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HTML & Email Structure

doctype

CSS property · 13 supported, 0 partial, 7 unsupported across 21 clients

13 of 21 email clients render doctype fully (Sep 2, 2026 data); it breaks outright in Outlook (New), Yahoo Mail Android, Samsung Mail and 4 more.

  • 4/7 webmail, 3/6 desktop, 6/8 mobile clients support doctype fully.
  • Unsupported in Outlook (New), Yahoo Mail Android, Samsung Mail, Thunderbird and 3 more.
  • Across all clients, only 6 of 298 tracked HTML/CSS features render identically everywhere.

Source: caniemail.com (MIT), via the Emailens engine. Last tested upstream Jul 25, 2019, synced by Emailens Sep 2, 2026.

Client Support

ClientCategoryEngineSupport
GmailwebmailGmail WebSupported
Gmail AndroidmobileGmail MobileSupported
Gmail iOSmobileGmail MobileSupported
Outlook 365webmailOutlook WebSupported
Outlook (New)desktopOutlook WebUnsupportedSee caveat 1
Outlook ClassicdesktopMicrosoft WordSupported
Outlook iOSmobileOutlook MobileSupported
Outlook AndroidmobileOutlook MobileSupported
Outlook for MacdesktopWebKitSupported
Apple MaildesktopWebKitSupported
Apple Mail iOSmobileWebKitSupported
Yahoo MailwebmailYahooSupported
Yahoo Mail AndroidmobileYahooUnsupported
Yahoo Mail iOSmobileYahooSupported
Samsung MailmobileSamsungUnsupported
ThunderbirddesktopGeckoUnsupportedSee caveat 2
HEY MailwebmailWebKitUnsupported
Proton MailwebmailProtonUnsupported
AOL MailwebmailAOLUnsupported
FastmailwebmailFastmailSupported
SuperhumandesktopBlinkUnknown

Documented caveats (2)

  1. 1.Outlook (New): Not supported. The HTML5 doctype has no impact here.
  2. 2.Thunderbird: Buggy. Renders as if there was no doctype with an Outlook email, and in HTML5 otherwise.

Caveats recorded by caniemail.com (MIT) and carried verbatim, one entry per wording rather than per client.

Client-by-client behaviour for doctype

Fully supports doctype (13): Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS, Outlook 365, Outlook Classic, Outlook iOS, Outlook Android, Outlook for Mac, Apple Mail, Apple Mail iOS, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Mail iOS, Fastmail.

No support (7): Outlook (New), Yahoo Mail Android, Samsung Mail, Thunderbird, HEY Mail, Proton Mail, AOL Mail. Plan fallbacks for these clients before relying on doctype in production sends.

Behaviour unverified in: Superhuman.

Fixes & Workarounds

Outlook (New)

Unsupported

"doctype" is not supported in this email client.

Yahoo Mail Android

Unsupported

"doctype" is not supported in this email client.

Samsung Mail

Unsupported

"doctype" is not supported in this email client.

Thunderbird

Unsupported

"doctype" is not supported in this email client.

HEY Mail

Unsupported

"doctype" is not supported in this email client.

Proton Mail

Unsupported

"doctype" is not supported in this email client.

AOL Mail

Unsupported

"doctype" is not supported in this email client.

Related Features

Check your own HTML for doctype

Paste your own, or run the sample below. Analyzed in this page, with no signup and nothing stored.

Test your email in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail

Preview rendering, catch CSS issues, and see what Outlook does to your VML. Free, no account. All 21 clients with one.

Try Emailens Free

Last tested upstream: · Last synced by Emailens:

caniemail.com (MIT) records Jul 25, 2019 as the last time doctype was tested in a real client, 7 years before this sync. Syncing copies that result forward, it does not re-test it. Carried in @emailens/engine data v0.12.2.