How to Create a Survey With Google Docs and Google Forms

To make a survey people can fill out online, use Google Forms, the survey tool in the Google Docs family. Go to forms.google.com, click Blank form, add your questions, click Publish, and send the responder link. Answers collect on the Responses tab, and you can send them to Google Sheets.

A Google Doc works for a printable questionnaire, but it can’t collect or count answers for you. This guide covers both, with the online survey first because it is what most people need.

Google Forms or Google Docs: which one to use

People often say “Google Docs survey” when they mean a Google Form. Forms sits alongside Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and every form you create is saved in Google Drive like your documents are. The difference is in what happens after someone answers.

• Use Google Forms when people will answer on a phone or computer and you want the answers gathered in one place, with charts.
• Use Google Docs when you will print the questions and hand them out, or when you only need a simple page of questions for a meeting or a class.

What you need before you start

• A Google Account. You must be signed in to create a form. A personal Gmail account works, and so does a work or school Google Workspace account.
• A web browser. The steps below are for a computer. On an Android phone or tablet, Google’s instructions have you open a mobile browser such as Chrome and go to the same address, forms.google.com, so the steps are similar on a smaller screen.
• Your questions. Write them out first. Shorter surveys are easier to finish, so cut anything you won’t use.

These steps follow Google’s help pages as they read in October 2026. Google moves buttons from time to time, so a label may look slightly different on your screen.

How to create a survey in Google Forms

1. Go to forms.google.com and click Blank form. A new, empty form opens with one sample question.
2. Click Untitled form and type a name for your survey. Add a short description under it, such as what the survey is for and how long it takes.
3. Click the first question and type it. To the right of the question, open the menu and choose a question type, such as Multiple choice, Checkboxes, or Short answer.
4. Type the answer choices. Turn on Required for any question that must be answered before the form can be submitted.
5. Click Add question (the plus sign) for each new question. To move a question, drag it by the handle at the top of its box.
6. Click Preview at the top right. The preview opens in a new window and shows the survey the way responders will see it.
7. Click Publish at the top right, choose who can respond, and confirm. The button changes to Published when the form is live.
8. Copy the responder link and send it to people. The sharing section below explains the options.

These steps are based on Google’s Create your first form in Google Forms guide. Forms saves your work as you go, so there is no save button to click.

Other ways to start a form

• From Google Drive: go to drive.google.com, click New at the top left, then Google Forms.
• From Google Sheets: open a spreadsheet and click Tools > Create a new form. A new sheet is added to that spreadsheet and the answers are saved there. This is handy if you already created a Google Sheets spreadsheet in Google Drive for the project.

Choose the right question type

The question type controls how people answer and how the results are displayed. Google lists these types in its Choose a type of question for your form article.

Question type	What responders do	Good for
Short answer	Type a few words on one line	Names, a single word or number
Paragraph	Type a longer answer	Comments and suggestions
Multiple choice	Pick one option	Yes or no, a single favorite
Checkboxes	Pick as many options as apply	“Select all that apply” questions
Dropdown	Pick one option from a menu	Long lists, such as a state or department
Linear scale	Choose a number on a scale	Satisfaction or agreement ratings
Rating	Rate with stars, hearts, or thumbs up	Quick ratings from 3 to 10
Multiple choice grid or Checkbox grid	Answer several rows using the same columns	Rating a group of items at once
Date or Time	Enter a date or a time	Scheduling questions
File upload	Attach a file	Collecting documents or photos

A few details worth knowing:

• Multiple choice and Checkboxes questions can include an Other option where the responder types a short answer.
• A linear scale can start at 0 or 1 and end on a whole number from 2 to 10. You can label each end, such as “Not likely” and “Very likely.”
• A File upload question requires responders to sign in to a Google Account. Uploaded files are stored in a new folder in the form owner’s Google Drive. Google says this type isn’t available if the form is stored in a shared drive.

