Summary

The HTML element line break <br> produces a line break in text (carriage-return). It is useful for writing a poem or an address, where the division of lines is significant.

Do not use <br> to increase the gap between lines of text; use the CSS margin property or the <p> element.

Content categories Flow content, phrasing content.
Permitted content None, it is an empty element.
Tag omission Must have a start tag, and must not have an end tag. In XHTML documents, write this element as <br />.
Permitted parent elements Any element that accepts phrasing content.
DOM interface HTMLBRElement

Attributes

This element includes the global attributes.

clear Deprecated since HTML4.01 Obsolete since HTML5
Indicates where to begin the next line after the break.

Usage note: This attribute is obsolete in HTML5 and should not be used by authors. Use the CSS clear property instead.

Example

Mozilla Foundation<br>
1981 Landings Drive<br>
Building K<br>
Mountain View, CA 94043-0801<br>
USA

The HTML above outputs:

Mozilla Foundation
1981 Landings Drive
Building K
Mountain View, CA 94043-0801
USA

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
WHATWG HTML Living Standard
The definition of '<br>' in that specification.		 Living Standard  
HTML5
The definition of '<br>' in that specification.		 Recommendation  
HTML 4.01 Specification
The definition of '<br>' in that specification.		 Recommendation  

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support 1.0 (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)
Feature Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

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 Contributors to this page: dio, Sebastianz, teoli, kscarfone, justleroy, Sheppy, medicdude, ethertank, grendel, cers, hobophobe, xaky, Ward, osdm, jswisher, Softwayer, Amaday39, Ptak82, QscY9q, Nickolay, Jscher2000, PablO, Rappo
 Last updated by: dio,