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Understand pre-populated form fields

Last updated: June 28, 2023

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By default, HubSpot form fields will populate with previously submitted visitor data. You can turn this off using Pre-populate fields with known values option when setting up your form.

When a visitor arrives at a HubSpot form, HubSpot checks the visitor's browser for tracking cookies. If this cookie is associated with a contact, HubSpot will be able to pre-populate fields that have been previously submitted on that device.

If you're using the meetings tool, learn more about when the meetings link's form fields will pre-populate with a contact's information.

Requirements for pre-populating form fields

For HubSpot to pre-populate form fields, all of the below conditions must be met:
  • The Pre-populate fields with known values option must be toggled on. This is turned on by default when creating new forms.
  • The visitor has previously submitted a HubSpot form using the same device. HubSpot will only pre-populate data previously submitted to a HubSpot form on the same device. For example, if you submit your phone number to a form on your desktop, but the number is updated from a contact record in HubSpot or another form submission from your mobile device, the updated property will not pre-populate in any forms on your desktop. Only the phone number from the earlier submission will be displayed.
  • The visitor has previously submitted a HubSpot form on the same tracked site. If the share page of a form is used, the visitor must have previously submitted a form on the same share.hsforms.com domain. 

Common pre-populated form field issues 

The following are some common pre-populated form issues you might encounter and the typical steps for resolution.

Issue  Cause Steps to resolve the issue 
Another person's information is pre-populating me or my contact's form fields. If someone else has previously used your browser and device to submit a form, their information will overwrite yours. When you visit the same form again, their information will appear instead. If you or your contacts notice another person's information pre-populating your form fields, there are two options:
My form field's pre-select values are being overwritten. If you've chosen to pre-populate your form fields:
  • Preselect values will be overwritten by known values
  • Default values will not be overwritten by known values. 
To submit a specific value while pre-populating your form fields, use a property type with a default value rather than a pre-select value. Learn more about using default values or preselect values with this option
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