Google Forms file upload only works for respondents signed in to a Google account, and no setting turns that off. To take files from people who can't or won't sign in, replace the upload question with an upload link: you sign in once, senders get one page with your questions on it, and the files are written into a folder in your own Google Drive. Google's side was checked on its help pages on 29 October 2026.
How Google Forms file upload works
You add a File upload question, choose the allowed file types, and set how many files (1, 5 or 10) and how large (up to 10 GB each) a respondent may send. Forms saves every file into a folder in the form owner's Drive, named after the form, with a subfolder per question, and the response holds a link to the file. The full setup is in our Google Forms file upload guide.
The limits that send people looking for an alternative
| Limit | What Google Forms does |
|---|---|
| Respondent account | Must be signed in to a Google account; no setting removes it |
| Form location | The question is unavailable on a form stored in a shared drive |
| Workspace policy | Unavailable when an admin turns on Data Loss Prevention |
| Files per question | 1, 5 or 10 |
| Size per file | Picked from 1 MB, 10 MB, 100 MB, 1 GB or 10 GB |
| Total per form | 1 GB by default, raisable up to 1 TB |
| Storage | Counts against the form owner's Drive quota |
| When storage runs out | The whole form stops accepting responses |
The two that cause most of the searching have their own pages: why respondents must sign in and why the upload option is greyed out.
Google Forms file upload without sign-in: the options
Google's own question cannot do it. These can, each with a different catch:
| Sender signs in | Files land in | Cost, and the catch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Forms upload question | Yes, Google account | The owner's Drive | Free; the sign-in wall, and no shared drives |
| Formfacade add-on | No | Formfacade's storage, synced to Drive | From $28/month billed yearly; response caps by plan, 100 MB per file on the entry plan |
| Apps Script web app | No | Your Drive | Free; code you write and maintain, within Apps Script quotas |
| Drive File Request link | No | A folder in your own Drive | Free day, then $9 for 7 days or $10/month; 5 GB per file, no branching or quizzes |
Formfacade figures are from its pricing page as of October 2026; the details are in the Formfacade comparison. The Apps Script route is walked through in how to create a file request link for Google Drive.
How to replace a Forms upload question with an upload link
- 01Sign in to Drive File Request with the Google account whose Drive should receive the files. It asks only for Google's drive.file scope, so it can see the folders it creates and nothing else in your Drive.
- 02Create a link and name it after the form. A folder with that name appears in your Drive.
- 03Add the form's other questions to the upload page: name, email, and your own text, dropdown, multiple-choice or checkbox questions.
- 04If the form had one upload question per document type, use a single dropdown instead and route uploads into subfolders by its answer.
- 05Set the limits the question had: accepted file types, a size cap, a file count, and an expiry date. Add a password or a list of allowed email addresses if only certain people should send.
- 06Put the link where the form link used to go: the email, your website, a QR code. Turn off Accepting responses on the old form once the last person using it has sent their files.
Google Forms vs an upload link, side by side
| Google Forms file upload | Drive File Request linkNative | |
|---|---|---|
| Sender needs a Google account | Yes, always | No |
| Files land in | The owner's Drive, one folder per question | The owner's Drive, in subfolders by the sender's answers |
| Files per submission | Up to 10 per question | A cap you set, or no limit on a paid plan |
| Size per file | Up to 10 GB | Up to 5 GB |
| Who may send | Anyone signed in, or your organisation only | Anyone with the link, a password, or listed emails and domains |
| Branching, quizzes, response charts | Yes | No |
| Price | Free | Free day, then $9 for 7 days or $10 a month |
When to keep Google Forms
Keep the form when it is really a survey: branching, quizzes, a response sheet you analyse, and respondents who are already signed in, such as colleagues in your own Workspace. Forms also takes bigger files, up to 10 GB each. Switch to a link when the people sending are clients, applicants, guests or the public, or when the upload is the only question that matters.
Other tools in the same space: Formfacade keeps a Google Form and removes the sign-in, while File Request Pro and Content Snare add reminders for clients who do not deliver. Microsoft's version has the opposite problem, internal respondents only: Microsoft Forms file upload. Or see every comparison side by side.