Google Form QR code generator

Getting the right link

Use the link from the Send button, not the address in your browser bar. The browser address while you are editing ends in /edit and only works for you and your collaborators.

1. Open your form and click Send in the top right.
2. Choose the link tab (the chain icon).
3. Tick Shorten URL. You get a short forms.gle address.
4. Click Copy and paste it into the generator above.

The short link and the long one open the same form. The short one just makes a cleaner code.

Check these settings before you print

A Google Form code that asks people to sign in, or shows “You need permission”, looks broken to everyone who scans it. Three settings cause almost every problem:

• Restrict to users in your organisation. School and work accounts often turn this on by default. Find it in Settings, under Responses. Turn it off if the public, parents or event guests will scan the code.
• Collect email addresses: Verified. This makes everyone sign in to a Google account. Choose Responder input instead if you just want people to type their email.
• Accepting responses. In the Responses tab, make sure it is switched on. A closed form shows a short message instead of the questions.

Then test it properly: open the code on a phone that is not signed in to your Google account, or in a private browser window, using mobile data.

Good uses for a form code

• Event check-in and sign-up sheets. Print the code on the entrance table and skip the clipboard.
• Classroom exit tickets and quizzes. Put the code on the board or a slide. Students scan and answer on their phones.
• Customer feedback on receipts, table cards and packaging. For public star ratings, a Google review QR code works better; a form is better for private comments.
• Volunteer and job applications on posters and noticeboards.
• Wedding and party RSVPs. The wedding QR code guide covers invitations and venue signs.
• Order and enquiry forms at markets and trade shows.

Keeping one code for the long run

Because the link never changes, you can reuse one printed code for a recurring form: clear old responses or make a copy of the spreadsheet at the end of each term, and keep the same form open. If you need a fresh form each time but want to keep the printed code, point the code at a page on your own website and link that page to the current form. That gives you a code that never needs reprinting, with no subscription. The static vs dynamic guide explains this approach.

Printing tips

A forms.gle link makes a small code that scans well at 2 to 3 cm (about 1 in) on a handout. On a poster read from across a room, go to 15 to 20 cm. Add a line of text under the code that says what it is for, like “Scan to sign in”, and the short link itself for anyone whose phone cannot scan. The print size guide has sizes for every distance.