diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2811b5ab22..6b630106a9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ should change the heading of the (upcoming) version to include a major version b
 - Fixed issue with default value not being prefilled when object with if/then is nested inside another object, fixing [#4222](https://github.com/rjsf-team/react-jsonschema-form/issues/4222)
 - Fixed issue with schema array with nested dependent fixed-length, fixing [#3754](https://github.com/rjsf-team/react-jsonschema-form/issues/3754)
 - Updated `CustomValidator` type to accept `errorSchema`, so its implementation can be based on result of ajv validation ([#4898](https://github.com/rjsf-team/react-jsonschema-form/pull/4899))
+- Updated `getWidget.tsx` to replace `react-is.isForwardRef()` with `ReactIs.isValidElementType()` for React 19 compatibility, fixing [#4907](https://github.com/rjsf-team/react-jsonschema-form/issues/4907)
 
 ## @rjsf/validator-ajv8
 
diff --git a/packages/docs/docs/advanced-customization/custom-widgets-fields.md b/packages/docs/docs/advanced-customization/custom-widgets-fields.md
index 139d7b86ee..68937d857f 100644
--- a/packages/docs/docs/advanced-customization/custom-widgets-fields.md
+++ b/packages/docs/docs/advanced-customization/custom-widgets-fields.md
@@ -250,21 +250,21 @@ This is useful if you expose the `uiSchema` as pure JSON, which can't carry func
 
 ### Custom widget options
 
-If you need to pass options to your custom widget, you can add a `ui:options` object containing those properties. If the widget has `defaultProps`, the options will be merged with the (optional) options object from `defaultProps`:
+If you need to pass options to your custom widget, you can add a `ui:options` object containing those properties. If the widget has `defaultProps`, the options will be merged with the optional `options` object from `defaultProps`:
 
 ```tsx
-import { RJSFSchema, UiSchema, WidgetProps } from '@rjsf/utils';
+import { RJSFSchema, UiSchema, WidgetProps, RegistryWidgetsType } from '@rjsf/utils';
 import validator from '@rjsf/validator-ajv8';
 
 const schema: RJSFSchema = {
   type: 'string',
 };
 
-function MyCustomWidget(props: WidgetProps) {
+const MyCustomWidget = (props: WidgetProps) => {
   const { options } = props;
   const { color, backgroundColor } = options;
   return <input style={{ color, backgroundColor }} />;
-}
+};
 
 MyCustomWidget.defaultProps = {
   options: {
@@ -283,6 +283,7 @@ const uiSchema: UiSchema = {
 render(<Form schema={schema} uiSchema={uiSchema} validator={validator} />, document.getElementById('app'));
 ```
 
+
 > Note: This also applies to [registered custom components](#custom-component-registration).
 
 ### Customizing widgets' text input
diff --git a/packages/docs/docs/migration-guides/v7.x upgrade guide.md b/packages/docs/docs/migration-guides/v7.x upgrade guide.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..45fbb17848
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/docs/docs/migration-guides/v7.x upgrade guide.md	
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# 7.x Upgrade Guide
+
+## Breaking changes
+
+### react-is.isForwardRef() removed
+
+The usage of `react-is.isForwardRef()` was removed from `getWidget.tsx` because React 19 no longer supports this function. ForwardRef components are now detected using `ReactIs.isValidElementType()`, which provides a robust check for all valid React component types.
+
+This change should be transparent to most users, as the widget detection logic now properly handles:
+
+- Regular function components
+- Memoized components (`React.memo`)
+- ForwardRef components (`React.forwardRef`)
+- Other exotic React components
+
+## New deprecations
+
+None in this release.
+
+## Removed deprecations
+
+None in this release.
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/getWidget.tsx b/packages/utils/src/getWidget.tsx
index 06f23be5db..8bd38cec49 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/getWidget.tsx
+++ b/packages/utils/src/getWidget.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { createElement } from 'react';
 import ReactIs from 'react-is';
 import get from 'lodash/get';
 import set from 'lodash/set';
@@ -101,11 +100,9 @@ export default function getWidget<T = any, S extends StrictRJSFSchema = RJSFSche
 ): Widget<T, S, F> {
   const type = getSchemaType(schema);
 
