Can I make a question required?

Yes — check Required on the question. Volunteers can't finish signing up without answering it. A required question that's hidden by its show-only-when condition is never demanded, and someone answering an RSVP with a “no, can't make it” isn't blocked on event questions either.

Can volunteers pick more than one option?

Yes — set the answer type to Checkboxes (pick any) and list the options the same comma-separated way as a dropdown. Volunteers check as many as apply, and the answer shows everywhere as the checked options in a row (“Children, Youth”). A required checkbox question needs at least one box checked.

Where do the questions appear on the form — before or after name and email?

After. The form asks for name, email, and phone first, then your questions, in the order you put them, then the Confirm (or Send) button. There's no setting for a different order.

How do I show a question only after a certain answer?

On the question, change “Ask always” to “Ask only when …” and pick an earlier yes/no, dropdown, or checkbox question plus the answer that should reveal it. For example: “Do you already have a team shirt?” (Yes/No), then “T-shirt size” set to appear only when the answer is No. On a checkbox question, the follow-up appears when that particular box is checked.

If someone signs up for three slots, do they answer three times?

No — questions are asked once per sign-up, in the same form as their name and email. All the slots they picked in that submission share the one set of answers.

Where do I see the answers?

On the sheet's Sign-ups tab, next to each person's name (“T-shirt size: L”) and searchable, in its Table view (one column per question, sortable), and as their own columns in the CSV export: one column per question, ready for a pivot table or the shirt order. On the People page, Export CSV gives each person's most recent answer to every question you've asked.

Which plans include custom questions?

All of them, including Free — like the rest of the form-field settings, it's basic form editing, not a premium extra.

Do answers sync to my ChMS?

Not unless you turn it on. Planning Center churches on Pro can pick a People note category in Settings, and each sign-up's answers are then added to the person as one note there. Other systems, and churches that haven't picked a category, keep answers in SignUpChurch only.

Do my questions carry over when I duplicate or repeat a form?

Yes. Duplicate copies the questions — show-only-when conditions included — into the new draft, and each new occurrence of a recurring form keeps asking the same questions. Answers don't carry over: each copy and each occurrence starts with an empty sign-up list.

What happens to answers if I edit or remove a question later?

Editing a question's wording keeps its existing answers — they stay attached to the question, not the wording. Removing a question stops asking it and drops its column from the CSV; already-collected answers aren't shown anymore but nothing else changes.

your form, your questions

Custom questions & conditional logic

Some events need more than a name — the youth trip needs shirt sizes, the potluck needs allergy notes, VBS needs a grade. Custom questions put those on the sign-up form itself, so you're not chasing answers by text afterwards or bolting a second form onto your sheet.

The short answer: Every sheet can ask its own questions — a t-shirt size dropdown, a pick-any checkbox list, an allergies field, a yes/no — answered once per sign-up, right after name and email. Mark a question required, or show it only when an earlier answer calls for it. Answers land on your dashboard and in the CSV export. On every plan.

Add a question

Open your sheet in the dashboard and find the Custom questions card on the Questions tab. Hit + Add a question and give it a label — that's exactly what volunteers see on the form. Pick an answer type:

Short answer — a free-text box (“Any allergies we should know about?”).
Dropdown (pick one) — you list the options, comma-separated (“S, M, L, XL”), volunteers pick one.
Checkboxes (pick any) — the same comma-separated options (“Children, Youth, Sunday School”), shown as a list of boxes; volunteers check as many as apply. The answer is stored as the checked options in a row (“Children, Youth”) — that's what you see on the dashboard, in the CSV, and anywhere else answers go.
Yes / No — the one-tap question conditions love (“Do you already have a team shirt?”).

Each question can also carry a line of help text — small print under the label for the details that don't fit in a question (“The deadline to receive a shirt is Oct 12th”).

