About This HTML Issue
The <meta> element is most commonly used inside the <head> section to define metadata like character encoding, viewport settings, or descriptions. Inside <head>, attributes like charset, http-equiv, and name are perfectly valid. However, the HTML specification also allows <meta> to appear inside the <body> — but only under specific conditions.
When a <meta> element appears in the <body>, it must have either an itemprop attribute (for microdata) or a property attribute (for RDFa). It must also have a content attribute. Additionally, it cannot use http-equiv, charset, or name attributes in this context. These rules exist because the only valid reason to place a <meta> tag in the <body> is to embed machine-readable metadata as part of a structured data annotation — not to define document-level metadata.
Why this matters
-
Standards compliance: The HTML living standard explicitly restricts which attributes
<meta>can use depending on its placement. Violating this produces invalid HTML. -
Browser behavior: Browsers may ignore or misinterpret
<meta>elements that appear in the<body>without proper attributes. For example, a<meta http-equiv="content-type">tag inside the<body>will have no effect on character encoding, since that must be determined before the body is parsed. -
SEO and structured data: Search engines rely on correctly structured microdata and RDFa. A
<meta>element in the body withoutitemproporpropertywon’t contribute to any structured data and serves no useful purpose.
Common causes
-
Misplaced
<meta>tags: A<meta>element meant for the<head>(such as<meta http-equiv="...">or<meta name="description">) has accidentally been placed inside the<body>. This can happen due to an unclosed<head>tag, a CMS inserting tags in the wrong location, or simply copying markup into the wrong section. -
Missing
itemproporproperty: A<meta>element inside the<body>is being used for structured data but is missing the requireditemproporpropertyattribute.
Examples
Incorrect: <meta> with http-equiv inside the <body>
This <meta> tag belongs in the <head>, not the <body>:
<body>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<form>
<input type="text" name="q">
</form>
</body>
Fixed: Move the <meta> to the <head>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<title>My Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="text" name="q">
</form>
</body>
Incorrect: <meta> in the <body> without itemprop or property
<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Offer">
<span itemprop="price">9.99</span>
<meta content="USD">
</div>
The <meta> element is missing the itemprop attribute, so the validator reports the error.
Fixed: Add the itemprop attribute
<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Offer">
<span itemprop="price">9.99</span>
<meta itemprop="priceCurrency" content="USD">
</div>
Correct: Using property for RDFa
The property attribute is also valid for <meta> elements in the <body> when using RDFa:
<div vocab="https://schema.org/" typeof="Event">
<span property="name">Concert</span>
<meta property="startDate" content="2025-08-15T19:00">
</div>
Incorrect: <meta name="..."> inside the <body>
The name attribute is only valid on <meta> elements inside the <head>:
<body>
<meta name="author" content="Jane Doe">
<p>Welcome to my site.</p>
</body>
Fixed: Move it to the <head>
<head>
<title>My Site</title>
<meta name="author" content="Jane Doe">
</head>
<body>
<p>Welcome to my site.</p>
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