Organize and style the survey

Split a long survey into sections

A section is a page of the survey. Each section starts on a new page, which makes a long survey easier to read. Click Add section in the toolbar next to your questions, then name the section. Drag questions into the section you want them in.

Show questions based on an answer

You can send people to different sections depending on what they pick. For example, people who answer “No” to “Have you visited our store?” can skip the questions about the visit.

1. Add the sections first, so there is somewhere to send people.
2. Click the question that decides the path. It must be a Multiple choice or Dropdown question.
3. At the bottom right of the question, click More (three dots), then Go to section based on answer.
4. Next to each answer choice, pick the section that should come next. Choose Submit form if the survey should end on that answer.

Change colors, header, and fonts

Click Customize theme (the palette icon) at the top. Under Color, choose a theme color and a background color. Under Header, click Choose image to add a picture across the top. Under Text, change the font and size for headers, questions, and regular text. Close the panel to return to your form.

Check the settings before you share

Click Settings at the top of the form. The options are grouped under headings; click the down arrow next to a heading to open it.

• Collect email addresses (under Responses): choose Verified to record the responder’s Google Account address, or Responder input to let people type an address. Leave it off for an anonymous survey.
• Limit to 1 response (under Responses): stops people from answering twice. Responders must sign in to a Google Account when this is on. Google notes that their usernames aren’t recorded unless you also collect email addresses.
• Allow response editing (under Responses): lets people change their answers after submitting.
• View results summary (under Presentation): gives responders a link to the results after they submit. Be careful with this one. The summary can include full text answers and is visible to anyone who can respond.
• Confirmation message (under Presentation): click Edit to change the message people see after they submit, then click Save.

If you use a work or school account, access is restricted to people inside your organization by default, and they must sign in. To survey people outside it, open Settings, open Responses, and turn off the Restrict to users in your organization setting. Your administrator may not allow this change.

Publish and share the survey

A form has to be published before anyone can answer it. If a form is unpublished, people who have the link can’t open it. Google describes the process in Publish & share your form with responders.

1. At the top right, click Publish.
2. To choose who can respond, click Manage. Under General access, you can allow anyone with the link, or limit the form to specific people or groups that you add as responders.
3. Click Done, then Publish. The button at the top right now reads Published.
4. Click Published, then Copy responder link. Check the box next to Shorten URL first if you want a shorter link.
5. Paste the link into an email, a text message, a chat, or a social media post.

Send the responder link, not the address in your browser’s address bar. The address bar shows the editing page, which other people can’t open unless you made them collaborators.

Other ways to share

• Email from Forms: click Share, enter names or addresses, set each one to Responder, leave Notify people checked, and click Send. Google notes that a form can’t be embedded in the email itself if it contains a file upload question, a rating question, or an image in a question or answer option.
• Embed on a website: click More (three dots) at the top right, select Embed HTML, click Copy, and paste the code into your website or blog.
• Pre-filled link: click More, select Pre-fill form, fill in the answers you want set ahead of time, and click Get link.

How to see the results

1. Open the form and click Responses at the top.
2. Click Summary to see a chart or list for each question. This tab appears only after at least one response has come in.
3. Click Individual to read one person’s full set of answers. Use Previous and Next to move between people.
4. Click Link to Sheets at the top right to send every answer to a Google Sheets spreadsheet. Choose Create a new spreadsheet or Select existing spreadsheet, then click Create or Select.

New answers keep flowing into the linked spreadsheet. Once they are in Sheets, you can sort and filter them or tidy the layout, for example by merging header cells. Google’s View & manage form responses page lists the remaining options, including these:

• Download a copy: on the Responses tab, click More, then Download responses (.csv).
• Get an email for each new answer: on the Responses tab, click More, then Get email notifications for new responses.
• Reuse a chart: click Copy at the top right of a chart and paste it into a Google Doc or a Google Slides presentation.

