Start with a blank form or a template

Open Microsoft Forms by going to forms.office.com in your web browser and signing in with your Microsoft account. You'll land on a page showing your recent forms and templates. To build a new form, click the blue "New Form" button in the top left, or scroll through the template gallery and click one that matches what you need — Microsoft provides templates for quizzes, surveys, feedback, and registration.

If you choose a template, Forms will populate it with sample questions you can edit or delete. If you start blank, you'll see an empty form with a title field and one question slot ready to fill. Either way, you're working in the same editor, and you can change direction at any point.

The form lives in your OneDrive by default, so you don't have to save it manually — changes appear as you type. If you're working in Microsoft 365 at work or school, your organization's OneDrive is where the form stores itself.

Key Takeaways

  • Create a form by signing into forms.office.com, clicking "New Form", and giving it a title and description that tell people what you're asking.
  • Add questions one at a time using the plus icon, choosing from multiple choice, text, rating, date, and ranking question types depending on what answer you need.
  • Make questions required or optional, shuffle answer choices, and set correct answers if you're building a quiz instead of a survey.
  • Share the form by copying the link, embedding it on a website, or sending it through email, and watch responses arrive in real time on the Responses tab.
  • Export your results to Excel to analyze patterns, create charts, or share data with people who don't have access to the form itself.

Name your form and add a description

Click the title field at the top of the form and type a name that tells people what they're answering. "Customer Feedback" or "Event Registration" works better than "Form 1" because it sets expectations when ready. Press Tab or click the description field below to add a sentence or two explaining why you're asking — "Help us improve our service" or "Sign up for the workshop by Friday" gives context.

You can add a background color or image to the form's header by clicking the paintbrush icon in the top right. This is optional and doesn't change how the form works, but it can make a form feel more polished or match your organization's branding.

Add and arrange your questions

Click the plus icon below the description to add your first question. A text field appears where you type the question itself. Below that, a dropdown menu shows the question type — start with "Choice" for multiple choice, "Text" for open answers, or "Rating" for scales. Select the type that fits what you're asking.

For a multiple-choice question, type each answer option in its own field. Click "Add option" to create more choices. If you want to let people type their own answer if none of the options fit, toggle "Add 'Other' option" on. For a text question, choose whether you want a short answer (one line) or long answer (a paragraph box). For a rating question, pick a scale — 1 to 5 stars, 1 to 10, or smiley faces.

To add another question, click the plus icon again. Questions appear in the order you add them, but you can rearrange them by clicking and dragging the six-dot handle on the left side of each question. Delete a question by clicking the trash icon on its right side.

Make questions required and set other options

By default, people can skip any question. If you need an answer, click the three-dot menu on the right side of the question and toggle "Required" on. A red asterisk appears next to the question title so people know they have to answer it.

In that same menu, you'll find other options depending on the question type. For multiple choice, you can shuffle the order of answers each time someone opens the form — useful if you're testing whether answer position influences responses. For a quiz, you can mark one answer as correct and assign points. For any question, you can add a hint or help text that appears below the question.

If you're building a quiz, click the settings icon (gear) at the top right and toggle "Quizzes" on. This unlocks the ability to mark correct answers, set point values, and show people their score when they finish.

Share your form and collect responses

When your form is ready, click the blue "Share" button in the top right. You'll see three ways to send it: copy the link and paste it anywhere (email, chat, website), get an embed code to put the form directly on a webpage, or send it through Outlook email. Choose the method that reaches your audience.

People can fill out your form without signing in — they just need the link. As they submit responses, you'll see them appear in real time on the "Responses" tab at the top of the form. You can see individual responses, a summary view showing charts and counts, or read all responses as an Excel file.

If you need to stop collecting responses, click the three-dot menu next to the Share button and toggle "Closed" on. The form will still be visible to anyone with the link, but they won't be able to submit new answers.

Analyze results and export data

Click the "Responses" tab to see what people answered. The summary view shows charts for multiple-choice questions, word clouds for text answers, and average ratings. Scroll down to see all your questions and their results at a glance.

To work with the data in Excel, click the "Open in Excel" button on the Responses tab. This creates a spreadsheet with one row per person and one column per question, so you can sort, filter, and create your own charts. You can also click the three-dot menu and choose "read responses" to get a CSV file that opens in any spreadsheet program.

If you're running a quiz, the Responses tab shows each person's score and which questions they got wrong. You can use this to identify which questions confused most people or which topics need more explanation next time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can people see other people's answers?

No. Each person's response is private. Only you (and anyone you give access to the form) can see the Responses tab. People filling out the form cannot see what others answered, and they cannot see the summary results unless you share that separately.

What if I need to change a question after people have already answered?

You can edit or delete questions at any time, even after responses arrive. If you delete a question, those responses disappear from the results. If you edit a question's text or change its type, old responses stay in the spreadsheet but may not display correctly in the summary view. It's safest to finalize your questions before sharing widely.

Can I use Microsoft Forms on my phone?

Yes. You can fill out a form on any phone or tablet using a web browser. Creating or editing a form works best on a computer, though you can make small changes on a phone if needed. The mobile experience for answering is smooth and works the same way as on a desktop.

How do I let other people edit the form with me?

Click the Share button and choose "Invite people to collaborate". Type their email address and they'll get access to edit the form alongside you. Changes appear when ready for everyone working on it. You can give them edit access or view-only access depending on what you need.

Is there a limit to how many questions or responses I can have?

Microsoft Forms supports thousands of responses per form. There's no hard limit on the number of questions, though forms with more than 200 questions become slow to load. For most surveys and quizzes, you won't hit any practical ceiling.