Google: Allow External (Non-UM) Accounts to Access a Form

Environment

U-M Google, Forms

Issue

I created a Google Form, but it's not accessible to people external to U-M. How do I make it available to external individuals?

Resolution

Important updates to this process: 

• In 2024, Google updated Forms to give you more granular control over who can access and respond to them.
• In August 2025, Google automatically upgraded all existing forms to the new controls, and you may have received a notice at the top of your form stating, "This form will soon lose the ability to receive responses from users outside of the University of Michigan. Make this form public or upgrade now to have granular control over who can see and respond to it."
• One major change is that you could previously restrict responses to trusted domains (i.e., University of Michigan). This capability was phased out on September 8, 2025, as part of the upgrade.
  • Upgraded forms with restrictions to trusted domains may have caused some responders who are included in those domains to lose access.
  • Refer to the Google Help Center for instructions on ensuring your responders didn't lose access if you had trusted domains configured on your form.

To ensure external (non-UM) accounts can access your Google Form:

1. Click the Share icon (person with a plus sign) in the top right corner of your form.
2. Select Anyone with the link from the drop-down next to "Responder view" under the "General access" section.
3. Click Done.

If providing access to people without a Google account AND collecting their email address:

1. Click the Settings tab at the top of the form.
2. Select Responder input from the drop-down next to "Collect email addresses" under the "Responses" section.
   • Selecting Verified would require the individual to log in to a Google account.

Notes:

• If you want to collect responses from non-Google accounts, you can't restrict responders to one response (i.e., the "Limit to 1 response" setting), as it requires the individual to log in to a Google account.
• Respondents will be required to sign in to a Google account if file upload questions are added to the form. Individuals not logged into Google when navigating to the link will receive a "Sorry, unable to open the file at this time." error.
  • If file upload is required, you will have to require your respondents to create and/or log in to a Google account to access your form. Otherwise, remove the file upload question(s) and ask your responders to try accessing the form link again.

Additional Information

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.