files/en-us/web/api/htmltextareaelement/validationmessage/index.md
{{APIRef("HTML DOM")}}
The validationMessage read-only property of the {{domxref("HTMLTextAreaElement")}} interface returns a string representing a localized message that describes the validation constraints that the {{htmlelement("textarea")}} control does not satisfy (if any). This is the empty string if the control is not a candidate for constraint validation ({{domxref("HTMLTextAreaElement.willValidate")}} is false), or it satisfies its constraints.
If the <textarea> element is a candidate for constraint validation (willValidate is true) and the constraints are not met (the {{domxref("HTMLTextAreaElement.validity")}} object's valid property is false), the value is the error message that would be shown to the user during validation.
A string.
const textarea = document.getElementById("myTextArea");
const errorMessage = textarea.validationMessage;
{{Specifications}}
{{Compat}}