SharePoint Forms: List Forms, Microsoft Forms or Power Apps

SharePoint forms come in three kinds. The built-in list form opens when someone adds or edits an item, and you can hide columns and add conditional logic without code. Microsoft Forms is a separate survey tool whose responses live outside the list. Power Apps rebuilds the form when you need custom logic or branding.

Most "we need a form" requests in a small business are really "we need people to submit a request and someone to act on it." That makes the choice of form tool a choice about where the data lands and who owns it. This guide walks through each option, how to configure it, and when it is the wrong fit. If your lists are not built yet, read SharePoint lists for small business first, and for the wider structure see how to set up SharePoint for a small business.

What is a SharePoint form?

A SharePoint form is the screen used to create or edit an item in a list or the properties of a file in a library. Every list has one by default: it shows a field for each column, in column order, and saves straight into the list. Microsoft calls the adjustments you can make to it "list form configuration" and "conditional show or hide," and both are done from the form itself rather than from a separate product. On top of that, Microsoft Lists has a Forms command that turns the same list into a shareable response form, and two other Microsoft products, Microsoft Forms and Power Apps, can stand in front of a list when the built-in form is not enough.

Which SharePoint form tool fits which job?

	Built-in list form	Lists form (Forms command)	Microsoft Forms	Power Apps customized form
Who fills it in	People with edit access to the list	Signed-in people in your organization, by link	Anyone, people in your organization, or named people	People with access to the list
Where responses land	Directly in the list	Directly in the list as new items	In Microsoft Forms, with Excel export; a flow can copy them to a list	Directly in the list
Customization	Hide or reorder columns, conditional show or hide, JSON header, footer and sections	Pick fields, show or hide, theme	Question types, branching, themes, quizzes	Anything Power Apps can do: lookups, validation, controls, branding
Skills needed	None for layout; copy a one-line formula for conditions	None	None	A Power Apps maker; plan for maintenance
License	Microsoft 365	Microsoft 365	Microsoft 365	Microsoft 365 rights cover SharePoint; premium connectors need a Power Apps plan
Good for	Internal trackers edited by a team	Internal requests from staff who do not use the list	Surveys, event sign-ups, external audiences	Complex intake with rules the built-in form cannot express

How do you customize the built-in SharePoint list form?

Start here before buying or building anything. Microsoft documents three no-code adjustments.

1. Hide and reorder columns. Open an item, select Edit form > Edit columns, check or uncheck columns to show or hide them, and drag to reorder. Hiding a column does not delete it or its data (Show or hide columns in a list form, Microsoft Learn, checked on November 7, 2026).
2. Show a column only when it applies. In the same pane, open a column's menu and select Edit conditional formula. The formula is an if statement that returns true or false, for example =if([$Category] == 'Product Management', 'true', 'false'), which shows the column only for that category. Microsoft lists column types the formulas do not support, including multi-select Person, Choice and Lookup columns, Currency, Location, Calculated and Managed Metadata columns.
3. Add a header, footer and sections. Select Edit Form > Configure layout and paste JSON for the header, footer or body. The body JSON groups columns into named sections, which switches the form to a multi-column layout; a column can appear in only one section, and new columns land in the last one. Microsoft notes that anyone who can create and manage views in the list can do this, and that the configuration changes only how the form displays, not the data (Configure the list form, Microsoft Learn, checked on November 7, 2026).

For most internal trackers this is enough: a "Request details" section, an "Approval" section shown only to approvers through a conditional formula, and a header that explains what the form is for.

How do you collect responses into a list with a Lists form?

When the people submitting do not work in the list every day, give them a form link instead of list access. Microsoft announced the Lists forms experience in March 2024: a form creator opens the builder by selecting Forms on the command bar of a list, chooses which list fields to show or hide, picks a theme and shares a link; "Anyone in your organization can access the form through a link," recipients sign in to Microsoft 365, and each submission appears as a new list item. Microsoft is explicit that these forms "do not use or require Microsoft Forms, Power Apps, or Power Automate" (Collect information like a pro: new Microsoft Lists forms experience, Microsoft Tech Community, checked on November 7, 2026).

This is the right tool for staff requests: new hire equipment, expense pre-approval, facilities tickets. It is the wrong tool for outside audiences, because respondents must sign in to your tenant.

When is Microsoft Forms the better choice?

Microsoft Forms is a survey and quiz product. Its strengths are audiences and reach: when you send a form you choose Anyone can respond (no sign-in), Only people in my organization can respond, or Specific people in my organization can respond, and for the organization-only options you can decide whether names are recorded and limit responses to one per person. You can share it by link, QR code, embed code or an Outlook or Teams invitation (Send a form and collect responses, Microsoft Support, checked on November 7, 2026).

