Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get started with Static Forms?

Getting started is simple:

1. Sign up for a free account at the registration page
2. Verify your email address
3. Get your API key from the dashboard
4. Add the form endpoint to your HTML form

See our Quick Start guide for detailed instructions.

Is there a free plan?

Yes! Static Forms offers a free plan with 250 email submissions per month. This is perfect for small websites and personal projects. No credit card required.

Do I need a backend server?

No! That's the whole point of Static Forms. You can use it with any static website hosting (GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel, etc.) without needing a backend server. The form submissions are handled by our API.

Can I connect ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI agent?

Yes, on paid Starter, Pro, and Agency workspaces, excluding trials. Add the remote MCP URL from Agent access in your provider settings, sign in through OAuth, and choose one workspace and permissions. The connection follows every form your current role can access; OAuth does not ask you to select forms. Supported workspace settings and Pro or Agency owner team administration are in staging preview and are not available in production yet. See the agent setup guide for provider and permission details.

Can I use multiple API keys?

Each account has one API key. If you need multiple keys for different projects, the Starter, Pro and Agency plans support unlimited accounts, including your default account, and each account gets its own API key. Free is limited to its single default account.

Is my API key secure?

API keys are safe to use in client-side code (HTML forms, JavaScript). However, you should:

• Keep your API key private
• Don't commit it to public repositories
• Regenerate it if you suspect it's compromised

Can I regenerate my API key?

Yes, you can regenerate your API key from your account settings. Note: You'll need to update all forms using the old key with the new one.

What happens if I exceed my monthly limit?

By default, once you hit your monthly submission limit you'll receive a 429 status code and new submissions are rejected. Delivery resumes when:

• Your monthly limit resets at the start of the next billing period
• You upgrade to a higher tier
• You enable overage billing (Pro & Agency plans only)

With overage billing enabled, emails continue beyond your quota and extra usage is billed at the end of the period ($1.00 / 1,000 on Pro · $1.00 / 1,000 on Agency). Free and Starter have no overage — Starter hard-stops at 3,000 submissions per month and prompts an upgrade to Pro. See the Overage Billing docs for details.

Are there per-minute rate limits?

Yes. All plans have per-minute submission rate limits: Free and trial plans allow 10 submissions/minute, Starter allows 15 submissions/minute with a cap of 60 submissions/hour, and Pro and Agency plans allow 20 submissions/minute with a cap of 100 submissions/hour. If the rate limit is sustained for more than 15 minutes, the account is temporarily blocked for 1 hour and both you and our team are notified. The ALTCHA challenge endpoint has a separate limit of 10 requests per minute per API key. If your legitimate use case requires higher limits, you can request an increase via the contact form.

How do I check my current usage?

You can check your current usage and limits in your dashboard. The dashboard shows how many emails you've sent this month and when your limits reset.

Can I customize email templates?

Yes! Custom email templates are available from the Pro plan up, and you manage two separate templates per form. The submission notification you receive supports a custom subject, an uploaded logo, brand colors, or full custom HTML. The auto-reply and AI-reply emails your submitters receive are plain by default — like a personally typed reply — and can optionally match your branding or use their own HTML. Variables like {{name}}, {{email}}, and {{message}} work in both. Removing Static Forms branding from those emails is Pro and Agency only.

Configure both in your form's Branding tab.

Do you store form submissions?

Yes. Form submission storage is enabled by default on all plans. Free keeps submissions for up to 1 year; Starter, Pro, and Agency keep them forever by default. Every plan, Free included, can shorten the retention window per form — down to 30 days — in that form's General settings. Separately from retention, your inbox lists the most recent 30 days on Free and the full history on paid plans; submissions behind that boundary are stored, not deleted, and reappear when you upgrade. You can view, export, or delete stored submissions at any time from your dashboard.

Can I use webhooks on the Free plan?

No. HTTP webhooks — along with Slack, Telegram and Discord notifications — are available from the Starter plan up ($6/month, or $4/month billed annually). Free plans receive email notifications only. The OAuth data syncs (Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Mailchimp) and the Make, n8n and Zapier apps are Pro and Agency only.

What file types are supported for uploads?

Supported file formats include:

• Documents: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF
• Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP

Maximum file size: 4.5MB per file. File uploads are available from the Starter plan up.

Are uploaded files stored so I can download them later?

Yes — on Starter, Pro and Agency plans, uploaded files are stored privately in encrypted secure storage and are downloadable directly from your Inbox. Click any submission, then click Download next to the attachment. Each download generates a fresh short-lived link; no link-sharing is needed.

• Starter: 1 GB persistent file storage
• Pro: 5 GB persistent file storage
• Agency: 10 GB persistent file storage
• Free: files are emailed only — not stored for later download

When your quota fills up, the oldest stored files are evicted automatically to make room for new uploads. You'll receive an email warning at 80% usage. Storage usage is visible in Workspace → Plan & Usage.

Do I need CAPTCHA?

While not required, we recommend using spam protection for public-facing forms. Static Forms supports:

• Honeypot fields - Free, invisible spam protection
• ALTCHA - Privacy-first CAPTCHA (Starter and above)
• Cloudflare Turnstile - Low-friction CAPTCHA alternative (Starter and above)
• hCaptcha - Privacy-focused CAPTCHA (Starter and above)
• reCAPTCHA v2 - Google's checkbox CAPTCHA (all plans)
• reCAPTCHA v3 - Invisible score-based CAPTCHA (Starter and above)

Which CAPTCHA should I use?

On the Starter plan and above, we recommend Cloudflare Turnstile for a balanced low-friction default, ALTCHA or hCaptcha for privacy-focused protection, or reCAPTCHA v3 for Google's invisible score-based verification. On Free you get honeypot plus reCAPTCHA v2 only, which is still reliable spam protection. See our Spam Protection guide for details.

Is there a WordPress plugin?

Yes — connect your account once with a private account API key, then pick any form you've built in your dashboard from a dropdown and embed it with the Static Forms block or a [staticforms form="..."] shortcode. It also works with Elementor Pro, Contact Form 7, and includes a [staticforms] shortcode for a ready-made contact form on any page.

See the WordPress integration guide to download the plugin and connect your forms.

Can I use Static Forms without the WordPress plugin?

Yes. Paste a plain HTML form into any Custom HTML block in WordPress — no plugin needed. Set the action to the Static Forms API endpoint and include your API key as a hidden field.

Will my forms keep working if I migrate away from WordPress?

Yes. The plugin posts to the same API endpoint your static HTML will use. Swap the form action on your new site and submissions keep flowing to the same inbox — no downtime, no reconfiguration.

How do I handle form validation?

Static Forms accepts any form data you send. You can implement validation on the client side using HTML5 attributes or JavaScript:

Server-side validation is also performed for security.

Can I use AJAX instead of form submission?

Yes! Static Forms supports both traditional form submissions and AJAX requests. See our Advanced Features documentation for AJAX examples.

Do you support CORS?

Yes! Static Forms supports Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) by default. You can make requests from any domain without additional configuration.

What happens if my form submission fails?

If a submission fails, the API returns an error response with details:

Check our Troubleshooting guide for common errors and solutions.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes! You can cancel your Starter, Pro or Agency subscription at any time. You'll continue to have access until the end of your billing period, then your account will revert to the Free plan.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept credit cards and debit cards through Stripe. The free plan requires no payment method.

Do you offer refunds?

Yes, we offer refunds within 30 days of purchase. Contact support for assistance with refunds.