The crystal structure of (E)-dodec-2-enoic acid, C12H22O2, an [alpha],[beta]-unsaturated carb­oxy­lic acid with a melting point (295 K) near room temperature, is characterized by carb­oxy­lic acid inversion dimers linked by pairs of O-H...O hydrogen bonds. The carb­oxy­lic acid group and the following three carbon atoms of the chain of the (E)-dodec-2-enoic acid mol­ecule lie almost in one plane (r.m.s. deviation for the four C atoms and two O atoms = 0.012 Å), whereas the remaining carbon atoms of the hydro­carbon chain adopt a nearly fully staggered conformation [moduli of torsion angles vary from 174.01 (13) to 179.97 (13)°].