# Invitations, reminders & expiry

Let Formstep email the request link, chase people who go quiet, and close requests that go stale. Emails need Pro or Business, and expiry works on every plan.

This needs the Pro plan or higher. [Compare plans](https://formstep.io/pricing/)

On every plan you can send the request link yourself, by email, chat or text message, and every request expires. Emails from Formstep need Pro or Business; see [what Free includes](https://formstep.io/docs/subscription-billing/limits-quotas/#free-invitations).

## The request invitation

Choose **Email** in the New request sheet, and Formstep sends the **request invitation**: a short email with a button that opens the request. A workflow can ask for the same email.

You write it once per form. Open **Settings**, the **Emails** tab, and scroll to **Requests** at the bottom:

| Field | What it is |
| - | - |
| From | noreply\@formstep.io, or your own address once you set up a custom email domain and pick it for the form. |
| Subject | Optional. Left empty, Formstep sends "We need a few things from you". Mentions are allowed. |
| Body | Optional. Left empty, Formstep sends its built-in message; Preview shows exactly what goes out. Mentions are allowed. |
| Button | Labelled Open request; it carries the request link. Always present, not editable. |

To personalise the email, mention a prefilled answer or a hidden field in the subject or body. If the form has more languages, the email uses the request’s language; [translate the email text](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/translating-form-content/) with the rest of the form.

- The invitation is sent once. If the request ends before it goes out, it is not sent.

- If it never arrived, see [Troubleshooting](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/troubleshooting/#invitation-problems).

- One recipient address gets at most 10 emails a day per form, invitations and reminders together.

## Reminders

A reminder schedule emails someone who has gone quiet, for example 1 day, 3 days and 1 week after their last saved answer. It reminds request recipients who have not submitted, and people who left an unfinished draft on a share link. Turn it on in **Settings**, **Emails**, **Send reminders**.

| Setting | What it does |
| - | - |
| Send reminders | Turns reminders on for requests and public-link drafts. |
| Reminder schedule | Up to five steps, chosen from 12 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, and 2 weeks. |
| Public-link drafts | To: the question that holds the respondent's email address. Wait for: remind only once these questions are answered. Requests ignore these and always remind the recipient. |
| Subject and body | One reminder email for both. Mentions are allowed. |

### How the schedule runs

- Each step counts from the last answer the recipient saved, or from when the request was created if they have saved nothing. Every saved answer starts the schedule over. Opening the link does not, so a mail scanner that opens it cannot reset it.

- Reminders stop when the request is completed, expired, or canceled.

- Reminders go out within 15 minutes of the step’s time.

- One request gets at most 8 reminders, automatic and manual together.

### A different schedule for one request

A workflow can give one request its own reminder schedule, or none, even when **Send reminders** is off. Otherwise the request uses the form’s schedule.

### Chasing someone now

Click **Send reminder** on the request page to send one now. The schedule carries on as before. Leave at least 10 minutes between manual reminders.

## Expiry

When a request expires, the link shows a short notice instead of the form, the status becomes **Expired**, and a waiting workflow is told.

- Default: **30 days** after creation. Maximum: **365 days**.

- Set it in the New request sheet under **Callback and options**, **Expires in (days)**.

- The link stops working right away; the status and callback follow within 15 minutes.

For an overview of what reminders do and what they cost, see [Form reminders](https://formstep.io/form-reminders/) on formstep.io.

## Next steps

[Send emails from your domain](https://formstep.io/docs/branding-domains/custom-domains/#custom-email-domains) — Invitations and reminders from your own address

[Troubleshooting requests](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/troubleshooting/) — When an invitation never arrived