diff --git a/includes/form.inc b/includes/form.inc
index 9b72492..39374ff 100755
--- a/includes/form.inc
+++ b/includes/form.inc
@@ -1163,8 +1163,8 @@ function _form_validate(&$elements, &$form_state, $form_id = NULL) {
     // The following errors are always shown.
     if (isset($elements['#needs_validation'])) {
       // Verify that the value is not longer than #maxlength.
-      if (isset($elements['#maxlength']) && drupal_strlen($elements['#value']) > $elements['#maxlength']) {
-        form_error($elements, $t('!name cannot be longer than %max characters but is currently %length characters long.', array('!name' => empty($elements['#title']) ? $elements['#parents'][0] : $elements['#title'], '%max' => $elements['#maxlength'], '%length' => drupal_strlen($elements['#value']))));
+      if (isset($elements['#maxlength']) && drupal_strlen(strip_tags($elements['#value'])) > $elements['#maxlength']) {
+        form_error($elements, $t('!name cannot be longer than %max characters but is currently %length characters long.', array('!name' => empty($elements['#title']) ? $elements['#parents'][0] : $elements['#title'], '%max' => $elements['#maxlength'], '%length' => drupal_strlen(strip_tags($elements['#value'])))));
       }
 
       if (isset($elements['#options']) && isset($elements['#value'])) {