# Stray start tag “h2”.

> Canonical HTML version: https://rocketvalidator.com/html-validation/stray-start-tag-h2
> Attribution: Rocket Validator (https://rocketvalidator.com)
> License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

An `<h2>` that comes after a `</body>` or `</html>` end tag is stray, because the HTML parser accepts no more elements once the body has ended.

Once the parser reads `</body>`, only whitespace, comments and the closing `</html>` tag may follow. Any element after that point is a parse error. Browsers recover by treating the heading as part of the body again, so the page usually looks right and the mistake goes unnoticed. After `</html>` the validator also gives up: it reports "Cannot recover after last error" and checks nothing further down the page, so other errors stay hidden until you fix this one.

The `</body>` that ends the body is often not the one at the bottom of the page. A block of HTML included from a standalone file, such as a widget or a newsletter form, can bring its own `<html>`, `<body>`, `</body>` and `</html>` tags. The parser ignores the extra start tags, which the validator reports a few lines earlier, but it obeys the end tags, so the real body ends in the middle of the page. The `<h2>` that opens the next section is then the first element after that point. A template that closes the body before printing the rest of the content has the same effect.

Remove the `<html>`, `<head>` and `<body>` tags from the included block so only its content reaches the page, and keep one `</body>` and one `</html>` at the very end of the document. If the heading sits after the page's own `</body>`, move it inside the body.

## Invalid example

```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <title>News</title>
</head>
<body>
  <main>
    <h1>News</h1>
    <!-- Included newsletter block -->
    <html>
    <body>
      <p>Subscribe to our newsletter.</p>
    </body>
    </html>
    <h2>Latest articles</h2>
    <p>New articles appear here every week.</p>
  </main>
</body>
</html>
```

## Valid example

```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <title>News</title>
</head>
<body>
  <main>
    <h1>News</h1>
    <!-- Included newsletter block -->
    <p>Subscribe to our newsletter.</p>
    <h2>Latest articles</h2>
    <p>New articles appear here every week.</p>
  </main>
</body>
</html>
```