URL Percent-Encoding Validation Regex for PHP

What this pattern does

This page provides a well-structured, multi-part regular expression for matching url percent-encoding validation, ported and verified for PHP. A rigorously tested regex reduces debugging time and protects your application from edge-case failures. The snippet below is ready to drop into your PHP project — whether you're validating in a Laravel validator, a WordPress plugin, or a standalone PHP script.

Php Implementation

<?php
// URL Percent-Encoding Validation
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Web & Network > URL

define('URL_PERCENTENCODING_VALIDATION_PATTERN', '/^(?:[a-zA-Z0-9\-._~!$&\'()*+,;=:@\/?#\[\]]|%[0-9a-fA-F]{2})*$/');

function validate_url_percentencoding_validation(string $input): bool {
    return (bool) preg_match(URL_PERCENTENCODING_VALIDATION_PATTERN, $input);
}

// Example
var_dump(validate_url_percentencoding_validation("/path/to%20resource")); // bool(true)

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Web & Network > URL category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for PHP developers because especially relevant in PHP where PCRE backtracking limits can trigger silent failures on malicious input. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

This pattern validates encoding structure, not meaning. %2F is technically valid encoding but may have semantic implications (encoded forward slash vs. path separator) that require application-level handling.