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Initial Forms

Created and manage your Initial Forms.

Written by Pam English

Initial Forms are the foundation of your projects. These forms begin the process of collecting information from your submitters.

Create an Initial Form

From the main page of your Submittable account, click Forms in the top navigation bar:

By default, you'll be on the Initial Forms tab. Click + New Form on the right side of the page:

Give your Initial Form a name.

Submission Name Field

If you would like your submissions to be identified with a unique title, click the Add Submission Name Field box:

  • Adding a Submission Name Field lets you view and organize submissions by a unique title, such as the applicant's name, the submission title, or the organization name.

  • If you do not add a Submission Name Field, a numerical value will automatically be assigned to each submission as its identifier.

  • Add any instructions or guidance for filling in this field.

Add a Submission Fee

You can add a submission fee to your project. To do so, check the box and specify the fee amount and currency. Add an optional description below:

Submittable applies a processing fee of 5% + $0.99 to the total submission amount.

Form Fields

Next, decide which Form Fields you would like to add to your form. Select a field from the options on the left, and drag it to your form on the right. Available form fields are:

  • Name: Requests a first and last name

  • Address: Requests a street or mailing address

  • Short Answer: Requests a short text answer

  • Long Answer: Requests a long text answer

  • Dropdown List: Allows a single selection from a list of options in a dropdown menu

  • Single Checkbox: Asks the submitter to agree to a statement

  • Multiple Response: Allows for multiple selections from a list of options

  • Single Response: Allows a single selection from a list of options

  • File Upload: Requests a file to be uploaded (you may specify accepted file types out of over 50 possible options)

  • Table: Embeds a spreadsheet you've created for the applicant to complete

  • Number: Requests a number

  • Social Security Number / ITIN - Requests a Social Security Number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)

  • Employer Identification Number - Requests an Employer Identification Number (EIN)

  • Unique Entity Identifier - Requests a unique entity identifier (UEI)

  • Date: Requests a date

  • E-Signature: Requests a typed name that can act as a legal signature

  • Email: Requests an email address

  • Website: Requests a web address (URL)

  • Phone: Requests a phone number

  • Text Only: Add an area where you add text for the applicant to read

  • Reference Form: Requests a reference

  • Divider: Inserts a horizontal line between fields

  • Single Rating: Assigns a numeric value to a response that can be used for scoring

  • Multiple Rating: Assigns numeric values to multiple responses that can be used for scoring

  • Dropdown Rating: Assign numeric values to multiple responses in a dropdown list that can be used for scoring

  • Charity Check: Screens applicants based on their EIN

  • Bank Details (US): Requests routing and account numbers of U.S. banks

Field Options

Field options allow more actions to be applied to the field. The available Field Options are:

  • Response Required: Requires a response in the field

  • Inline: Displays fields with multiple options horizontally rather than vertically

  • Concealed Response: Hides the response from team members according to concealment settings

  • Auto-Label: Automatically labels a submission with the field value or a custom label

  • Enable Branching: Enables form logic for that field, which opens other fields based on an applicant's responses

  • Add Payment: Associates a payment with the field

Additional Abilities in Form Fields

  • Duplicate: To duplicate and edit a field, select the field you wish to duplicate, then select the duplicate option in the top right corner.

  • Delete: To delete a field, select the field option, then select the trash icon in the upper right corner.

  • To reorder fields, drag and drop them to your preferred placement.

Managing Initial Forms

Duplicate your Initial Form

To duplicate an initial form, click the Duplicate option next to the title:

In the resulting dialog box, enter the name of the new form, then click Duplicate Form:

Your new form has been created.

Edit your Initial Form

To edit an initial form, click on its title on the Forms page to open it:

Once you're in the form, you can make your edits, then Preview your work and Save it when ready:

Please note: Removing fields from a live form may cause unwanted changes for existing submissions, including data loss. Please be sure this is acceptable before removing anything from a Form in a live Project. More information can be found in this article.

Archive your Initial Form

To archive an initial form, click the Archive icon in the forms list:

Your form will automatically be added to the Archived folder on the left side of the Forms page:

Archived forms can easily be restored by clicking the Restore button in the folder:

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