The limits are generous for a small business: up to 400 forms per account, 200 questions per form and, for business and education accounts, up to 5,000,000 responses per form (Form, question, response, and character limits in Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Support, checked on November 7, 2026). You can place a form on an intranet page with the Microsoft Forms web part, which lets you add a new form or paste the address of an existing one (Use the Microsoft Forms web part on a SharePoint site, Microsoft Support, checked on November 7, 2026).

The trade-off is that responses live in Forms, not in your list. If the data needs a status, an owner and a history, add a Power Automate flow with the "When a new response is submitted" trigger that creates a list item. That is also where approvals belong; see our SharePoint approval workflow guide.

When do you need a Power Apps customized form?

Reach for Power Apps when the built-in form cannot express the rule: a field that must be validated against another list, a cascading dropdown (choose a client, then one of that client's sites), a photo capture, or a form that must look like your brand. Microsoft's tutorial starts from the list's command bar: Integrate > Power Apps > Customize forms opens Power Apps Studio with the form on the canvas; you change controls and formulas, then Save and Publish to SharePoint, after which the list shows the most recently published version (Customize a form for a SharePoint list, Microsoft Learn, checked on November 7, 2026).

Two cautions. On licensing, Microsoft states that "Some Microsoft 365 licenses include limited Power Apps and Power Automate use rights" intended for Microsoft 365 data and standard connectors, and that they "don't provide the same rights as standalone premium licenses" (Licensing overview for Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft Learn, checked on November 7, 2026). A customized form that only touches SharePoint fits inside that; the moment it calls SQL, Dataverse or a premium connector, it does not. On ownership, a customized form is an app someone built; record who owns it and how it is backed up, or the first column rename after that person leaves will break intake for everyone.

What this does not do, and the limits to plan around

• Built-in and Lists forms require a signed-in account in your tenant; external respondents need Microsoft Forms or a guest account.
• Conditional formulas do not work on multi-select Person, Choice or Lookup columns, or on Currency, Location, Calculated and Managed Metadata columns.
• Microsoft Forms responses do not appear in a list without a flow, and Forms has no built-in approval or status tracking.
• Power Apps rights in Microsoft 365 cover SharePoint and other standard connectors; premium data sources need a separate Power Apps plan.
• None of these tools notify anyone by themselves; pair the form with a rule or a flow. See SharePoint alerts and their replacements.

Frequently asked questions

Does SharePoint have a form builder?

Yes, two. Every list has a built-in form you can configure (hide columns, conditional logic, header and footer), and Microsoft Lists has a Forms command that builds a shareable response form from the list's columns. Neither needs Microsoft Forms or Power Apps.

Can someone outside the company fill in a SharePoint form?

Not the built-in or Lists forms, which require sign-in to your organization. Use Microsoft Forms with the Anyone can respond setting and, if the data must end up in SharePoint, a Power Automate flow that creates the list item.

Is Power Apps included in Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 licenses include limited Power Apps rights for apps that use Microsoft 365 data and standard connectors, which covers customizing a SharePoint list form. Premium connectors and Dataverse need a standalone Power Apps plan.

What is the difference between Microsoft Forms and a Lists form?

A Lists form writes each submission straight into the list and only accepts signed-in people from your organization. Microsoft Forms is a separate survey tool that can accept anyone, records responses in Forms, and needs a flow to populate a list.

Can a form submission start an approval?

Yes. A Power Automate flow triggered when an item is created can send an approval to the right person, update a status column and write an audit entry. Our approval workflow guide walks through the pattern.

Can I make a SharePoint form field appear only when it is relevant?

Yes. In Edit form, open the column's menu, choose Edit conditional formula and enter an if statement based on another column's value. True shows the field, false hides it.

Sources

Checked on November 7, 2026.

• Show or hide columns in a list form, Microsoft Learn: Edit columns, conditional formulas and unsupported column types.
• Configure the list form, Microsoft Learn: header, footer and body sections.
• Collect information like a pro: new Microsoft Lists forms experience, Microsoft Tech Community (Microsoft's announcement, March 20, 2024): the Forms command and sharing within the organization.
• Send a form and collect responses, Microsoft Support: respondent options and sharing methods.
• Form, question, response, and character limits in Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Support.
• Use the Microsoft Forms web part on a SharePoint site, Microsoft Support.
• Customize a form for a SharePoint list, Microsoft Learn: the Power Apps path and publishing.
• Licensing overview for Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft Learn: Power Apps and Power Automate rights in Microsoft 365 licenses.