Availability: Business and Enterprise plans
Forms simplify document creation by replacing manual variable entry with an intuitive, guided experience. Whether you need your team to fill in data before sending a document (Sender Forms) or want to allow anyone to generate a document via a public link (Recipient Forms), PandaDoc Forms ensure accuracy and speed.
How to add Forms in a template
Note: You can have only one form per template.
Forms are now a native step within your template Workflow setup. To get started:
Open your template and go to the Build your workflow sidebar.
Click +Add step and select Fill in document details.
Select the new step in the workflow and click Edit form.
The form editor will open.
Customizing your Form
All role variables and custom variables will be automatically mapped as required form fields. You can easily change field types, make fields unrequired, add new fields, or remove fields in the form editor.
Note: If you add a new form question that doesn’t exist as a variable, select Generate variable. This will create a variable for the question so you can add it to the template content where needed.
Here’s what you can do in the form editor:
Rename your form
Review the generated fields.
Edit field types (text, dropdown, number, checkbox, etc.) and field settings.
Mark fields as unrequired. Leave them required if they must be filled before sending for the Sender Forms or before document completion for the Recipeint Forms.
Note: When you save your form and add new variables to your template, the new form questions automatically become required fields.
To rename your form click on its title at the top of the form and type the title you’d like the recipients to see on the right in the Title field.
To change the field type, click the field type button located in the top right corner of the field and choose a different field type from the dropdown.
Note: Only the Contact, Image, and Title field types cannot be switched to another type.
You can also add more input or layout blocks. To do that, hover above or under a field/block until you see a blue indicator line. Once you do, click +Add field button, then select the block you need.
To customize a block or a field, click on it, and then choose the desired options and format in the settings on the right-hand panel.
Pro-tip: Standardize selections with dropdowns.
To speed up document creation and ensure data consistency, you can transform any variable into a selection list.
In the form editor, click on a field (like Client.ServiceProjectType).
Change the field type to Dropdown in the right-hand settings panel.
Add your standard service tiers (e.g., "Managed Services," "Consulting") as Items.
This allows the sender or recipient to choose from a pre-defined list instead of typing.
Two ways to use Forms
1. Sender Forms (internal use)
This is for your team. When you pre-set a form in your template workflow and user select a user clicks Use this template, the form appears after they assign recipients to template roles. All form responses are automatically mapped to the template’s variables.
The flow: assign recipients to roles > fill out the form > review document > send it.
Key benefit: Great for complex contracts where a sales rep needs to input specific deal data (like discounts or custom terms) before the document is finalized.
Tip: Sender Forms are especially useful if your templates include many variables or if multiple team members create and send documents. By configuring the form once, you ensure everyone follows the same process, and your documents stay error-free.
2. Recipient Forms (public link)
Warning: Recipient Forms are not compatible with creating documents via a CRM.
You can share a public link that allows external people to initiate the document themselves.
How to share
After you add and customize the form inside the template workflow, click the Share template as a form button next to Use this template on top of the page.
Important: If your template has multiple roles, you'll need to select which role will be filling out the form. This role will be the one that completes the contact details for all roles in the template.
The flow: Recipient clicks link > fills form > document is automatically generated – all variables added in your template are filled out with the recipient’s responses > recipient signs the created document and completes it.
Key benefit: Perfect for intake forms, waivers, or standardized applications where the signer starts the process.
You can locate documents generated with the submitted form responses in a folder with the name= Template name in the Documents tab.