Enter a sitemap URL or paste XML to validate
Supports urlset and sitemapindex formats · Up to 50,000 URLs// validate xml sitemap syntax & urls in one click
Validate any XML sitemap instantly. Check syntax, URL count, lastmod dates, changefreq, priority values, and sitemap index files. Free, browser-based.
Enter a sitemap URL or paste XML to validate
Supports urlset and sitemapindex formats · Up to 50,000 URLsPaste a direct URL to your sitemap.xml, or switch to Paste XML and input raw content
The tool fetches and parses the XML, checking syntax, structure, and all tag values
See errors, warnings, stats, and a full URL list with lastmod, changefreq, and priority
An XML sitemap tells search engines which pages exist on your site and when they were last updated. This validator checks your sitemap for structural errors, missing required tags, invalid URLs, and improper values — catching issues before Google does.
A valid sitemap must be well-formed XML with a root element of <urlset> (or <sitemapindex>), and each <url> entry must contain at least one <loc> tag with a valid, absolute URL. Tags like lastmod, changefreq, and priority are optional but must be correctly formatted when present.
A sitemap index is a sitemap that lists other sitemaps rather than URLs. Large sites use this to split URLs across multiple sitemap files. This tool detects sitemapindex files automatically and displays all child sitemap entries.
Google and Bing limit individual sitemap files to 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed. If you exceed this, split your URLs across multiple sitemaps and reference them from a sitemap index file.
The lastmod value must follow W3C Datetime format — either YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2024-03-15) or full ISO 8601 with time and timezone (e.g., 2024-03-15T10:30:00+07:00). Formats like 03/15/2024 are invalid.
Yes — when you use the URL mode, the server fetches the sitemap content on your behalf. This avoids CORS issues and lets you validate any public sitemap. The Paste XML mode works entirely with the content you provide without any network request.
Warnings indicate best-practice issues that won't prevent crawling — for example, missing optional tags or ambiguous date formats. Errors are structural problems that could cause Google Search Console to reject or ignore your sitemap.
Submitting a broken sitemap to Google Search Console can prevent entire sections of your website from being indexed. The JLV XML Sitemap Validator checks your sitemap.xml for every common error — from malformed XML to invalid URL formats — giving you a complete report before you submit.
The validator parses your XML against the Sitemap Protocol 0.9 specification. It checks for well-formed XML syntax, valid root elements (<urlset> or <sitemapindex>), required <loc> tags, URL format validity, W3C datetime compliance for <lastmod>, valid <changefreq> values, and priority range (0.0–1.0).
A standard sitemap uses <urlset> to list individual page URLs. When a site grows beyond 50,000 pages, it should use a <sitemapindex> file that references multiple child sitemaps. This tool automatically detects which format you're using and validates accordingly.
The most common issues are: relative URLs in <loc> (must be absolute, including https://), invalid date formats in <lastmod>, and exceeding the 50,000 URL limit. If your CMS generates the sitemap automatically, check its plugin settings for these common misconfigurations.