Lost and found form
A lost and found form does not find anything by itself — it records what people have lost or found in one place so staff can match them by hand. The difference a form makes is that every report follows the same shape: item name, category, colour, photo, where it was last seen. A spreadsheet of identical reports can be scanned; a thread of emails cannot be.
The form beside this text is live. Fill it in and submit it — it validates exactly as it would for a real respondent, and saves nothing.
A category dropdown makes matching efficient
Sorting lost items by category — clothing, electronics, keys — rather than reading free text means someone looking for their phone can scan the "electronics" category rather than reading every report. The category field is what makes bulk matching work.
A photo attached to the report
A file field uploads a photo inside the response rather than sending it separately. Staff can see the item in the form view and in the CSV export alongside the description, all in one place.
This one uses file uploads, which is a paid feature — you can build and edit it on the free plan, but saving it needs an upgrade.
No card required.
Lost and Found Form
Live previewHow to build this form
5 steps in the editor.
- Add a radio group asking whether this is a lost or found report, with yes/no options.
- Add text fields for the item name, colour or brand, and where/when it was seen.
- Add a dropdown for the item category (bag, clothing, electronics, documents, jewelry, keys, umbrella, other).
- Add a long text field for the full description and an optional file field for a photo.
- Add name, email and phone fields so the reporter can be contacted, then export to CSV when matching items.
Fields in this form
10 fields, using 7 of the 19 field types available.
| Question | Field type | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Is this a lost or found item? | Radio buttons | Yes |
| Item name | Short text | Yes |
| Category | Dropdown | Yes |
| Colour or brand | Short text | Yes |
| Full description | Long text | Yes |
| Where was it last seen? | Short text | Yes |
| Photo of the item | File upload | Optional |
| Your name | Short text | Yes |
| Yes | ||
| Phone number | Phone | Yes |
What goes wrong with this form
Specific to a lost and found form, not general advice about forms.
Free text for the category instead of a dropdown
If the category is free text, one person types "bag" and another types "handbag" for the same kind of item. A dropdown with fixed options is what makes the list sortable by category without reading every report.
Asking for too much description
A few concrete details — colour, brand, distinguishing mark — matter more than a paragraph. A leather crossbody bag with a broken strap is matchable; a story about where it came from is detail staff do not need to sort by.
Not collecting a photo when one exists
Someone who found a phone can photograph it in seconds; staff matching items is much faster with a photo than reading descriptions. A file field costs nothing and a photo makes matching obvious instead of guesswork.
Questions about this form
How do I match lost and found items?
Export the responses to CSV and sort by item category. Read lost reports and found reports side by side — items matching in name, colour and size can be held together pending return to the owner. The form is the record; matching is manual work staff do from the spreadsheet.
Can I upload a photo of the item?
Yes — a file field takes a photo with the report, up to 200 KB per file. The photo is stored inside the response and shows in both the form view and the CSV export, so staff can see the item alongside the description without opening emails.
Should I ask where the item was lost or where it might be now?
Ask where it was LAST SEEN — that is the only fact that matters for matching. For a lost item that is the place it went missing; for a found item that is where someone picked it up. Both reports describe the same location and that is what you sort on when matching them together.
This one uses file uploads, which is a paid feature — you can build and edit it on the free plan, but saving it needs an upgrade.