Let's say I have a custom AddMethod to jQuery Validate like: $.validator.addMethod('min-length', function (val, element) { // do stuff // the error message here needs to be dynamic }, 'The field cannot be less than than ' + element.attr('data-min') + // it is within the closure, but it can't grab it ' length.'); I can't figure out a way to get the element variable in question, and get any values from it. What am I missing here?