Does fieldset have to be in a form?

Question

I dont know anything about DTD.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos292.htm

See how fieldset is used outside of form on this page and it's cool! I love the style!

Answer 1

I think the question and chosen answer in this question are misleading. Whether or not a form has to have a fieldset, and whether or not a fieldset has to be in a form are two different questions with two different answers.

According to the HTML4.01 spec, a fieldset is a valid element inside of a form, but as it is a standard block-level element, it is also acceptable elsewhere: http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/interact/forms.html#h-17.10 http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/sgml/dtd.html#block

I can not, however, imagine a use case where this would be done, unless you are using the fieldset for decorating, which would be incorrect usage.

A form however, does not require a fieldset: http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/interact/forms.html#h-17.3

Answer 2

Bumping because no one gave a valid use case for a fieldset sans form. A valid reason to use a fieldset without a form is when you are using the inputs to gather information for a dynamic display. Each change of an input makes a difference in the displayed information. There is no sense of filling out a form and clicking submit. You could put a form around the fieldset, but it would be useless. The fieldset, however, visually groups the inputs used to control the display, (or game or whatever).