When your form isn't sending emails, the entry may have been saved as spam, or the cause may be outside Formidable. Formidable passes each email to WordPress, which then requests the server to send it on its behalf. Your server handles the actual sending.

Your web host handles how the server processes PHP email requests, unless you use an SMTP plugin or maintain your own mail server. Every host has its own policies and procedures for sending email from its servers, so your host may have helpful information. A host's mail logs show whether mail is being sent and received by the destination server, along with some reasons for failure.

Even though Formidable only triggers the emails and your web server sends them, we have put together some steps to help. They cover some of the more common emailing issues.

1. Check if the entry was saved as spam
2. Check email notification settings
3. Check logs to ensure the email is sending
4. Install and set up an SMTP plugin

Check if the entry was saved as spam

A spam check can be set to save flagged submissions as spam entries. When it flags a submission, the entry is saved to the Spam tab and its form actions don't run. No email notification is sent, but the visitor still sees the normal success message.

In Formidable Forms 7.0 and newer, the content checks (such as the denylist and Akismet) save spam this way by default. Saving spam lets you review flagged entries and recover any real ones.

1. Go to Formidable → Entries, or open the form's Entries page.
2. Click the Spam tab and look for the missing entry. The Spam reason column shows which check flagged it.
   

   

3. If the entry is real, hover over it and click Not spam.
4. In the window that opens, check the email action you want to send now. Then click Mark as not spam.
   

   

   
   The entry moves to the Entries tab, and the email action you checked runs. Actions with conditional logic only run when their conditions are met.

If real entries keep landing on the Spam tab, learn how to choose what happens to spam.

Check email notification settings

If some emails are being sent, either from other WordPress functions or from other forms, you will need to check your email form action.

Here are some common solutions that can prevent outgoing or incoming emails from being blocked:

• Send email from an address that matches your domain. The FROM address must match the domain of your website. It is often best to set up a dedicated email for this, like noreply@mydomain.com.
• Properly separate a list of multiple email addresses. Check the To box. If you send to multiple recipients, separate all email addresses with a comma. You can also use the CC and BCC fields for additional recipients.
• Use a different address for the TO and FROM emails. Never let the TO address match the FROM address in the email form action. This looks unusual and can trigger spam deletion from email providers.
• Send the email as plain text instead of HTML. In the email action, set Email Style to Plain Text. Then click Update to save your changes.
• Send fewer emails in a short period of time. Many spam filters are triggered by too many recipients in one email. For large lists (50 or more recipients), consider a service like SendGrid or Brevo. Many SMTP services also cap the number of emails that can be sent, usually in the hundreds per hour. Your host can clarify that number.
• Don't let your content look like spam. Minimize the links you include since they may trigger spam filters.

If some emails are sent and others aren't, compare the mail that gets through with the mail that doesn't. Your hosting provider can tell you if some mail is being blocked, and might be able to tell you why.

Check logs to ensure the email is sending

To check if your Formidable emails are being sent, you can install an email logging plugin such as WP Mail Logging.

Once you have installed the WP Mail Logging plugin, check its log:

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard and click WP Mail Logging in the admin menu. The Email Log lists the emails your site has sent.
2. To see the details of an email, click its View icon, which looks like an eye.
   

   

3. The window that opens shows the time the email was sent, the receiver, the subject, the headers, and the message. If sending failed, it also shows the error. If you see an error, contact your hosting provider and send them the information. They may be able to tell you why the email is not sending or is being blocked.
   

   

Install and set up an SMTP plugin

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If you still can't get your site to send some or any emails, install an SMTP plugin.

Formidable Forms can install the WP Mail SMTP plugin for you:

1. Go to Formidable → SMTP and click Install WP Mail SMTP. Formidable installs and activates the plugin.
   

   

2. Click Start Setup to choose and configure your mailer.

For more details about installing and setting up an SMTP plugin, see our guide to recommended SMTP plugins, such as WP Mail SMTP.

Your SMTP plugin may be sending emails correctly while emails from your Formidable form still don't arrive. If so, check the email action:

1. Open your form's email notification. In the form, go to Settings → Actions & Notifications and click the email action to expand it.
2. Check the To box. All email addresses must be separated with a comma.
3. Check the From box. It must use the same email address that is connected to the SMTP plugin.

Use a transactional email service

You can use SendGrid, which is a transactional email service. SendGrid highlights some of the benefits of using a transactional email service.

One of the main benefits of a transactional email service is that your emails will have a greater chance of being delivered.

Another major benefit of using a service like SendGrid is email tracking. You can see how many people have opened your emails or clicked the links, and much more. To learn how to set up SendGrid, follow our SendGrid setup walkthrough.

Need help with troubleshooting?

You may have gone through these steps and found that your site sends other emails, but not the ones from your Formidable forms. If so, please open a new ticket with the results from steps 1-4 and any information that your hosting provider gave you. We will be happy to assist you.