HTML5 <!DOCTYPE> The HTML <!DOCTYPE> tag is used for specifying which language and version the document is using. This is referred to as the document type declaration (DTD) . With the introduction of HTML5, the <!DOCTYPE> tag is mostly useless, as HTML 5 does not require a reference to a DTD. Having said that, for legacy reasons, the HTML5 specification recommends including the <!DOCTYPE> header at the top of all HTML documents.