Validation Rules

Complete reference of all built-in validation rules.

String Rules

required

Field must not be empty, null, or an empty array.

$rules = ['name' => 'required'];

filled

Field must not be empty if present.

$rules = ['description' => 'filled'];

string

Field must be a string.

$rules = ['title' => 'string'];

min

Field must have at least X characters, or — when the value is an array — at least X elements.

$rules = [
    'password' => 'min:8',   // string: at least 8 chars
    'tags' => 'min:1',       // array: at least 1 element
];

max

Field must not exceed X characters, or — when the value is an array — must not contain more than X elements.

$rules = [
    'username' => 'max:20',  // string: at most 20 chars
    'tags' => 'max:5',       // array: at most 5 elements
];

length

Field must be exactly X characters.

$rules = ['pin' => 'length:4'];

regex

Field must match the regex pattern.

$rules = [
    'slug' => 'regex:/^[a-z0-9-]+$/',
    'code' => 'regex:/^[A-Z]{3}[0-9]{4}$/',
];

---

Numeric Rules

integer

Field must be an integer.

$rules = ['age' => 'integer'];

numeric

Field must be a number (integer or float).

$rules = ['price' => 'numeric'];

min_value

Field must be at least X (numeric comparison).

$rules = ['age' => 'min_value:18'];

max_value

Field must not exceed X (numeric comparison).

$rules = ['quantity' => 'max_value:100'];

---

Format Rules

email

Field must be a valid email address.

$rules = ['email' => 'email'];

phone

Field must be a valid phone number. Optionally specify region code.

$rules = [
    'phone' => 'phone',        // Any valid number
    'phone' => 'phone:US',     // US number
    'phone' => 'phone:UA',     // Ukrainian number
];

Uses libphonenumber for validation.

date

Field must be a valid date. Optionally specify format.

$rules = [
    'created_at' => 'date',              // Any parseable date
    'birth_date' => 'date:Y-m-d',        // Specific format
    'event_time' => 'date:Y-m-d H:i:s',  // With time
];

Also accepts Unix timestamps:

$data = ['timestamp' => 1705334400];
$rules = ['timestamp' => 'date'];  // Valid

uuid

Field must be a valid UUID (v1-v5).

$rules = ['id' => 'uuid'];

// Valid
$data = ['id' => '550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000'];

// Invalid
$data = ['id' => 'not-a-uuid'];

---

Type Rules

boolean

Field must be a boolean value. Accepts:

• true, false
• 1, 0
• '1', '0'
• 'true', 'false'
• 'yes', 'no'
• 'on', 'off'

$rules = ['is_active' => 'boolean'];

// All valid:
$data = ['is_active' => true];
$data = ['is_active' => 1];
$data = ['is_active' => 'yes'];
$data = ['is_active' => 'on'];

array

Field must be an array. Optionally specify allowed keys.

$rules = [
    'tags' => 'array',                      // Any array
    'user' => 'array:name,email,phone',     // Only these keys allowed
];

Example with key validation:

// Valid
$data = ['user' => ['name' => 'John', 'email' => 'john@example.com']];

// Invalid - 'password' key not allowed
$data = ['user' => ['name' => 'John', 'password' => 'secret']];

---

Choice Rules

in

Field must be one of the specified values.

$rules = [
    'status' => 'in:active,inactive,pending',
    'role' => 'in:admin,user,guest',
];

Also works with arrays:

$rules = ['tags' => 'in:php,javascript,python,go'];

// Valid - all values are in the allowed list
$data = ['tags' => ['php', 'javascript']];

// Invalid - 'ruby' is not allowed
$data = ['tags' => ['php', 'ruby']];

nullable

Marks a field as optional. When the value is blank — null, an empty string '', or an empty array [] — every other rule on that field is skipped, so blank input passes.

$rules = [
    'middle_name' => 'nullable|min:2',
    'website' => 'nullable|regex:/^https?:\/\//',
];

// All valid:
$data = ['middle_name' => null];      // absent / null
$data = ['middle_name' => ''];        // empty string
$data = ['middle_name' => 'James'];   // present and validated

Only blank values are skipped. Non-blank "falsy" values such as '0', 0, or false are not treated as blank and are still validated by the remaining rules.

The presence rules required and filled are the exception — they always run, even alongside nullable, since their whole job is to assert presence. Combining them with nullable is contradictory (required|nullable still fails on a blank value). Any custom rule that needs to run on blank values can opt in by implementing PresenceRule.

---

Rules Reference Table

Rule	Parameters	Description
required	—	Must not be empty
filled	—	Must not be empty if present
string	—	Must be a string
integer	—	Must be an integer
numeric	—	Must be a number
boolean	—	Must be true/false
array	keys (optional)	Must be an array
email	—	Must be valid email
phone	region (optional)	Must be valid phone
date	format (optional)	Must be valid date
uuid	—	Must be valid UUID
min	length	Minimum string length or array element count
max	length	Maximum string length or array element count
length	length	Exact string length
min_value	value	Minimum numeric value
max_value	value	Maximum numeric value
in	values	Must be in list
regex	pattern	Must match pattern
nullable	—	Allow blank (null / '' / []); skips other rules

---

Combining Rules

Rules are processed left to right:

$rules = [
    // Required, then validate format
    'email' => 'required|email',

    // Required, then check length
    'password' => 'required|min:8|max:100',

    // Required, numeric, then range
    'age' => 'required|integer|min_value:18|max_value:120',

    // Optional, but if present must be valid
    'website' => 'nullable|regex:/^https?:\/\//',
];

TIP

nullable applies to the whole field regardless of its position in the chain, but placing it first reads best. It skips the remaining rules only when the value is blank (null, '', or []); required and filled still run.