# Requests overview

A request sends a form to one named person, with what you already know filled in. See how it differs from the public link and what happens after you send it.

## What a request is

A form is the design you build once. A request sends it to one person, with their own link and their own answers filled in. You see whether they have opened it and answered, Formstep can remind them, and the answers come back to you, or to the workflow that sent it.

![A request open in the recipient's browser: their name filled in and locked with the note Filled in by the sender, their email filled in, and the rest of the form left for them to answer.](https://formstep.io/docs/images/requests/recipient-prefilled.png)

What the recipient sees: their answers filled in, some locked.

| | Public link | Request |
| - | - | - |
| Who answers | Anyone with the link | One person you name |
| How many answers | Any number | One |
| Filled in for them | Nothing, or the same for everyone | Their own answers, some locked |
| You can follow up | No | Yes: see who answered and remind them |

Any published form can be sent as a request, and the same form can have a [public link](https://formstep.io/docs/sharing-publishing/overview/) too.

## What happens after you send it

1. [They get their link](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/invitations-and-reminders/) — In an invitation email from Formstep or from you. They can open it as often as they like, on any device.

2. **They see your form** In your brand and their language, with their answers filled in.

3. [They submit](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/managing-requests/) — The answers land in the form's inbox and on the Requests page, and the workflow that sent the request is told.

If they do not answer, reminders follow up, and the request expires after 30 days unless you choose otherwise. You can see where each request stands on the [Requests page](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/managing-requests/).

## Pages in this section

- [Send a request](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/creating-requests/) — Send a published form to one person from the New request sheet, with the answers you already know filled in and locked where they may only confirm.

- [Bulk send](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/bulk-send/) — Send one form to a whole list at once on Pro and Business: type, paste, upload a CSV or pick HubSpot contacts, and each person gets their own request.

- [Field keys](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/field-keys/) — The short names Zapier, Make, n8n, AI agents and your own code use for the fields of a form: where to find them, and how to keep them stable.

- [Decisions & approvals](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/decisions-and-approvals/) — Ask for a yes, a no or a request for changes, and let your workflow act on the answer.

- [Invitations, reminders & expiry](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/invitations-and-reminders/) — Let Formstep email the request link, chase people who go quiet, and close requests that go stale.

- [The Requests page](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/managing-requests/) — See everything you are waiting on, follow one request through its timeline, and act on it.

- [Troubleshooting requests](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/troubleshooting/) — An invitation that never arrived, a link that shows a notice instead of the form, a workflow that was not told, or one that stopped matching after an edit.