Close the survey or undo changes

To stop taking answers, click Published at the top right and turn off Accepting responses. People who open the link then see a message that the form is closed. Turn the switch back on to reopen it. Under Accepting responses, you can also click Set close date or response limit to close the survey automatically on a date or after a set number of responses.

To stop sending answers to a spreadsheet, go to Responses, click More, and select Unlink form. The data already in the spreadsheet stays there, and you can reconnect later with Select destination for responses.

Warning: deleting responses can’t be undone. If you clear test answers with More > Delete all responses, do it before real answers arrive, or download the CSV file first. The form and its linked spreadsheet are separate files in Google Drive, so deleting one does not delete the other.

Making a printable questionnaire in Google Docs

If people will fill the survey out on paper, a Google Doc is enough. Nothing is collected automatically, so plan to tally the answers yourself.

1. Go to docs.google.com and open a blank document. Type a title and a line of instructions at the top.
2. Type each question on its own line.
3. For answer choices, type each choice on its own line, select those lines, and click Format > Bullets & numbering > Checklist. Each choice gets a box that can be ticked with a pen once printed. Our guide to inserting a checkbox in Google Docs covers this in more detail.
4. For written answers, leave blank lines, or click Insert > Table and make a two-column table with questions on the left and empty cells on the right.
5. Print the document, or share it for people to print themselves.

For a more designed look, start from a template, the same way you would build a newsletter from a Google Docs template.

You can share a Doc with Editor access and ask people to type their answers into it, but everyone works in the same file. Each person can see and change what the others wrote. For anything private, or for more than a few people, use a form.

Troubleshooting

People say they can’t open the survey

Check three things. First, confirm the top right of the form says Published. Second, click Published, then Manage, and look at General access to make sure the people you invited are allowed to respond. Third, make sure you sent the responder link and not the editing address. On a work or school account, also check the organization restriction under Settings > Responses.

Responders are asked to sign in

This happens when Limit to 1 response is on, when verified email collection is on, when the form has a file upload question, or when the form is restricted to your organization. Turn those off if you want people to answer without signing in.

I don’t see a Summary tab

The Summary tab shows up only when the form has at least one response. Submit a test answer from the preview to make it appear. Google also notes that the summary may not display on forms with more than 50,000 responses.

Go to section based on answer is missing

That option is available only on Multiple choice and Dropdown questions. Change the question type, or add sections if your form doesn’t have any yet.

The form says it is no longer accepting responses

Click Published and turn Accepting responses back on. If you set a close date or a response limit, the form closes by itself once that point is reached, so adjust or remove the limit under Manage.

Frequently asked questions

Is Google Forms free?

Google Forms is included with a personal Google Account at no charge, and it is part of Google Workspace for work and school accounts. Some options, such as organization themes, depend on what a Workspace administrator has turned on.

Can people answer without a Google Account?

Generally yes, as long as the form is published with access for anyone who has the link and no sign-in setting is on. Limiting people to one response, collecting verified email addresses, and file upload questions all require responders to sign in.

Can I make a survey anonymous?

Leave Collect email addresses off and don’t ask for names. Google says that with Limit to 1 response on, usernames aren’t recorded unless email collection is also on. Keep in mind that written answers can still identify someone.

Can other people help me build the survey?

Yes. Click More (three dots) at the top right, then Add collaborators, and add their email addresses. Collaborators can edit any part of the form, including the responses and where they are saved, and they may also get access to the linked spreadsheet.

How many responses can one form take?

Google’s help page says that starting in September 2026, each form can receive up to 500,000 responses and hold up to 1 GB of data, not counting uploaded files. Most surveys never come close to either limit.

Can I edit a survey after people start answering?

You can change a published form at any time. Be careful with changes to existing questions, because earlier answers were given to the old wording. If you need a major change, it is usually cleaner to close the form and start a new one.

Next step

Open the preview, submit one test answer, and check that it shows up on the Responses tab and in your linked spreadsheet. Delete the test answer, then send the responder link.