-  if (
-    typeof widget === 'function' ||
-    (widget && ReactIs.isForwardRef(createElement(widget))) ||
-    ReactIs.isMemo(widget)
-  ) {
+  // Check if widget is a valid React component.
+  // We exclude strings because in RJSF, string widgets are keys in the registry, not HTML elements.
+  if (ReactIs.isValidElementType(widget) && typeof widget !== 'string') {
     return mergeWidgetOptions<T, S, F>(widget as Widget<T, S, F>);
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/types.ts b/packages/utils/src/types.ts
index 21038c491b..d66a207861 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/types.ts
@@ -192,15 +192,15 @@ export type FieldPath = {
 /** Type describing a recursive structure of `FieldPath`s for an object with a non-empty set of keys */
 export type PathSchema<T = any> =
   T extends Array<infer U>
-    ? FieldPath & {
-        [i: number]: PathSchema<U>;
-      }
-    : T extends GenericObjectType
-      ? FieldPath & {
-          /** The set of names for fields in the recursive object structure */
-          [key in keyof T]?: PathSchema<T[key]>;
-        }
-      : FieldPath;
+  ? FieldPath & {
+    [i: number]: PathSchema<U>;
+  }
+  : T extends GenericObjectType
+  ? FieldPath & {
+    /** The set of names for fields in the recursive object structure */
+    [key in keyof T]?: PathSchema<T[key]>;
+  }
+  : FieldPath;
 
 /** The type for error produced by RJSF schema validation */
 export type RJSFValidationError = {
@@ -480,8 +480,8 @@ export interface Registry<T = any, S extends StrictRJSFSchema = RJSFSchema, F ex
 /** The properties that are passed to a `Field` implementation */
 export interface FieldProps<T = any, S extends StrictRJSFSchema = RJSFSchema, F extends FormContextType = any>
   extends GenericObjectType,
-    RJSFBaseProps<T, S, F>,
-    Pick<HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, Exclude<keyof HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, 'onBlur' | 'onFocus' | 'onChange'>> {
+  RJSFBaseProps<T, S, F>,
+  Pick<HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, Exclude<keyof HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, 'onBlur' | 'onFocus' | 'onChange'>> {
   /** The FieldPathId of the field in the hierarchy */
   fieldPathId: FieldPathId;
   /** The data for this field */
@@ -857,25 +857,25 @@ export type WrapIfAdditionalTemplateProps<
   /** The field or widget component instance for this field row */
   children: ReactNode;
 } & Pick<
-    FieldTemplateProps<T, S, F>,
-    | 'id'
-    | 'classNames'
-    | 'hideError'
-    | 'rawDescription'
-    | 'rawErrors'
-    | 'style'
-    | 'displayLabel'
-    | 'label'
-    | 'required'
-    | 'readonly'
-    | 'disabled'
-    | 'schema'
-    | 'uiSchema'
-    | 'onKeyRename'
-    | 'onKeyRenameBlur'
-    | 'onRemoveProperty'
-    | 'registry'
-  >;
+  FieldTemplateProps<T, S, F>,
+  | 'id'
+  | 'classNames'
+  | 'hideError'
+  | 'rawDescription'
+  | 'rawErrors'
+  | 'style'
+  | 'displayLabel'
+  | 'label'
+  | 'required'
+  | 'readonly'
+  | 'disabled'
+  | 'schema'
+  | 'uiSchema'
+  | 'onKeyRename'
+  | 'onKeyRenameBlur'
+  | 'onRemoveProperty'
+  | 'registry'
+>;
 
