# Respondent notifications

Automatically email respondents a confirmation after they submit.

> ✅ **Pro feature** — included in the Pro plan.


## Respondent notifications

Send respondents a confirmation email after they submit. Recap their answers, share next steps, or attach a PDF copy of their response.

<h2 id="overview">How it works</h2>

Respondent notifications send a personalized email to the person who filled out your form. In the **To** field you pick which Email field supplies the address, then customize the subject and body with piped answers. Optionally attach a PDF of the full submission.

Turn on **Send confirmation to respondent** in **Form settings → E-mail Notifications**. It needs a Pro or Business plan.

If your form asks for no email address at all, the confirmation still goes to the recipient a request names — public link responses get none.

For the full setup — recipient field, custom templates, template variables, and custom email domains — see <a href="/building-forms/form-settings#respondent-confirmation">Form settings → Respondent confirmation</a>.

<h2 id="use-cases">Use cases</h2>

- **Application receipt** — confirm the submission was received and outline next steps.
- **Booking confirmation** — restate the selected date and time so the respondent has a record.
- **Quote delivery** — pipe a calculated price into the email body and attach the full quote as a PDF.
- **Edit reminder** — if <a href="/submissions-analytics/edit-after-submit">edit after submit</a> is enabled, mention that respondents can return to the confirmation screen to edit their answers.
- **Event registration** — summarize event details, location, and ticket information.
- **Reference number** — use `@metadata.pin6` as a support ticket or booking reference the respondent can quote back.

<h2 id="pdf-attachment">PDF attachment</h2>

Turn on **Attach submission PDF** under **Send confirmation to respondent** to send the respondent a PDF copy of their answers. formbase generates and stores the PDF the moment they submit, then attaches it to the confirmation email.

The attached PDF uses a snapshot of your published form frozen at submission time. See <a href="/submissions-analytics/exports#per-submission-pdf">Exporting submissions → Per-submission PDF</a> for full details on what it includes.

> ℹ️ **Deliverability**
> <p>
>     For best deliverability, set up a <a href="/branding-domains/custom-email-domains">custom email domain</a>. Emails arrive from your own
>     address so they don't land in spam, and replies go to your inbox instead of bouncing.
>   </p>

> 💡 **Field reference checks**
> <p>
>     If you delete a form field that your confirmation email still references, formbase warns you in the publish indicator before you
>     publish. See <a href="/building-forms/answer-piping#deleting-piped-fields">Answer piping → Deleting a piped field</a>.
>   </p>

<h2 id="abandoned-reminder">Reminders</h2>

The same **E-mail Notifications** section has a separate **Send reminders** switch. One schedule, one email, two kinds of target: a public-link respondent sitting on an unfinished draft, and a request recipient who hasn't completed. It needs a Pro or Business plan.

- **Reminder schedule** — an ordered list of idle steps: 12 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks. At most five steps; the default is a single step at 1 day.
- **Counted from last activity**, which restarts the schedule. Reminders stop when the person finishes, and in any case after 8 emails.
- **Wait for** — name the fields that must be filled before a draft is worth chasing. Leave it empty to chase any draft that has an address.
- **Public-link drafts** — a draft has no address until the respondent types one, so you also pick the field that holds it. A request already knows its recipient.

It uses its own subject and body, edited in the same way as the confirmation email above.

<h2 id="next-steps">Next steps</h2>

<div class="not-prose grid gap-3 sm:grid-cols-2">
  - [E-mail notifications setup](/building-forms/form-settings#email-notifications) — Full setup: recipients, templates, variables, PDF
  - [Share link analytics](/submissions-analytics/share-link-analytics) — See which channels drive the most completions
  - [Custom email domains](/branding-domains/custom-email-domains) — Send from your own domain
  - [Completion funnel](/submissions-analytics/completion-funnel) — Spot where respondents drop off
</div>