❔ Catch-up quick
Public Forms are how you’ll collect completed Forms from people outside of your account. They’re available to Team, Advanced, and Enterprise users.
A Public Form can be either Template-based, or Form-based.
Template-based is for multi-use situations, or when no information needs to be pre-filled before your recipient fills it out.
Form-based is for single-use situations, or when you need to fill out some of the information before your recipient fills it out.
Generate a shareable link on the web app. You’ll then send your link - by email, text, or copy and paste - to the person who will fill out the Form.
One submission is counted towards your total available submissions each time somebody submits a Public Form. If somebody creates a Public Form, but doesn’t complete it, no submission is deducted.
Collect completed Forms from people outside of your organization with Public Forms. Create, send, and manage your Public Forms in the Public Forms tab of the web app.
🗒️ Note: If you have a Basic account, you’ll need to upgrade to Team or Advanced to use Public Forms.
In the Public Forms tab, you’ll create your Public Form using your existing Form or Template. Creating your Public Form generates a Public Form link. Next, you’ll decide whether you want to email, text, or copy and paste your Public Form link.
Your recipient opens the link you send and submits their completed Public Form using the Public Form Editor.
❔ Catch-up quick
Advanced and Enterprise accounts can provide their Public Form recipients with the option to save their progress and fill out a Public Form over multiple sessions.
To save their progress, recipients must give their email address when they create a Form. They’ll receive a link to reopen their Form, which remains valid for 30 days. They’ll receive a follow-up reminder 48 hours before their link expires, if they haven’t yet submitted the Form.
Once their Form is completed, it’ll appear in your account.
Review and manage your received Public Form submissions in the Forms tab of the web app.
Track your Public Form submission usage on the Public Forms tab. This’ll display in one of two ways. . .
As a credit count, indicating the number of submissions you’ve purchased.
If your account displays a credit count, click the Credits button to add more credits.
As a submission limit, indicating either 15 submissions per month, or 180 per year; this is determined based on your account’s selected billing cycle.
Submissions are deducted from your available balance only when somebody submits a Public Form. If somebody creates a Public Form but does not submit it, no credits will be deducted from your account.
If you’ve sent out a link, but you’ve used all available submissions, then you’ll need to add more credits before your recipient can fill out a Form.
On the web app, you'll choose your Public Form's source, delivery method, and automations.
Create and Send Public Forms
The first step in creating your Public Form is choosing it's source. You'll decide whether you want a user to complete all available Form data fields, or only some of the available fields.
When you set up your Public Forms, be sure you’re aware of any related compliance considerations.
Each type of Public Form fulfills a different need - learn about each below to determine which makes sense for your project.
Template-based Public Forms
If you want somebody from outside of your organization to fill out a Form with no pre-filled information, use a Template-based Public Form. A Template-based Public Form is intended for multi-use situations.
🗒️ Note: Template-based Public Forms cannot be used to capture an E-SIGN compliant eSignature.
When you create a Template-based Public Form, you'll generate a Public Form link for distribution. Send your Public Form link via email, through a sharing app, or on your website. Consider Template-based Public Forms for surveys and questionnaires.
Each time a Public Form is created and submitted using your Public Form link, a new Form is created from your chosen Template with no pre-filled fields.
Form-based Public Forms
If you want to pre-fill some information on the Form and have your recipient complete the remaining fields, use a Form-based Public Form. Form-based Public Forms are intended for single-use situations.
You can share your Form-based Public Form via email, text, or a directly shared Public Form link. If you need to collect a verified signature, or receive a completed approval form you should consider using a Form-based Public Form.
🗒️ Note: Once you select how you'll share your Form-based Public Form, you cannot share your generated link using a different method.
When a Public Form is created and submitted using a Form-based Public Form link, the recipient receives the Form containing the pre-filled information. They'll only be able to fill out the fields you indicate when creating the Public Form.
Related topics
A strong understanding of the difference between a Form and a Template will help clarify the differences between a Form-based Public Form and a Template-based Public Form.
If you often send Public Forms to the same person, consider creating a GoFormz user profile for them.
Learn more about available Workflow recipes.