How to Send Email Notifications from Google Forms (Beyond the Basics)

Morgan Hopkins, Customer Success Manager

Last Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Google Forms makes it easy to collect responses, but when it comes to notifying the right people at the right time, the built-in options are surprisingly limited. If you've ever wished you could automatically email a manager when someone submits a request, or notify the person who filled out the form when their request has been processed, you're not alone.

What Google Forms Offers Natively

Out of the box, Google Forms provides two basic notification options:

1. Email notifications to the form owner: You can enable email notifications so the form creator receives an email each time a new response is submitted. This is found under Responses > the three-dot menu > "Get email notifications for new responses."
2. Response receipts to respondents: If you enable "Collect email addresses" in form settings, you can also turn on "Send responders a copy of their response." This sends the respondent a copy of what they submitted — but nothing more.

Where the Built-In Notifications Fall Short

For simple surveys or feedback forms, these options may be enough. But for business processes — purchase requests, time-off requests, IT tickets, expense reports — you typically need much more:

• Notify a specific person (like a manager or department head) based on the form submission — not just the form owner
• Send different people different notifications depending on the answers provided
• Notify the original respondent when their request has been approved or rejected, not just acknowledged
• Route notifications through a chain of approvers — for example, a line manager first, then finance
• Include the form response data in the notification email so the recipient has full context without opening a spreadsheet

None of these are possible with Google Forms alone. This is where the Form Approvals add-on comes in.

How Form Approvals Extends Google Forms Notifications

The Form Approvals add-on transforms Google Forms into a full notification and approval workflow engine. Here's how it works:

1. Notify Specific People Based on Form Answers

With Form Approvals, you can set up "dynamic recipients" — approvers whose email addresses are captured as part of the form submission. For example, if your form has a question asking "Who is your line manager?" with an email field, Form Approvals will automatically send that person a notification when the form is submitted.

2. Route Through Multiple Approvers

Need a purchase request to go to a manager first, then to finance? Form Approvals supports sequential, multi-level approval chains. Each approver receives their notification only after the previous approver has responded. Learn more in our guide on how to create a multi-step approval process.

3. Automatic Status Notifications to Respondents

When all approvers have responded, Form Approvals automatically emails the original respondent with the outcome — approved or rejected. No manual follow-up required. The respondent knows exactly where their request stands without having to ask.

4. Full Response Data in Every Email

Every notification email sent by Form Approvals includes the complete form response data. Approvers can see exactly what was submitted and make their decision directly from the email — no need to open a spreadsheet or log into another system.

Setting It Up: Step by Step

1. Create your Google Form and add the questions you need. Make sure to include a question that captures the approver's email address (e.g., "Manager's email").
2. Go to Settings > Responses and enable Collect email addresses. This allows Form Approvals to notify the respondent when the workflow completes.
3. Install the Form Approvals add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
4. Open the add-on from the puzzle piece icon in your form, add your approver(s) as dynamic recipients, and click Save.
5. Submit a test response. The approver will receive an email with the form data and approve/reject buttons. Once they respond, the original submitter receives a notification with the outcome.

Common Use Cases

This notification pattern works for virtually any business process where someone submits a request and someone else needs to act on it:

• Time-off and leave requests
• Purchase orders and expense approvals
• IT access and equipment requests
• Event and facility booking approvals
• Content and document review workflows
• New vendor or supplier onboarding

Get Started

Form Approvals is free to start with 20 responses per month. No credit card required, no per-seat pricing. View pricing or get started today.