 /** The properties that are passed to a MultiSchemaFieldTemplate implementation */
 export interface MultiSchemaFieldTemplateProps<
@@ -892,8 +892,8 @@ export interface MultiSchemaFieldTemplateProps<
 /** The properties that are passed to a `Widget` implementation */
 export interface WidgetProps<T = any, S extends StrictRJSFSchema = RJSFSchema, F extends FormContextType = any>
   extends GenericObjectType,
-    RJSFBaseProps<T, S, F>,
-    Pick<HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, Exclude<keyof HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, 'onBlur' | 'onFocus' | 'onChange'>> {
+  RJSFBaseProps<T, S, F>,
+  Pick<HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, Exclude<keyof HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>, 'onBlur' | 'onFocus' | 'onChange'>> {
   /** The generated id for this widget, used to provide unique `name`s and `id`s for the HTML field elements rendered by
    * widgets
    */
@@ -948,6 +948,7 @@ export type Widget<T = any, S extends StrictRJSFSchema = RJSFSchema, F extends F
   WidgetProps<T, S, F>
 >;
 
+
 /** The properties that are passed to the BaseInputTemplate */
 export interface BaseInputTemplateProps<
   T = any,
@@ -1143,8 +1144,8 @@ export type UiSchema<
      * When using a function, it receives the item data, index, and optionally the form context as parameters.
      */
     items?:
-      | UiSchema<ArrayElement<T>, S, F>
-      | ((itemData: ArrayElement<T>, index: number, formContext?: F) => UiSchema<ArrayElement<T>, S, F>);
+    | UiSchema<ArrayElement<T>, S, F>
+    | ((itemData: ArrayElement<T>, index: number, formContext?: F) => UiSchema<ArrayElement<T>, S, F>);
   };
 
 /** A `CustomValidator` function takes in a `formData`, `errors`, `uiSchema` and `errorSchema` objects and returns the given `errors`
diff --git a/packages/utils/test/getWidget.test.tsx b/packages/utils/test/getWidget.test.tsx
index b0a8d174c0..f86ef3abac 100644
--- a/packages/utils/test/getWidget.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/utils/test/getWidget.test.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { forwardRef, memo, ForwardedRef } from 'react';
 import { render } from '@testing-library/react';
 
-import { FieldPathId, Registry, RJSFSchema, WidgetProps, getWidget, Widget } from '../src';
+import { FieldPathId, Registry, RJSFSchema, WidgetProps, getWidget } from '../src';
 
 const subschema: RJSFSchema = {
   type: 'boolean',
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const schema: RJSFSchema = {
 };
 const schemaStr = JSON.stringify(schema);
 
-const TestRefWidget: Widget = forwardRef<HTMLSpanElement, Partial<WidgetProps>>(function TestRefWidget(
+const TestRefWidget = forwardRef<HTMLSpanElement, Partial<WidgetProps>>(function TestRefWidget(
   props: Partial<WidgetProps>,
   ref: ForwardedRef<HTMLSpanElement>,
 ) {
@@ -42,27 +42,20 @@ const TestRefWidget: Widget = forwardRef<HTMLSpanElement, Partial<WidgetProps>>(
   );
 });
 
-TestRefWidget.defaultProps = {
-  options: { id: 'test-id' },
-};
+TestRefWidget.defaultProps = { options: { id: 'test-id' } };
 
 function TestWidget(props: WidgetProps) {
   const { options } = props;
   return <div {...options}>test</div>;
 }
 
-TestWidget.defaultProps = {
-  id: 'foo',
-};
-
 function TestWidgetDefaults(props: WidgetProps) {
   const { options } = props;
   return <div {...options}>test</div>;
 }
 
-TestWidgetDefaults.defaultProps = {
-  options: { color: 'yellow' },
-};
+TestWidgetDefaults.defaultProps = { options: { color: 'yellow' } };
+
 
 const widgetProps: WidgetProps = {
   id: '',