How to Set Required Form Fields on Typeform

beginner 7 min read Updated 2026-03-24

Quick Answer

Toggle the Required switch ON in the question settings sidebar for individual fields; an asterisk appears and blocks submission until answered. For bulk updates across many questions or forms, use the Typeform Create API with GET and PUT requests. Respondents can scroll past but cannot submit without required answers.

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Prerequisites

Active Typeform account
Access to form builder
Basic form structure knowledge
API token for advanced bulk edits
Understanding of question types

Step-by-Step Instructions

Log into Typeform and Open Your Form

Log in to your Typeform workspace and from the My Forms dashboard, select and open the form you want to edit in the form builder.

Navigate to the Design Tab

In the form builder, go to the Design tab in the left sidebar and click on the specific question to make required, such as email or contact info.

New questions default to not required, so check each one manually.

Access Question Settings Sidebar

With the question selected, the right-hand sidebar opens automatically, showing question settings and properties.

Toggle Required Switch to ON

Find the Required toggle switch in the sidebar (under basic settings) and switch it to ON. An asterisk (*) will appear next to the question in the editor and live preview.

The asterisk clearly indicates mandatory fields to respondents.

Preview the Form

Click the Preview button (top-right) to test. Respondents can scroll through but cannot submit without answering required questions; a prompt will remind them.

Enable Free form navigation if needed, but required enforcement happens on submit.

Save Your Changes

Click Save (top-right) to apply changes to the form.

Generate API Token for Bulk Edits (Advanced)

For bulk operations, go to Account > Connections > Create API to generate a token. Use it in Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN headers.

Required for API methods only; UI works without it.

Retrieve All Forms via API

GET https://api.typeform.com/forms

This lists all form_ids for processing multiple forms.

Get Form Details and Check Fields

For each form:

GET https://api.typeform.com/forms/{form_id}

Inspect the fields array for "required": false entries.

Match the full schema from the GET response.

Update Form to Set Required Fields

Use PUT to update:

PUT https://api.typeform.com/forms/{form_id}

with body like

{
  "title": "Your Form Title",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "fieldIdHere",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true
    }
  ]
}

Set "required": true for target fields.

Ideal for large forms or imports to avoid UI tedium.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

No bulk option to make all new questions required by default

Typeform UI requires manual toggling per question; use Create API with GET/ PUT requests or plan structure upfront when building.

Respondents scroll past required questions without answering

Not an issue—required fields block form submission entirely, with prompts reminding users to answer before proceeding.

Imported questions from templates are not required

Manually toggle Required ON for each or use API to bulk update "required": true after import.

API updates overwrite form settings accidentally

Always retrieve full form with GET first, then modify only the required fields in the response body for PUT.

Cannot progress or submit after setting required

Ensure all required questions are answered; Typeform prompts highlight missing ones on submit attempt.

Prices mentioned in this guide are pulled from current plan data and may change. Always verify on the official Typeform website before purchasing.

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