# There must not be two elements with the same "nearest ancestor autofocus scoping root element" that both have the “autofocus” attribute specified. > Canonical HTML version: https://rocketvalidator.com/html-validation/there-must-not-be-two-elements-with-the-same-nearest-ancestor-autofocus-scoping-root-element-that-both-have-the-autofocus-attribute-specified > Attribution: Rocket Validator (https://rocketvalidator.com) > License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) A page can have only one element with the `autofocus` attribute, and so can each `` and each popover on it. The HTML standard groups `autofocus` elements by their "nearest ancestor autofocus scoping root element". For an element inside a ``, or inside an element with the `popover` attribute, that root is the closest such ancestor. A `` or popover that has `autofocus` itself is its own root. Everything else on the page shares one root, the `` element. When two elements with `autofocus` end up with the same root, the validator reports this error. The rule follows from how browsers use the attribute. On page load, the browser focuses one `autofocus` element, normally the first in source order, and ignores the rest. A `` or popover can have its own `autofocus` element because the browser moves focus into it each time it opens. A common cause is a site header whose search field has `autofocus`, on a page whose main form uses it too. Keep `autofocus` on the one field people most likely want to type in first, and remove it from the others. A modal built from a plain `
` doesn't get its own root, even with `role="dialog"`. If the second field belongs in a modal, build the modal with `` or the `popover` attribute, and its `autofocus` no longer clashes with the page's. ## Invalid example ```html
``` ## Valid example Only the login form's first field keeps `autofocus`: ```html
``` When the search field lives in a ``, both fields can keep `autofocus`, because each has a different root: ```html
```