Sign in with Microsoft
Sign in or create an account.
Hello,
Select a different account.
You have multiple accounts
Choose the account you want to sign in with.

When you plan and create a Microsoft SharePoint survey, you're making a special kind of list that enables the owner to create questions, have multiple people respond, and see a summary of the results. To learn how to respond to and edit survey answers, see Respond to a survey.

Note: To create a survey, you must have permission to create lists on the site. An alternative is to create your survey in Excel Web App, where results are compiled in an Excel spreadsheet rather than a SharePoint list.

Updated January 25, 2017 thanks to customer feedback.

Create a survey

Note: Survey is a standard SharePoint app, and should be available across versions. If it's not a choice under apps, check with your administrator.

Create a survey in SharePoint

  1. Sign in to Microsoft 365 with your work or school account.

  2. In the top of the page, select the app launcher icon Office 365 app launcher icon, and then select the SharePoint tile.

  3. Go to the site where you want to create the survey.

  4. Select Settings Settings: update your profile, install software and connect it to the cloud, and then select Add an app.

    The settings menu with Add an app highlighted
  5. On the Your Apps page, in the search box, enter survey.

    Search box in Site Content page with survey typed in and highlighted

    Select the Survey icon.

    Survey app icon included with SharePoint

    Note: You may have a choice of internal or third-party survey apps, if your company allows them. Talk to your SharePoint administrator for advice on which to use.

  6. In the Adding Survey box, select Advanced Options.

    Adding a survey dialog box with Advanced options highlighted

    You can also just enter a name, select Create, and then change settings and add questions later.

    Note: If you are using SharePoint, but your screens look different, your administrator you may be in Classic experience. Follow steps under the SharePoint 2016 tab instead.

  7. Enter a name for the survey.

  8. In the Description field, enter a description of the survey. The description is optional.

    New survey dialog box with text boxes filled in.
  9. In the Survey Options section, specify whether you want people's names to appear with their responses and whether people can respond more than once to the survey.

  10. Select Next.

  11. On the New Question page, enter your question text, and then select the type of answer that you want in the Question and Type section for your first question.

    New Question page

    Note: There currently is no automatic way to number questions for display, as you can't add additional columns to a Survey. If you want your questions number, put the number into the Question Name. Questions are added sequentially when you created them, however you can change the order of the questions from the settings page.

  12. In the Additional Question Settings section, you can specify whether an answer to the question is required, or people can respond more than once to the survey. Depending on the type of question, you can also enter answers to choose from and set a default value.

    Additional questions section of new dialog box
  13. If you want to add branching logic where the survey asks different questions based on what the last answer was, you need to finish creating the survey first. You can then go to the Survey Settings page and add branching logic. For more info, see Add branching logic to a survey.

    Branching logic section in new question dialog
  14. In the Column Validation section, if you want to check whether an answer is valid, enter the formula you want to use for validation in the Formula box. In the User Message box, describe what the user needs to do to ensure the answer is valid. For example, if you’re asking an employee to enter the amount of time she’s worked in a department, you can specify that it could not be longer than the total time she’s worked for the company. For more info on formulas, see Examples of common formulas in SharePoint Lists.

    Validation section of the new question dialog
  15. Do one of the following:

    • To create additional questions, click Next Question, and then enter information for the next question. Continue the process until you add all the questions that you want.

      Next question button highlighted in New Question dialog
    • If you are finished adding questions, select Finish.

      Next question dialog with Finish button highlighted
  16. To see your survey, under Recent in the Quick Launch bar, select the survey's name.

Top of Page

Create a survey in SharePoint 2016 or SharePoint 2013

  1. In SharePoint, navigate to the site where you want to add the survey.

  2. In SharePoint, select Settings Settings: update your profile, install software and connect it to the cloud, and then select Add an app.

  3. On the Your Apps page, in the search box, enter survey.

    Search box in Site Content page with survey typed in and highlighted

    Select the Survey icon.

    Survey app icon included with SharePoint

    Note: You may have a choice of internal or third-party survey apps, if your company allows them. For advice on which to use, contact your SharePoint administrator .

