<select name="datePostM" id="datePostMonth" value='' style="width:92px;"> <option value='January'>January</option> <option value='February'>February</option> <option value='March'>March</option> <option value='April'>April</option> <option value='May'>May</option> <option value='June'>June</option> <option value='July'>July</option> <option value='August'>August</option> <option value='September'>September</option> <option value='October'>October</option> <option value='November'>November</option> <option value='December'>December</option> </select> <script type="text/javascript"> function setSelectedIndex(s, v) { for ( var i = 0; i < s.options.length; i++ ) { if ( s.options[i].text == v ) { s.options[i].selected = true; return; } } } var month123 = "June" setSelectedIndex(document.getElementById('datePayMonth'), month123); </script> Change s.options[i].text to s.options[i].value if u want to refer to value instead of text.