Google Forms has a File upload question: respondents attach files, and Forms saves them into a folder in the form owner's Google Drive. Each question takes up to 10 files of up to 10 GB each. The catch is that every respondent has to be signed in to a Google account, and the question is not available at all on a form stored in a shared drive.
How to add a file upload question to a Google Form
- 01Open the form in Google Forms. It has to be stored in your own My Drive, not a shared drive, or the question type will not be offered.
- 02Add a question and choose File upload from the question-type menu.
- 03Read the notice: files will be saved to your Drive, and respondents will have to sign in to Google. Click Continue.
- 04Choose whether to allow only specific file types: document, presentation, spreadsheet, drawing, PDF, image, video, or audio.
- 05Set the maximum number of files (1, 5 or 10) and the maximum size per file (1 MB, 10 MB, 100 MB, 1 GB or 10 GB).
- 06Check the total the form may collect, shown under the question. It starts at 1 GB and can be raised in the form's settings.
Where Google Forms puts the uploaded files
Into the form owner's Google Drive. Forms creates a folder named after the form, with a subfolder for each upload question, and each file is saved there as the response arrives. The response itself, in the Responses tab or the linked Sheet, holds a link to the file rather than the file.
Every upload counts against the owner's storage quota, not the respondent's. Collecting phone video from thirty people is thirty people's video in your account, and when your quota or the form's own cap is full, the form stops accepting responses altogether.
Google Forms file upload limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Size per file | Pick one: 1 MB, 10 MB, 100 MB, 1 GB or 10 GB |
| Files per question | Pick one: 1, 5 or 10 |
| Total for the whole form | 1 GB by default, raisable up to 1 TB |
| File types | Any, or limited to document, presentation, spreadsheet, drawing, PDF, image, video, audio |
| Respondent account | Google sign-in required, no exceptions |
| Form location | My Drive only; unavailable in a shared drive |
| Storage | Counts against the form owner's Drive quota |
The three problems people run into
- Respondents are asked to sign in. That is how the question works, and no setting turns it off. Why, and the ways around it: Google Forms file upload requires a sign-in.
- The File upload option is greyed out. Either the form sits in a shared drive or a Workspace admin blocks file collection: why Google Forms file upload is greyed out.
- The form stopped accepting responses. Usually the form's total upload cap or the owner's Drive is full. Raise the cap in settings, or free up space.
Google Forms file upload without sign-in
Not with Google's own question. There are three ways to take files from people who have no Google account, or who will not sign in to send you one:
- 01Replace the upload question with an add-on such as Formfacade, which renders the form itself and takes uploads without sign-in. Files go to its storage first and sync to Drive; it has response caps by plan. The trade-offs are in the Formfacade comparison.
- 02Write Apps Script that receives files and saves them into Drive as you. It works, and then it is yours to maintain.
- 03Send an upload link instead of a form. The sender opens one page, answers your questions on it, and uploads; you are the only one who signs in.
When an upload link fits better than a form
If the form exists to collect files, and the other questions are a name and a note, the form is mostly in the way. Drive File Request is an upload link that writes straight into a folder in your own Google Drive, through Google's narrow drive.file scope, so it can only see what it creates. Here is how the two compare:
| Google Forms file upload | Drive File Request linkNative | |
|---|---|---|
| Sender needs a Google account | Yes, always | No |
| Size per file | Up to 10 GB | Up to 5 GB |
| Files per submission | Up to 10 per question | No limit on a paid plan, or a cap you set |
| Files land in | The owner's Google Drive | The owner's Google Drive |
| Questions before upload | A full form | Name, email, and custom questions |
| Files sorted by answer | No, one folder per question | Yes, into subfolders by answer |
| Who may send | Anyone signed in, or your organisation only | Anyone with the link, or a password, or listed emails and domains |
| Price | Free | Free day, then $9 for 7 days or $10 a month |
Google Forms is the better tool when you need a real survey with branching, quizzes, or a response sheet, and every respondent already has a Google account, for example inside your own organisation. An upload link is the better tool when the people sending are clients, guests, or the public. More on the link approach in how to create a file request link for Google Drive.