  4. In the Adding Survey box, select Advanced Options.

    Adding a survey dialog box with Advanced options highlighted

    You can also just enter a name, select Create, and then change settings and add questions later.

  5. Enter a name for the survey.

  6. In the Description field, enter a description of the survey. The description is optional.

    New survey dialog box with text boxes filled in.
  7. In the Survey Options section, specify whether you want people's names to appear with their responses and whether people can respond more than once to the survey.

  8. Select Next.

  9. On the New Question page, enter your question text, and then select the type of answer that you want in the Question and Type section for your first question.

    New Question page

    Note: There currently is no way to number questions for display, as you can't add additional columns to a Survey. If you want your questions number, put the number into the Question Name. Questions are added sequentially when you created them, however you can change the order of the questions from the settings page.

  10. In the Additional Question Settings section, specify additional settings for your question, such as whether an answer to the question is required. Depending on the type of question, you can also enter answers to choose from and an optional default value.

    Additional questions section of new dialog box
  11. If you want to add branching logic, that is the survey asks different questions based on what the last answer was, you'll need to finish creating the survey first. You can then go to the Survey Settings page and add branching logic. For more info, see Add branching logic to a survey.

    Branching logic section in new question dialog
  12. In the Column Validation section, if you want to check whether an answer is valid, enter the formula you want to use for validation in the Formula box. In the User Message box, describe what the user needs to do to ensure the answer is valid. For example, if you’re asking an employee to enter the amount of time she’s worked in a department, you can specify that it could not be longer than the total time she’s worked for the company. For more info on formulas, see Examples of common formulas in SharePoint Lists.

    Validation section of the new question dialog
  13. Do one of the following:

    • To create additional questions, click Next Question, and then enter information for the next question. Continue the process until you add all the questions that you want.

      Next question button highlighted in New Question dialog
    • If you are finished adding questions, select Finish.

      Next question dialog with Finish button highlighted
  14. To see your survey, under Recent in the Quick Launch bar, select the survey's name.

Top of Page

Create a survey in SharePoint 2010

Note: To create a survey, you must have permission to create lists on the site where you are creating the survey.

  1. Navigate to the site where you want to add a survey.

  2. Select Site Actions Site Actions Menu, and then select View All Site Content.

  3. On the All Site Content page, and then at the top left of the page, select Create.

  4. In the Search Installed Items search box in the upper left of the screen, under Data, enter survey, and then press Enter.

    SharePoint 2010 Search Installed Items search box

    Select the Survey icon.

    SharePoint 2010 Survey icon
  5. In the Name box, enter a name for the survey. The name is required and appears at the top of the survey page. The name also becomes part of the web address for the survey page, and it appears in navigational elements that help users to find and open the survey.

  6. To enter a description and to specify navigation and survey options, select More Options.

    SharePoint 2010 Survey options page
  7. In the Description box, enter a description of the survey. The description is optional.

  8. To add a link to this list on the Quick Launch, in the Navigation section, select Yes.

  9. In the Survey Options section, specify whether you want people's names to appear with their responses and whether people can respond more than once to the survey.

  10. Select Create.

  11. SharePoint 2010 new question page
    • On the New Question page, enter your question text, and then select the type of answer that you want in the Question and Type section for your first question.

    • In the Additional Question Settings section, specify additional settings for your question, such as whether an answer to the question is required. Depending on the type of question, you can also enter answers to choose from and an optional default value.

    • In the Column Validation section, if you want to check whether an answer is valid, enter the formula you want to use for validation in the Formula box. In the User Message box, describe what the user needs to do to ensure the answer is valid. For example, if you’re asking an employee to enter the amount of time she’s worked in a department, you can specify that it could not be longer than the total time she’s worked for the company. For more info about formulas, see Examples of common formulas in SharePoint Lists.

  12. Do one of the following:

    • To create additional questions, click Next Question, and then enter information for the next question. Continue the process until you add all the questions that you want.

