---
key: create-an-intake-form
title: Create an intake form
audience: staff
section: intake
routes: ["/intake/forms", "/intake/forms/new", "/intake/forms/:formUid"]
permissions: ["intake.forms.manage"]
features: ["intake.forms"]
since: 0.0.1
updated: 0.0.1
status: published
summary: Start a new intake form from the Forms list, give it a name and category, then add its sections and fields in the form workspace and save the draft.
keywords: [web form, lead form, request form, contact form, service request, quote request form, new form, form builder]
related: [publish-an-intake-form, work-the-intake-inbox, read-intake-analytics]
---

In the sidebar, open **Intake**, then **Forms**. The page address is `/intake/forms`. A new form starts at `/intake/forms/new` and then opens in its own workspace. Intake forms are the forms customers fill in on your website or a hosted page; what they send lands in the intake inbox.

## Before you start

- Your role needs permission to manage intake forms. Without it the **New Intake form** button is hidden and the list is read-only. Adding sections and fields and saving the draft also need permission to manage intake versions.
- The **Forms Quota** card at the top shows how many forms your plan allows. When the quota is reached the create button explains that it is.

## Steps

1. Press **New Intake form** at the top of the list. The **New Intake form** drawer opens.
2. Type a **Form name**, for example a residential service request. Leave **Form key** blank and Nova makes one from the name, or type a specific short name for links.
3. Add a **Description** so your team knows what the form is for, and a **Category** such as service or install.
4. If your organization has more than one branch and this form belongs to one of them, choose it under **Branch**. Leave it blank for a form the whole organization shares.
5. Add **Tags** as a comma-separated list if you use them to group forms. **Initial draft label** is optional; it names the first draft.
6. Press **Create Intake form**. Nova creates the form as a draft and opens its workspace.
7. In the workspace, scroll to **Sections** and press **Add section** for each group of questions, then to **Fields** and press **Add field** for each question. Each field has a label, a type and its own rules.
8. Press **Save draft** at the top of the **Draft Version Editor**. Repeat as often as you like; nothing is public until you publish. See [[publish-an-intake-form]].

## What you see

- The **Forms** list shows every form with a **Lifecycle** column (**Draft**, **Active** or **Archived**, plus a chip for the draft version and one for the live version), a **Scope** column (the branch, or org-wide), the number of **Versions** and when it was **Updated**.
- Use the search box, **Filters** (status, **Category**, **Branch**) or a saved view to find a form. **Reset filters** in the filter panel clears them.
- The four cards at the top count your forms, drafts on this page, the **Forms Quota** and the **Active view**.
- Further down the workspace, **Submission Behavior**, **Routing Rules**, **Outcome Rules** and **Notification Rules** decide what Nova does with each submission: who is notified, whether an account or ticket is created, and where it is routed.

## If something looks different

- The drawer shows a message instead of the form: intake authoring is switched off for your organization, your role cannot create forms, or the quota is full. The message says which.
- **Create Intake form** stays off: the **Form name** is empty.
- The list reads that it is blocked by a feature or permission: ask your admin to switch on intake forms or give your role access.

[[route:/intake/forms|Open Forms]]