[$250] [Due for payment 2026-04-23] Profile - Legal Name fields accept " , "and " ; " without showing error message

[lanitochka17]

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---

Version Number: undefined
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://test-management.browserstack.com/projects/2241336/test-runs/TR-5538/41909599/1195956755
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source:
Device used:
App Component:

Action Performed:

1. Go to https://staging.new.expensify.com/
2. Click on 'Account' button
3. Click on 'Legal name'
4. • Type " , " or " ; " in the Legal Name fields

Expected Result:

Error message should appear below the fields.

Actual Result:

Error message does not appear below the Legal name fields when " , " and " ; " are entered.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7080756_1771437908700.Recording__4952.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @mallenexpensify

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022047472215123784300
• Upwork Job ID: 2047472215123784300
• Last Price Increase: 2026-04-24

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @dominictb (External)

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @garrettmknight (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[melvin-bot]

Unable to auto-create job on Upwork. The BZ team member should create it manually for this issue.

[lorretheboy]

🚨 Edited by proposal-police: This proposal was edited at 2026-02-18 18:10:08 UTC.

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Profile - Legal Name fields accept " , "and " ; " without showing error message

What is the root cause of that problem?

We miss validator here for checking invalid characters like commas (,) and semicolons (;)

App/src/pages/settings/Profile/PersonalDetails/LegalNamePage.tsx

Lines 45 to 82 in e3c84ff

	const validate = useCallback(
	(values: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.LEGAL_NAME_FORM>) => {
	const errors: Errors = {};
	if (typeof values.legalFirstName === 'string') {
	if (!values.legalFirstName) {
	errors.legalFirstName = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
	} else if (values.legalFirstName.length > CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH) {
	addErrorMessage(
	errors,
	'legalFirstName',
	translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', {length: values.legalFirstName.length, limit: CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH}),
	);
	}
	if (doesContainReservedWord(values.legalFirstName, CONST.DISPLAY_NAME.RESERVED_NAMES)) {
	addErrorMessage(errors, 'legalFirstName', translate('personalDetails.error.containsReservedWord'));
	}
	}
	if (typeof values.legalLastName === 'string') {
	if (!values.legalLastName) {
	errors.legalLastName = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
	} else if (values.legalLastName.length > CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH) {
	addErrorMessage(
	errors,
	'legalLastName',
	translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', {length: values.legalLastName.length, limit: CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH}),
	);
	}
	if (doesContainReservedWord(values.legalLastName, CONST.DISPLAY_NAME.RESERVED_NAMES)) {
	addErrorMessage(errors, 'legalLastName', translate('personalDetails.error.containsReservedWord'));
	}
	}
	return errors;
	},
	[translate],
	);

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We should add isValidLegalName check here

--- a/src/pages/settings/Profile/PersonalDetails/LegalNamePage.tsx
+++ b/src/pages/settings/Profile/PersonalDetails/LegalNamePage.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import useOnyx from '@hooks/useOnyx';
 import useThemeStyles from '@hooks/useThemeStyles';
 import {addErrorMessage} from '@libs/ErrorUtils';
 import Navigation from '@libs/Navigation/Navigation';
-import {doesContainReservedWord} from '@libs/ValidationUtils';
+import {doesContainReservedWord, isValidLegalName} from '@libs/ValidationUtils';
 import {updateLegalName as updateLegalNamePersonalDetails} from '@userActions/PersonalDetails';
 import CONST from '@src/CONST';
 import ONYXKEYS from '@src/ONYXKEYS';
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ function LegalNamePage() {
             if (typeof values.legalFirstName === 'string') {
                 if (!values.legalFirstName) {
                     errors.legalFirstName = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
+                } else if (!isValidLegalName(values.legalFirstName)) {
+                    addErrorMessage(errors, 'legalFirstName', translate('privatePersonalDetails.error.hasInvalidCharacter'));
                 } else if (values.legalFirstName.length > CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH) {
                     addErrorMessage(errors, 'legalFirstName', translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', values.legalFirstName.length, CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH));
                 }
@@ -60,6 +62,8 @@ function LegalNamePage() {
             if (typeof values.legalLastName === 'string') {
                 if (!values.legalLastName) {
                     errors.legalLastName = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
+                } else if (!isValidLegalName(values.legalLastName)) {
+                    addErrorMessage(errors, 'legalLastName', translate('privatePersonalDetails.error.hasInvalidCharacter'));
                 } else if (values.legalLastName.length > CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH) {
                     addErrorMessage(errors, 'legalLastName', translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', values.legalLastName.length, CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH));
                 }

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Add custom regex or use any existing regex that matches with BE

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[MelvinBot]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

The Legal Name fields (first name and last name) on the Profile > Legal Name page accept invalid characters like , and ; without showing any validation error message.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The validate function in LegalNamePage.tsx only checks for three conditions: (1) empty values, (2) length exceeding CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH (40), and (3) reserved words via doesContainReservedWord. It does not call isValidLegalName from ValidationUtils, which validates that names contain only Latin script characters and spaces using the regex /^[\p{Script=Latin} ]*$/u.

