
- If you see multiple “stray start tag ‘br’” errors, check parent containers: fixing the first invalid parent often resolves many subsequent errors.
A <div> tag appears where the HTML structure does not expect it, often due to incorrect nesting or missing closing tags.
HTML elements must be properly nested and closed according to the specifications outlined by the HTML standard. A stray start tag usually occurs when a block-level element like <div> is used in a context where only phrasing (inline) content is permitted, or if required closing tags (such as </li>, </tr>, or </td>) are missing, causing the parser to be out of sync.
Incorrect Example: div after closing the html tag
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="">
<head>
<title>Test</title>
</head>
<body>
<p></p>
</body>
</html>
<div>
some extra content
</div>In the above, the <div> at the bottom is not valid because it appears after closing the html tag.
Always close elements properly and place block-level elements like <div> only inside appropriate containers. If your issue occurs elsewhere, look for missing closing tags or incorrect placement of the <div> relative to tables, lists, or other structural elements.