How to Make a QR Code Sign-In Sheet (Free, With Google Forms)

A QR code sign-in sheet replaces the clipboard at the door. People scan a code with their phone, fill in a short form, and their details land in a spreadsheet. You can build one for free with Google Forms and any QR code generator.

Here's how to set it up, and how to keep using the same printed code for every class, meeting or event.

What you need

• A Google account, for Google Forms.
• A QR code generator.
• A printer, or a screen at the entrance.

Step 1: Build the sign-in form

In Google Forms, create a new form and add only the fields you need. Short forms get finished:

• Name
• Email (if you'll follow up)
• Organisation or class (optional)
• One tick box for consent, if you'll contact people later

Google records the time of each response automatically, so you don't need a time field.

Should people sign in to Google first? Google Forms can limit each person to one response, but that setting requires everyone to sign in to a Google Account (Google Help). For an open event where guests may not have one, leave it off.

Step 2: Get the form's link

According to Google's help page, once you publish the form, click Published, then Copy responder link. You can tick Shorten URL to get a shorter link. A shorter link also makes a simpler QR code that's easier to scan. Test the link in a private browser window to see exactly what guests will see.

Step 3: Turn the link into a QR code

Google's help page for sharing forms doesn't list a QR code option, so use a generator:

• For a one-off event, a free static code is enough. Paste the link into QRZY's free QR code generator and download the code as SVG or PNG. No account needed.
• For a sign-in you'll run again (weekly classes, monthly meetings, every open house), use a dynamic code. See Step 5.

Using Microsoft Forms instead? It has a built-in QR code: select Collect responses, then the QR icon, then Download (Microsoft Support). Like any static code, it's tied to that one form.

Step 4: Print it and put it where people stop

• Size: a code on a table tent read from 30 to 40 cm needs to be at least 3 to 4 cm wide; a poster on the door read from a metre away, about 10 cm. Full table in the QR code size guide.
• Placement: at the entrance, at eye level, where people naturally pause.
• A call to action: "Scan to sign in" tells people what the code is for.
• A backup: keep a few paper sheets for anyone without a phone.

Responses appear in the form's Responses tab, and you can link them to a Google Sheet.

Step 5: Reuse one printed code for every event

A static code points to one form forever. New form for next week's class? New code, new printout. And last term's laminated sign at the door now collects sign-ins in an old form.

A dynamic code fixes this: you print one code at the door and change where it points. With QRZY, every code you create in the dashboard is dynamic, including on the Free plan:

1. Create a QR code in your Dashboard with this event's form link as the destination.
2. Print it once and leave it at the door.
3. Next event, open the code, click Edit, and under 1 · Destination replace the Default URL with the new form link. Click Save. The next scan opens the new form.

Or set it up once for the whole term. Under 2 · Smart rules, click Add Step and choose Time Range (Between Dates) for each session, each pointing to that session's form. Add an Always Active step last as the fallback, for example a page with the next date. Time and date rules are included on the Free plan, with up to 5 steps per code. Switching forms on schedule is crazy simple after that: you set the dates once and the code changes on its own.

See who actually scans. QRZY counts every scan. Compare scans with form responses to see roughly how many people opened the form but didn't finish.

What the Free plan includes: one dynamic code. Scans see a 5-second QRZY countdown before the form opens; paid plans from $100 a year redirect instantly.

Running sign-ins for a conference or for classes? See QR codes for conferences and QR codes for course materials. For the full picture of editing printed codes, read how to change a QR code after printing, and for how dynamic codes work, dynamic QR codes.

A note on personal data

A sign-in form collects personal data. Ask only for what you need, say why you're collecting it at the top of the form, and delete old responses when you no longer need them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a QR code for a Google Form? Yes. Copy the form's responder link and paste it into any QR code generator. Use a dynamic code if you'll swap the form later.

Does Google Forms have a built-in QR code? Google's help page for sharing forms doesn't list one, so use a QR code generator. Microsoft Forms does have a built-in QR code option.

How do I make a QR code sign-in sheet for free? Build a Google Form, copy its link, and make a QR code with a free generator. For a single event, a free static code works. For recurring events, QRZY's Free plan gives you one dynamic code you can repoint each time.

Can people sign in without a Google account? Yes, as long as you don't turn on the setting that limits each person to one response, which requires a Google sign-in.

Can I use the same QR code for every event? Only if it's dynamic. Then you change the form behind it, or schedule a form per date, and the printed code stays the same.