Respondent email verification

What it does

Respondent email verification is a per-question rule on Email fields. When it is on, the respondent confirms the address they typed with a 6-digit code that formbase emails to them. The form does not accept the submission until the code checks out, so fake or mistyped addresses never reach your inbox. Turning the rule on requires a Business plan.

Turning it on

1. 1

   Open the email question's block menu

   Click the drag handle next to the Email field and open Validation.

2. 2

   Turn on Require email verification

   The switch sits under Verification and carries a Business badge. Turning it on needs Business; turning it off works on any plan.

3. 3

   Publish as usual

   The published form now asks respondents to verify before they can submit.

Verification is not offered for email questions inside repeating groups — the server skips grouped questions too.

What respondents see

1. After typing a correctly formatted address, a Verify email action appears under the input.

2. formbase emails a 6-digit code to that address. The code expires after 10 minutes.

3. The respondent enters the code and the field shows a green Verified pill.

Code didn’t arrive? Resend unlocks after 30 seconds. Five wrong codes retire the code and the respondent asks for a new one. Disposable-mailbox domains are refused outright, with “Use a non-temporary email address.”

Respondents cannot leave the page or submit while a verification-required email question holds an unverified answer. The server checks the same thing on submit, so the rule cannot be bypassed by a hand-made request.

If your form sends from a custom email domain, verification codes use it too.

Same address, multiple questions

A verification belongs to the address and the respondent’s session, not to the question. If two email questions hold the same address, one verification covers both. Changing the value re-checks it: a new address must be verified again.

Good to know

• Drafts — a respondent who leaves and resumes a saved draft from the same link keeps their verified addresses. Opening the form fresh in another browser starts a new session, so they verify again.

• Edit after submit — verified email answers are locked. Respondents cannot change them when editing a completed submission. See edit after submit.

• Downgrades — if your plan drops below Business, published forms keep accepting submissions and stop asking anyone to verify. Republishing is blocked while the rule is still on, so turn the switch off (possible on any plan) before you publish again.

Next steps