This is an oversight — other components like FullNameStep.tsx already correctly use isValidLegalName with the privatePersonalDetails.error.hasInvalidCharacter error message ("Name can only include Latin characters").

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

In LegalNamePage.tsx:

1. Add isValidLegalName to the import from @libs/ValidationUtils
2. Add an isValidLegalName check for both legalFirstName and legalLastName between the empty-value check and the max-length check, using translate('privatePersonalDetails.error.hasInvalidCharacter') as the error message (via addErrorMessage)

This mirrors the existing pattern in FullNameStep.tsx (lines 87-89 and 104-106).

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

One might consider using isValidDisplayName instead (which only blocks commas and semicolons), but isValidLegalName is the correct choice here because legal names should be restricted to Latin characters only — consistent with how legal name validation works across the rest of the app (FullNameStep, PaymentCardForm, SignerInfo Name, etc.).

---

Confidence: High — The root cause is confirmed by direct code inspection. The isValidLegalName function and the error translation key both already exist. The fix follows an established pattern used in 4+ other components.

Next Steps for Contributor+ team: Reply with @MelvinBot implement this to create a draft PR, or @MelvinBot <your feedback> to refine this analysis.

[MassoudFSharifi]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

In Profile > Legal Name, users can enter invalid punctuation-only values such as ,, ;, ,, or ; and no inline error is shown. This allows invalid legal names to pass client-side validation.

What is the root cause of that problem?

LegalNamePage was not applying legal-name character validation to legalFirstName and legalLastName.
It only checked required/length/reserved words, so punctuation-only input was not rejected.
Also, simple truthy required checks can miss whitespace-only values.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

1. Validate both legal name fields with isValidLegalName.
2. Use isRequiredFulfilled so whitespace-only values are treated as empty.
3. Keep max-length and reserved-word checks unchanged.
4. Reuse a single helper for first/last field validation to avoid duplicated logic.

Implementation Code

// src/pages/settings/Profile/PersonalDetails/LegalNamePage.tsx

import {doesContainReservedWord, isRequiredFulfilled, isValidLegalName} from '@libs/ValidationUtils';

// ...

const validate = useCallback(
    (values: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.LEGAL_NAME_FORM>) => {
        const errors: Errors = {};

        const validateLegalNameField = (fieldName: 'legalFirstName' | 'legalLastName', value: string) => {
            if (!isRequiredFulfilled(value)) {
                errors[fieldName] = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
            } else if (!isValidLegalName(value)) {
                addErrorMessage(errors, fieldName, translate('privatePersonalDetails.error.hasInvalidCharacter'));
            } else if (value.length > CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH) {
                addErrorMessage(errors, fieldName, translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', value.length, CONST.LEGAL_NAME.MAX_LENGTH));
            }

            if (doesContainReservedWord(value, CONST.DISPLAY_NAME.RESERVED_NAMES)) {
                addErrorMessage(errors, fieldName, translate('personalDetails.error.containsReservedWord'));
            }
        };

        if (typeof values.legalFirstName === 'string') {
            validateLegalNameField('legalFirstName', values.legalFirstName);
        }

        if (typeof values.legalLastName === 'string') {
            validateLegalNameField('legalLastName', values.legalLastName);
        }

        return errors;
    },
    [translate],
);

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

• , in both legal name fields should show invalid-character errors.
• ; in both legal name fields should show invalid-character errors.
• , and ; should show invalid-character errors.
• Whitespace-only values should show required-field errors.
• Submit/update action should not run when validation errors exist.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

A narrow check that blocks only commas/semicolons was considered.
Using isValidLegalName is better because it keeps this flow aligned with shared legal-name validation used across the app.

[melvin-bot]

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[github-actions]

⚠️ @MassoudFSharifi Your proposal is a duplicate of an already existing proposal and has been automatically withdrawn to prevent spam. Please review the existing proposals before submitting a new one.