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To let people outside your organization fill out a Microsoft Form, open the form, select Collect responses, and set the audience to Anyone can respond. Then share its response link, QR code, or embed code, or send it by email. Microsoft says this setting lets people inside or outside the organization submit without signing in.
Set the form to accept external responses
- Open the form or quiz in Microsoft Forms.
- Select Collect responses.
- Under the audience setting, choose Anyone can respond.
- Choose a distribution method: copy the response link, create a QR code, copy the embed code for a webpage, or send the form by email. Microsoft also documents sharing through Outlook and Teams; available options and interface details can vary by account. See Microsoft’s instructions for sending a form to get responses.
Microsoft describes the audience setting as: “Anyone can respond – Anyone inside or outside of your organization can submit responses to your form or quiz.” The Microsoft Forms sharing guidance explains the available sharing choices.
Before distributing the form widely, check the recipient experience in an external browser session or with an appropriate account. This is a precaution to confirm that the form opens as intended, not a guarantee about every recipient’s device or organization settings.
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Choose the right kind of access
The audience options control who can submit responses. A collaboration link is different: it can let designated people view and edit the form and its response data. Use the least access needed.
| What you need | Option | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Collect responses from people outside your organization | Anyone can respond | Recipients can respond without signing in; the setting alone does not identify them. |
| Restrict responses to people in your organization | Only people in my organization can respond | Respondents use a work or school sign-in. Depending on audience mode and account eligibility, options may include recording names and limiting responses to one per person. |
| Restrict responses to selected members of your organization | Specific people in my organization can respond | Use this when responses should be limited to named people or groups. |
| Let someone edit the form or work with response data | Collaboration sharing | Co-authors can view and edit questions and response data, which is more access than submitting a response. |
For recipient access, use Collect responses. For editing or shared work on response data, review Microsoft’s separate collaboration instructions. Collaboration availability and conditions depend on plan and cloud; do not send a collaboration link to someone who only needs to answer.
If “Anyone can respond” is unavailable
Your organization may have disabled external response sharing. Ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to review Settings > Org settings > Services > Microsoft Forms in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Microsoft’s administrator settings documentation describes controls for whether users may send forms to people outside the organization and collect responses. The documentation identifies these settings for Office 365 Education and Microsoft 365 Apps for business customers. The exact interface and policy can depend on the tenant configuration.
If you are not an administrator, request the change from your organization’s Microsoft 365 administrator. Do not assume that changing a form’s own settings can override an organization-level restriction.
What external respondents can see about themselves
Anyone-link responses do not require sign-in, so you should not assume the link setting identifies respondents. If you need identity or context, ask only for the information necessary in the form and explain how you will use the responses. Microsoft’s guidance on choosing who can fill out a form or quiz describes organization-restricted response options, including name recording and one-response controls where available.
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