> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.paubox.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get a public form with the Forms API

> Returns the full form definition (HTML, JSON schema, CSS) for a given form. Called by the form embed before rendering a form to a respondent. No authentication required.




## OpenAPI

````yaml openapi-forms GET /public/form_data/{form_id}
openapi: 3.0.0
info:
  title: Paubox Forms API
  description: >
    The Paubox Forms API has two kinds of endpoints. Public, respondent-facing
    endpoints (retrieving a form definition for rendering and submitting a form
    response) require no authentication. Authenticated management endpoints
    (creating, listing, updating, copying, archiving forms, and reading or
    exporting submissions) require a Paubox API key with the "forms" scope, sent
    as `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`. API keys are generated in the
    Paubox dashboard.
  version: 1.0.0
servers:
  - url: https://api.paubox.com/v1/forms
    description: Paubox Forms API
security: []
tags:
  - name: Forms
    description: Retrieve form definitions and accept submissions
  - name: Form management
    description: Create, list, update, copy, and archive forms (requires API key)
  - name: Submissions
    description: List and export form submissions (requires API key)
paths:
  /public/form_data/{form_id}:
    get:
      tags:
        - Forms
      summary: Get form metadata
      description: >
        Returns the full form definition (HTML, JSON schema, CSS) for a given
        form. Called by the form embed before rendering a form to a respondent.
        No authentication required.
      operationId: getPublicForm
      parameters:
        - name: form_id
          in: path
          required: true
          schema:
            type: string
            format: uuid
          description: UUID of the form to retrieve
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Form found
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Form'
              examples:
                example:
                  summary: Example response
                  value:
                    id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
                    title: Patient Intake Form
                    description: Please complete before your appointment.
                    form_json: {}
                    form_html: <form>...</form>
                    form_css: 'form { font-family: sans-serif; }'
                    active: true
                    customer_id: 123
                    signable: false
                    submission_count: 42
                    created_at: '2024-01-15T10:30:00Z'
                    updated_at: '2024-06-01T08:00:00Z'
        '404':
          description: Form not found
      security: []
components:
  schemas:
    Form:
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
        title:
          type: string
        description:
          type: string
          nullable: true
        form_html:
          type: string
          nullable: true
        form_json:
          type: object
          nullable: true
        form_css:
          type: string
          nullable: true
        vanity_url:
          type: string
          nullable: true
        version:
          type: integer
        active:
          type: boolean
        customer_id:
          type: integer
        old_form_id:
          type: integer
          nullable: true
        recipient:
          type: string
          nullable: true
          description: |
            Comma-separated email addresses notified on each submission.
        signable:
          type: boolean
        signature_confirmation_label:
          type: string
          nullable: true
        submission_count:
          type: integer
        type:
          type: string
          nullable: true
        subscription_list_id:
          type: string
          nullable: true
          description: >
            ID of the connected Marketing contact list. For marketing forms, new
            subscribers are added to this list.
        deleted:
          type: boolean
        archived:
          type: boolean
        created_at:
          type: string
          format: date-time
        updated_at:
          type: string
          format: date-time

````

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