Check Required when a sign-up isn't complete without the answer (on a checkbox question, that means at least one box). Save, and the questions appear on your public form — in the one Your sign-up panel, right after name, email, and phone, in the order you put them — so they're answered once per sign-up no matter how many slots someone picks.

Show a question only when it applies

Any question can hide behind an earlier yes/no, dropdown, or checkbox question. On the question, change Ask always to Ask only when…, pick the earlier question, and pick the answer that should reveal it. Behind a checkbox question, the follow-up appears when that one box is checked, whatever else is checked alongside it.

The classic setup, in two questions:

“Do you already have a team shirt?” — Yes / No, required.
“T-shirt size” — dropdown (S, M, L, XL), required, asked only when question 1 is No.

Someone who answers Yes never sees the size dropdown; a No makes it appear on the spot. A required question that stays hidden is never demanded — required means “required when asked.”

Conditions can only look up the list — a question can depend on one asked before it, never after. Use the ↑ and ↓ arrows on each question to put them in the right order.

Where the answers go

Each person's answers show on the sheet's dashboard page right next to their sign-up (“T-shirt size: L”), and the CSV export adds one column per question — so the shirt order is a download and a pivot table away.

Answers ride along with the sign-up: changing an RSVP or carpool answer (through the Change your answer link in the volunteer's email) updates the stored answers too, so the latest submission is always the one you see.

Planning Center churches (Pro plan) can also send answers into People as a note — an opt-in you turn on by picking a note category in Settings. See What sync updates for exactly how that works.

Common questions

Can I make a question required?: Yes — check Required on the question. Volunteers can't finish signing up without answering it. A required question that's hidden by its show-only-when condition is never demanded, and someone answering an RSVP with a “no, can't make it” isn't blocked on event questions either.
Can volunteers pick more than one option?: Yes — set the answer type to Checkboxes (pick any) and list the options the same comma-separated way as a dropdown. Volunteers check as many as apply, and the answer shows everywhere as the checked options in a row (“Children, Youth”). A required checkbox question needs at least one box checked.
Where do the questions appear on the form — before or after name and email?: After. The form asks for name, email, and phone first, then your questions, in the order you put them, then the Confirm (or Send) button. There's no setting for a different order.
How do I show a question only after a certain answer?: On the question, change “Ask always” to “Ask only when …” and pick an earlier yes/no, dropdown, or checkbox question plus the answer that should reveal it. For example: “Do you already have a team shirt?” (Yes/No), then “T-shirt size” set to appear only when the answer is No. On a checkbox question, the follow-up appears when that particular box is checked.
If someone signs up for three slots, do they answer three times?: No — questions are asked once per sign-up, in the same form as their name and email. All the slots they picked in that submission share the one set of answers.
Where do I see the answers?: On the sheet's Sign-ups tab, next to each person's name (“T-shirt size: L”) and searchable, in its Table view (one column per question, sortable), and as their own columns in the CSV export: one column per question, ready for a pivot table or the shirt order. On the People page, Export CSV gives each person's most recent answer to every question you've asked.
Which plans include custom questions?: All of them, including Free — like the rest of the form-field settings, it's basic form editing, not a premium extra.
Do answers sync to my ChMS?: Not unless you turn it on. Planning Center churches on Pro can pick a People note category in Settings, and each sign-up's answers are then added to the person as one note there. Other systems, and churches that haven't picked a category, keep answers in SignUpChurch only.
Do my questions carry over when I duplicate or repeat a form?: Yes. Duplicate copies the questions — show-only-when conditions included — into the new draft, and each new occurrence of a recurring form keeps asking the same questions. Answers don't carry over: each copy and each occurrence starts with an empty sign-up list.
What happens to answers if I edit or remove a question later?: Editing a question's wording keeps its existing answers — they stay attached to the question, not the wording. Removing a question stops asking it and drops its column from the CSV; already-collected answers aren't shown anymore but nothing else changes.

Questions the article didn't answer? Contact support and a real human will reply.

Next up: Publish, share & embed →