# How to reset a form

> Learn how to reset a form to its original state in HTML using an input with type reset, or programmatically in JavaScript by calling the form.reset() method.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2020-06-30 | Topics: [Web Platform](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/platform/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/how-to-reset-form/

A common need on a Web page that contains a form is to reset it to the original state.

I think that some time ago many forms had a "reset" button, although now I see it being used less and less.

The reset button is an `input` element with `type="reset"`:

```html
<input type="reset" />
```

You can programmatically reset a form using [JavaScript](https://flaviocopes.com/javascript/), too.

All you need is the form element reference:

```js
const form = document.querySelector('form')
```

and then you can call the `reset()` method on the it:

```js
form.reset()
```

This will clear all the elements in the form, restoring them to the original state.