How to Add Data Validation to Google Forms: A Step-By-Step Guide

Data validation in Google Forms is a useful feature that helps you collect accurate and consistent information from respondents. This is applicable to short answer, paragraph, and checkboxes question types. By applying data validation, respondents are prompted to input data in a predefined format or within specified ranges, reducing errors and ensuring that the collected data is usable. This step-by-step guide will show you how to add data validation to your Google Forms.

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Use Data Validation

Step 1: Access Your Form

Select an existing form on Google Forms or create a new one.

Step 2: Select a Question

Make sure that the question type is short answer, paragraph, or checkboxes. Click the ⋮ at the bottom right of a question followed by Response validation.

Step 3: Set Validation Criteria

Choose the type of data validation criteria you want to apply, such as text, number, or date. Define the specific rules, such as minimum and maximum values, length, or format.

Optionally, you can customize error messages that users will see if their input does not meet the validation criteria by adding a custom error text.

Step 4: Test Your Form

Before publishing your form, test it by entering data that violates the validation criteria to ensure that error messages appear correctly. Click the eye icon to try it out.

Step 5: Send Your Form

Share your form by clicking Send in the top right corner, and choose between email, link, or website embed.

Adding data validation to your Google Forms is a straightforward process that significantly improves the quality of the data you collect. By following these steps, you can customize and enforce specific criteria, ensuring that respondents submit accurate and relevant information. If you're looking for a more powerful data validation that lets you validate certain emails, dates, addresses, and more, consider using Fillout forms.