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Components

Select

use: best-practice English, Spanish USWDS v3 Web
A select component allows users to choose one option from a menu.

Examples

Default

View va-select default in Storybook

Required

View va-select required in Storybook

Hint text

View va-select with hint text in Storybook

Read only

View va-select inert, or read only in Storybook

Error

View va-select error message in Storybook

Dynamic options

View va-select dynamic options in Storybook

Internationalization

View va-select internationalization in Storybook

Widths

View va-select widths in Storybook

Forms pattern - Single

View va-select forms pattern single in Storybook

Forms pattern - Single error

View Error state for single select pattern in Storybook

Forms pattern - Multiple

View Multiple select pattern example in Storybook

Usage

Additional guidance for VA

Choosing between variations

Choosing the right component for the task

When deciding which component to use, consider the number of options available to the user. The total number of options will determine which component is right for the task:

  • 2 - 5 options: Use Radio button when there are only a few options that can all be exposed at once.
  • 6 - 15 options: Use Select for a limited number of options.
  • 16 - 100 options: Use Combo box, which combines a select with typeahead functionality for easier selection.
  • 101+ options: Use Search input with typeahead to help users quickly find the right option from a large set.

Exceptions to consider when choosing a component

In some cases, exceptions may be considered when choosing the right component:

  • When the options are known and memorable. Use Combo box if the user will know what to expect as options in the dropdown, such as a list of countries or states. See the USWDS address pattern.
  • When the radio button labels are long or radio tiles contain descriptive text. Long labels within a dropdown might make it difficult to read and select an option. Radio tiles often include descriptive text that cannot be used in a dropdown. In these cases, Radio button may be the better choice.

Contact the Design System team via #platform-design-system for help if you have other use cases that may be considered exceptions.

Errors

Hint text

Code usage

Web

Attributes and Properties

Property Attribute Type Default Description enableAnalytics enable-analytics boolean false

Whether or not to fire the analytics events

 error error string

Error message to display. When defined, this indicates an error.

 formHeading form-heading string

The content of the heading if useFormsPattern is true.

 formHeadingLevel form-heading-level number 3

The heading level for the heading if useFormsPattern is true.

 fullWidth full-width boolean false

If true, sets the select to take the full-width of its container

 headerAriaDescribedby header-aria-describedby string

An optional message that will be read by screen readers when the header is focused. The label-header-level prop must be set for this to be active.

 hideRequiredText hide-required-text boolean false

Whether or not to show the (*Required) text.

 hint hint string

Optional hint text.

 invalid invalid boolean false

Whether or not aria-invalid will be set on the inner select. Useful when composing the component into something larger, like a date component.

 label label string

Text label for the field.

 labelHeaderLevel label-header-level string

Insert a header with defined level inside the label

 messageAriaDescribedby message-aria-describedby string

An optional message that will be read by screen readers when the select is focused.

 name name string

Name attribute for the select field.

 reflectInputError reflect-input-error boolean false

Whether or not to add usa-input–error as class if error message is outside of component

 required required boolean false

Whether or not this is a required field.

 showError show-error boolean true

Whether an error message should be shown - set to false when this component is used inside va-date or va-memorable-date in which the error for the va-select will be rendered outside of va-select

 useFormsPattern use-forms-pattern string

Enabling this will add a heading and description for integrating into the forms pattern. Accepts single or multiple to indicate if the form is a single input or will have multiple inputs

 value value string

Selected value (will get updated on select).

 width width string

Displays the select at a specific width. Accepts 2xs (4ex), xs (7ex), sm or small (10ex), md or medium (20ex), lg (30ex), xl (40ex), and 2xl (50ex). Defined in USWDS here: https://github.com/uswds/uswds/blob/develop/packages/uswds-core/src/styles/tokens/units/input-widths.scss

Events

Name Description component-library-analytics The event used to track usage of the component. This is emitted when an option is selected and enableAnalytics is true. vaKeyDown The event attached to select's onkeydown vaSelect The event emitted when the selected value changes vaSelectBlur The event emitted when the select element is blurred

Native Events

  • The native onKeyDown event is available on this component. It can be used by adding the event handler to your component and it will then listen to the event and respond accordingly when the event fires.

Accessibility considerations

Privacy guidance

When Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI) is an option in a selection list, selections can’t be tracked in analytics or passed into other page elements that may be tracked.

  • Analytics tracking for this component must remain off if the options contain PII or PHI.
  • Selections can’t be utilized in elements on follow-on or related pages, such as a parameter or title tag.

Example: A form application asks the user to select a health condition from a dropdown list. Details about a person’s health conditions are considered PHI. The option selected can be stored in our data systems, but the selection can’t be tracked in analytics or utilized as part of the title tag in the next page.

Learn more about PII/PHI on the VA Platform website

Component checklist

Web Platform

100%

11 of 11 complete

Maturity

Guidance

Web

Examples, usage, code usage, content considerations, and accessibility considerations are all complete.

Research

Web

VFS team conducted research on this component which is linked from this page.

Stability

Web

Component has been in production for more than 3 months with no significant issues found.

Adoption

Web

Multiple teams have adopted this component.

Accessibility

While this component has been previously tested against older criteria, it has not yet been audited with the updated testing criteria.

Code assets

Variations

Web

Storybook includes all variations (style, size, orientation, optional iconography, selection, error state, etc.)

Responsive

Web

Component depicted in all responsive breakpoints.

Interactive states

Web

Includes all interactive states that are applicable (hover, active, focus, keyboard focus, disabled).

Tokens

N/A Web

All design attributes (color, typography, layout, etc.) are available as tokens.

Internationalization

Web

Describes i18n attributes.

Visual assets

Variations

Web

Figma library includes all variations (style, size, orientation, optional iconography, selection, error state, etc.)

Responsive

Web

Component designed to work in all responsive breakpoints.

Interactive states

Web

Includes all interactive states that are applicable (hover, active, focus, keyboard focus, disabled).

Tokens

N/A Web

All design attributes (color, typography, layout, etc.) are available as tokens.

Legend:

  • Complete
  • Incomplete
  • N/A Not applicable

Provide feedback

Share your feedback, report issues, or suggest improvements for the Select component. Your input helps us make the design system better for everyone.

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Last updated: Sep 10, 2025