Laravel File Upload Validation
Stefan Bogdanescu
Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29
In your Laravel application, you have a form that allows users to upload files, and you need to validate their file type as Microsoft Office Word documents (DOCX or DOC). By following the code example below, you can ensure that only allowed Microsoft Word file types are processed. Let's walk through the process step-by-step:
php
public function store() {
// Validate
$rules = array(
'pda' => 'required|unique:forms',
'controlnum' => 'required|unique:forms',
'date' => 'required',
'churchname' => 'required',
'title' => 'required',
'pastorname' => 'required',
'contactnum' => 'required',
'address' => 'required',
'state' => 'required',
'region' => 'required',
'area' => 'required',
'city' => 'required',
'zipcode' => 'required|numeric|max:9999',
'tgjteachertraining' => 'required',
'localcontact' => 'required',
'tgjdatestart' => 'required',
'tgjdateend' => 'required',
'tgjcourse' => 'required|numeric',
'childrengraduated' => 'required|numeric|max:450',
'childrenacceptjesus' => 'required|numeric',
'howmanycomitted' => 'required|numeric',
'recievedbibles' => 'required|numeric',
'descgradevent' => 'required',
'whatwillyoudo' => 'required',
'pastortest' => 'required',
'teachertest' => 'required',
'childrentest' => 'required',
'file' => 'required|max:10000', // Max upload file size is 10MB
);
$validator = Validator::make(Input::all(), $rules);
// process the form
if ($validator->fails()) {
return Redirect::to('forms/create')->withErrors($validator);
} else {
// store
$forms = new Forms;
$forms->pda = Input::get('pda');
$forms->controlnum = Input::get('controlnum');
$forms->date = Input::get('date');
$forms->churchname = ucwords(Input::get('churchname'));
$forms->title = ucwords(Input::get('title'));
$forms->pastorname = ucwords(Input::get('pastorname'));
$forms->address = Input::get('address');
$forms->contactnum = Input::get('contactnum');
$forms->state = Input::get('state2');
$forms->region = Input::get('region2');
$forms->area = Input::get('area2');
$forms->citytown = Input::get('city2');
$forms->zipcode = Input::get('zipcode');
$forms->tgjteachertraining = Input::get('tgjteachertraining');
$forms->localcontact = ucwords(Input::get('localcontact'));
$forms->tgjdatestart = Input::get('tgjdatestart');
$forms->tgjdateend = Input::get('tgjdateend');
$forms->tgjcourse = Input::get('tgjcourse');
$forms->childrengraduated = Input::get('childrengraduated');
$forms->childrenacceptjesus = Input::get('childrenacceptjesus');
$forms->howmanycomitted = Input::get('howmanycomitted');
$forms->recievedbibles = Input::get('recievedbibles');
$forms->descgradevent = Input::get('descgradevent');
$forms->whatwillyoudo = Input::get('whatwillyoudo');
$forms->pastortest = Input::get('pastortest');
$forms->teachertest = Input::get('teachertest');
$forms->childrentest = Input::get('childrentest');
$file = Input::file('file');
// Add custom validation for file type.
if (! $file->isValid() || ! $file->getClientOriginalExtension() === 'docx' && ! $file->getClientOriginalExtension() === 'doc') {
return Redirect::back()->withErrors(['File is not a Microsoft Word Document!']);
}
// Check if the uploaded file is valid.
else if ($file->isValid()) {
$filename = $file->getClientOriginalName();
$destinationPath = 'uploads/'.Input::get('pda');
$uploadSuccess = Input::file('file')->move($destinationPath, $filename);
if ($uploadSuccess) {
// Save the file details.
$forms->docurl = 'uploads/'.Input::get('pda').'/'.$filename;
$forms->save();
Session::flash('message', 'Successfully submitted form!');
} else {
return Response::json('error', 400); // Return error if file upload fails.
}
}
}
}