Google Forms Email Notifications: Turn Them On, Their Limits, and How to Notify Respondents
Dvir Atias
Jul 14, 2026
Google Forms Email Notifications
To get an email every time someone submits your Google Form, open the form, click the Responses tab, open the three-dot menu in the top corner of that tab, and choose Get email notifications for new responses. From then on, Google sends the form owner an email whenever a new response comes in. The email tells you a response was received and links you to the form; it does not include the actual answers. That last detail is where most of the confusion starts.
Native Google Forms notifications are deliberately simple. They exist to nudge you to go look, not to deliver the response to your inbox. This guide covers exactly how to turn them on, what the email does and does not contain, how to send a copy to the person who filled out the form, what genuinely requires an add-on, and how to troubleshoot notifications that never show up.
How to turn on email notifications for new responses
The setting lives on the Responses tab, not in the main Settings panel, which is why people miss it.
- Open your form in edit view.
- Click the Responses tab at the top, next to Questions and Settings.
- Click the three-dot menu (the "more" icon) near the top right of the Responses tab.
- Choose Get email notifications for new responses.
A checkmark appears next to it when it is on. That is all it takes. The notifications go to the Google account you are signed in with as the form owner.
What the native notification actually contains
This is the part worth setting expectations on before you rely on it:
- It goes to the owner only. The email is sent to the account that turned the setting on. If you built the form, that is you.
- It has no answer content. The email says a new response arrived and gives you a link to open the form's responses. The respondent's actual answers are not in the email body.
- It has no custom recipient list. You cannot type in another teacher's address or a shared inbox and have Google send the notification there natively. Each person has to enable it for themselves.
If your form has collaborators, each collaborator can open the same three-dot menu and turn on notifications for their own account. That is how you get more than one person notified without an add-on, but every person still only gets the same content-free "you have a new response" email.
How to notify the respondent (response receipts)
A separate feature lets the person who filled out the form receive a copy of their own answers. This is different from owner notifications and is set up in the main Settings panel.
- First, the form has to collect email addresses. Open Settings, find the Responses section, and turn on Collect email addresses (choose the verified or manual option depending on your account).
- In that same Responses section, look for Send responders a copy of their response (sometimes shown as response receipts).
- Choose whether respondents always get a copy or only when they ask for it.
With this on, the person who submits the form gets an email showing what they entered. This is the closest Google Forms comes to a real content-carrying email, and it goes to respondents, not to you. It is useful for confirmations, permission slips, and anything a family might want a record of.
What requires an add-on
If you have tried the native settings and still want more, you have reached add-on territory. The common requests that Google Forms cannot do on its own:
- Put the actual answers in the notification email. Owner notifications never carry response content; only respondent receipts do.
- Send notifications to a custom address or a whole team. There is no native recipient field.
- Format the email, add your own subject line, or route by answer. For example, emailing the front office only when someone selects "urgent" is add-on logic, not native.
Add-ons built for Google Forms handle all of these by watching for new responses and sending their own formatted emails. They are legitimate and widely used, but they are third-party tools you install and grant access to, so treat them as a deliberate add-on rather than a hidden Google setting. If your only need is "email me the answers", a respondent receipt sent to yourself as a test, or a quick look at the linked spreadsheet, is often enough without installing anything.
Troubleshooting: notifications not arriving
If you turned notifications on and nothing shows up, work through these in order:
- Check the right inbox. The email goes to the account that enabled the setting. If you manage several Google accounts, confirm which one you were signed in as when you clicked the menu.
- Check spam and filters. Automated Google notifications sometimes land in spam or get swept up by a filter. Search your mail for the form name.
- Confirm the setting is actually on. Reopen the three-dot menu on the Responses tab and look for the checkmark next to Get email notifications for new responses.
- Remember collaborators enable separately. If a co-teacher expected notifications, they have to turn the setting on for their own account; enabling it does not turn it on for everyone.
- Test with a real submission. Notifications only fire on new responses submitted after you turned the setting on, so send yourself a test entry to confirm it works.
If you want the form to do more with each response as it comes in, such as grade it automatically, that is a quiz feature rather than a notification one. Adding an answer key for a Google Form lets the form score submissions itself, so a new response arrives already marked and you spend your notification-driven check-ins reviewing results instead of grading them.
Quick answers
How do I get an email when someone fills out my Google Form? Go to the Responses tab, open the three-dot menu, and choose Get email notifications for new responses. Emails go to you as the owner.
Does the notification email include the person's answers? No. The owner notification only says a new response arrived and links to the form. To see answers you open the responses or the linked spreadsheet.
Can I send Google Forms notifications to someone else's email? Not natively. Each owner or collaborator enables notifications for their own account. Sending to a custom address needs an add-on.
How do I email a copy of the response to the person who submitted it? Turn on Collect email addresses in Settings, then enable Send responders a copy of their response. The respondent gets an email with their answers.
Why am I not getting Google Forms notifications? Check the correct account, look in spam, confirm the setting is checked on the Responses tab, and remember collaborators must enable it separately.
Can two teachers both get notified? Yes, if both are collaborators on the form. Each one opens the three-dot menu and turns on notifications for their own account.
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The bottom line
Native Google Forms email notifications are a reminder, not a delivery service: they tell the owner a response landed, without the answers inside. Turn them on from the three-dot menu on the Responses tab, and if respondents need a record, enable receipts in Settings so they get a copy of their own submission. Only reach for an add-on when you truly need answer content in the email or notifications sent to addresses Google will not target on its own. For most classrooms, owner notifications plus a linked spreadsheet cover everything, and letting the form grade itself as responses arrive removes the busywork that made you want the email in the first place.
Ready to transform your documents?
Convert Google Docs, PDFs, and spreadsheets into Google Forms in one click.
Start free →Or go straight to a converter: Google Docs to Forms, PDF to Google Form, Word to Google Form, Google Forms Quiz Generator