You fill in a Google Form, click the button at the bottom and nothing happens. Or the form jumps back up the page with a red message. Or there is no 'Submit' button at all, just 'Next', and 'Next' keeps bringing you back to a section you have already filled in.
In most cases the form is working as it was set up. It is refusing an answer, or it has more sections to go, or its routing never reaches the end. Some of these you can fix as the person filling it in, and some only the form's owner can fix, so this guide covers both sides. If the form says it is no longer accepting responses, that is a different problem: the form is closed, and only the owner can reopen it.
Read what's on the screen first
What you see tells you which fix to try, so you don't have to work through all of them.
- 'This is a required question' in red, 'Invalid date.', 'This question requires one response per row.' or any red message under an answer: the form is rejecting something. See cause 1.
- Only a 'Next' button, no 'Submit': you are not at the end yet, or 'Next' is blocked. See cause 2.
- 'Next' returns you to the same section or an earlier one: the form is looping. See cause 3.
- A request to sign in, or 'You need access': the form needs an account you are not using. See cause 4.
- 'Something went wrong', or a button that does nothing with no message: start with your browser. See cause 5.
- 'Unable to save your draft': this one doesn't block you. Google says you can still submit and all your responses will be recorded. Just don't close the form before you do, or you might lose your progress.
Cause 1: A required question or a validation rule is stopping you
This is the first thing Google tells respondents to check. Scroll back through the whole form, section by section if you can, and look for red. The message may be far above the button you just clicked.
A question can also be answered and still be refused, because owners can set rules on answers. Google says plainly that these rules can stop you submitting. Here is what its common messages mean:
- 'This is a required question': the owner marked it as mandatory, so it needs an answer.
- 'Invalid date.': your date doesn't match the format the form expects. Google says the format, such as MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY, can differ with your Google Account or browser language, so check the format shown and retype it.
- 'This question requires one response per row.': in a multiple choice grid or checkbox grid, each row needs at least one selection. Look for the row you missed.
- 'Please don't select more than one response per column.': in a multiple choice grid, keep to one choice in each column.
- Any other red text: this is probably the owner's own wording, because owners can write a custom error message. Read it closely, as it should describe what the rule wants.
- Form owner: if good answers are being rejected, click the question, click 'More' and review 'Response validation'. Short answer questions can use 'Number', 'Text', 'Length' or 'Regular expression' rules, and checkboxes can use 'Select at least', 'Select at most' or 'Select exactly'. A pattern written for one phone number format, for instance, turns away every other format. Use 'Custom error text' to tell people what you expect, and turn off 'Required' on anything you don't truly need.
Cause 2: There is only a 'Next' button because Submit is further on
Long forms are often split into sections, with a 'Next' button that moves you on. Google's help pages don't spell out where 'Submit' appears, but in practice a sectioned form shows 'Next' until you reach the last section you are routed to, and the 'Submit' button is there. So a missing Submit button usually just means there is more form to go.
If you click 'Next' and it won't move, Google gives one explanation: some required fields on that page are incomplete, or a validation error is unresolved. Go back to cause 1 for that page. Which sections you see can also depend on your answers, because owners can show sections based on them, so two people can get different routes through the same form.
Cause 3: The form's section logic loops
If 'Next' returns you to the same question or an earlier section, Google's help says this is often intentional, because owners can set forms to loop back based on your answers. A loop like that needs a way out, and that is usually one of your answers. Look at what you chose on the looping section and see if a different, still truthful answer moves you on. If there is no way out, you can't fix this from the respondent's side, so contact the owner.
Form owner: your own test answers may happen to take the route that works, so check both places routing is set:
- At the bottom of each section, where Google says you can choose which section people go to next. Make sure no section sends everyone back with no alternative.
- On any question using 'Go to section based on answer', which you turn on from 'More' at the bottom right. It is only available on 'Multiple choice' and 'Dropdown' questions. Check the destination of every answer, not just the likely ones.
- Where the form should finish for someone, choose 'Submit form'. Google offers this as a destination so that the survey can end based on an answer.
- Be careful about changing this while people are responding. Google warns that changes to branching logic can cost a respondent access to certain pages of the form.
Cause 4: The form needs an account you aren't using
We have separate guides on sign-in prompts and upload questions, so here is just the short version.
File upload questions: Google says responders need to sign in to a Google Account to answer this question type, and that you can't upload files from a shared drive. Owners can also limit the number, type and size of files.
Work and school forms: Google says forms created with a work or school account are only accessible within the organization unless the creator changes the settings. On the 'You need access' page you can click 'Request access', and then watch for an email saying you have been granted it. You can also sign in to a different Google Account that has access, which is the fix if you opened the link with a personal account when you were invited through your work one.
Form owner: click 'Published' at the top right, then 'Manage', to choose who can respond. Under 'General access' you can give access to anyone with a link or to target audiences.
Cause 5: 'Something went wrong', or the button does nothing
Google's Forms help doesn't list 'Something went wrong' or say what causes it, so be wary of anyone who gives you one definite reason. If the form shows no red messages and still won't respond, check the browser and the connection. Google's system requirements, which cover Forms, say to turn on cookies and JavaScript and to use one of the two most recent versions of your browser.
Google's troubleshooting page for errors in its editors names Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids and Pics rather than Forms, but the same steps are a sensible order to try. Before clearing anything, copy any long answers somewhere safe.
- Open the form link in a private browser window. If it works there, an extension or stored data in your normal browser is the likely cause.
- Turn your extensions off one by one. Google says some extensions may interfere with its editors.
- Clear your browsing data, cookies and cached files, then sign in again.
- Try a different browser, or open the form on another device.
- Move to a more reliable internet connection if yours is poor.
- Still stuck? Click 'Help and feedback' at the bottom of the form and choose 'Contact form owner'. Your name and email address are shared with the owner when you send a message. If that option is missing, the form might be stored in a shared drive, so contact the owner outside Google Forms. 'Report a problem to Google', at the bottom left of the form, goes to Google and not to the owner.
Prevent it next time
Most of this can be caught before anyone else sees the form.
- Owner: click 'Preview' at the top right and go through every route, using each answer on every question that sends people to a different section.
- Owner: add 'Custom error text' to every validation rule, so people know what to change rather than being left with a form that won't move.
- Owner: avoid editing a form people are partway through. Google notes that deleting a question deletes the answer in a respondent's draft, and that changing an option can unselect it.
- Respondent: stay signed in to one Google Account. Google saves your progress as a draft for 30 days and ties it to that account, so reopen the same form link with the same account. Autosave doesn't work offline, and it is off if 'Saving disabled' shows at the top of the form.
When sign-in is what keeps getting in the way
If the people filling in your form often get stuck at the sign-in step, OneSol forms need no sign-in for respondents, and you're emailed each new response.