    • If you are finished adding questions, select Finish.

      Tip: You can add or change questions later, if needed.

  13. When you return to the Survey Settings page, if you don't see your survey on the Quick Launch bar on the left of the page, and would like to follow these steps.

    • Select Title, description, and navigation.

    • On the Quick Launch, under Display this survey, select Yes.

      You can also change the name, add a description, show user names in results, and allow multiple responses here if you'd like.

    • Select Save.

  14. To see your survey, in the breadcrumb navigation at the top of the page, or on the Quick Launch bar on the left, select its name.

  15. If you want the data from the survey to be available for offline viewing or analysis in Office clients, select Settings, and then select Survey Settings. Select Advanced Settings, and then in the Office Client Availability section, select Yes.

Top of Page

Create a survey in SharePoint 2007

Note: To create a survey, you must have permission to create lists on the site where you are creating the survey.

  1. Select View All Site Content, and then select Create on the All Site Content page.

    Tip: In most cases, you can use the Site Actions menu Button image instead to complete this step.

  1. Under Tracking, select Survey.

  2. In the Name box, enter a name for the survey. The name is required.

    The name appears at the top of the survey page. The name becomes part of the web address for the survey page, and it appears in navigational elements that help users to find and open the survey.

  3. In the Description box, enter a description of the survey. The description is optional.

  4. To add a link to this list on the Quick Launch, in the Navigation section, select Yes.

  5. In the Survey Options section, specify whether you want people's names to appear with their responses and whether people can respond more than once to the survey.

  6. Select Next.

  7. On the New Question page, enter your question text, and then select the type of answer that you want in the Question and Type section for your first question.

  8. In the Additional Question Settings section, specify additional settings for your question, such as whether an answer to the question is required. Depending on the type of question, you can also enter answers to choose from and an optional default value.

  9. Do one of the following:

    • To create additional questions, select Next Question, and then enter information for the next question. Continue the process until you add all the questions that you want.

    • If you are finished adding questions, select Finish.

      Tip: You can add or change questions later, if needed.

  10. To see your survey, in the breadcrumb navigation at the top of the page, select its name.

Top of Page

Questions are listed in sequence as you create them, but sometimes you need to change the order. For example, you are using Branching logic and want all questions pertaining to a subject to be asked before branching. To change order, follow these steps.

  1. Navigate to the survey that you want to change question order.

  2. In the header of the survey, select Settings, and then select Survey Settings.

    Survey settings menu with survey settings highlighted
  3. In the Settings dialog, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and select Change the order of the questions.

    Change the order of survey questions highlighted in Settings dialog
  4. In the Change Column Ordering dialog, change the numbers under Position from Top to put the questions in the order you want.

    Change question order dialog with dropdown on one question highlighted
  5. Select OK, and under the Quick Launch bar or in the breadcrumbs, select the survey name.

    Breadcrumbs in the Question order dialog with the next level up highlighted.

Top of Page

If you want to reuse a survey but remove older responses, use the Site Manager to clear the data without losing the questions.

For more info, see Delete all data from an existing survey.

A SharePoint survey is part of your site, so anyone with that can see lists and libraries will be able to see the survey. Your users must have contribute permissions to be able to respond to the survey. For more info about permissions, see Edit permissions for a list or library.

You can put the survey on your home page by inserting it as an App Part. For more info, see Add an App Part to a page.

To send a link to the Survey by email or IM, select and copy the URL from the browser's address bar, and paste it into your message.

Other survey related topics

Here are some additional topics that will help you plan, manage, view permissions and more on your survey:

Leave us a comment

Was this article helpful? If so, please let us know at the bottom of this page. If not, let us know what was confusing or missing. If you got here from a search and it wasn't the information you wanted, let us know what you searched for. We'll use your feedback to double-check the steps and update this article.

Need more help?

Want more options?

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Was this information helpful?

What affected your experience?
By pressing submit, your feedback will be used to improve Microsoft products and services. Your IT admin will be able to collect this data. Privacy Statement.

Thank you for your feedback!

×