WPForms not sending email? How to find the cause and fix it

Which cause do you have?

WPForms does not deliver email itself. When someone submits a form, WPForms hands the notification to WordPress's built-in mail function. WordPress then sends it through your web server, or through an SMTP service if one is set up. After that handoff, WPForms has no control over delivery, as its notification troubleshooting guide explains. So the fault is either in the form's settings or in the sending path.

Match what you are seeing to the likely cause:

Before changing anything, update WPForms and WordPress. WPForms suggests doing this first because a known notification bug may already be fixed. Then submit the form yourself with an address you can check and note the time. Look in the spam or junk folder as well as the inbox. Repeat this test after each fix.

Fix 1: Check that notifications are switched on for this form

Each form has its own notification settings. A form that was duplicated or used for testing can have them turned off while every other form on the site works.

1. Open the form in the WPForms form builder.
2. Go to Settings » Notifications.
3. Make sure Enable Notifications is toggled on.
4. Look at the status badge on each notification. It should read ACTIVE. If it does not, click the badge to switch it back.
5. Click Save.

Check it worked: submit the form again. If the email arrives, you are done. If it does not, stay on this screen, because the checks in Fix 2 are here too.

Fix 2: Check who the email is actually going to

The Send To Email Address field starts with the {admin_email} Smart Tag, which sends to the site's administration email (see WPForms' notification setup guide). On a site an agency built, that is often the agency's or the developer's address. The leads may have been arriving somewhere the client never looks.

1. In Settings » Notifications, read the Send To Email Address field.
2. If it shows {admin_email}, check where that points. In WordPress, go to Settings » General and look at Administration Email Address.
3. The quickest fix is to replace {admin_email} with the client's real address. To add more recipients, separate the addresses with commas, not spaces. Check for typos and stray spaces.
4. If the notification uses conditional logic, check the rule. WPForms only sends the email when the condition is met, so a rule that is too narrow quietly skips every other enquiry.
5. Click Save and submit a test.

You might prefer to change the Administration Email Address itself. If so, WordPress sends a confirmation link to the new address and keeps the old one active until someone clicks it (WordPress documentation). If the site cannot send email, that confirmation will not arrive either, so sort out delivery in Fix 5 first. WordPress also advises that on a site set up by a developer or agency, this should be an address the client's organisation can access, because recovery mode and critical error notices go there.

Fix 3: Look for leads flagged as spam

WPForms does not send notification emails for entries it identifies as spam (WPForms spam entries guide). If only some enquiries are missing, check here before you touch any email settings.

1. Go to WPForms » Entries and choose the form.
2. Click the Spam link below the form name.
3. For each real enquiry, click Not Spam in the Actions column. WPForms moves it back to your entries and sends all the form's notification emails to the configured addresses.

Spam entries are only kept if the Store spam entries in the database toggle is on. You'll find it in the form builder under Settings » Spam Protection and Security, in the Protection section. Since WPForms 1.9.0 it is on by default for new forms.

You need a paid WPForms licence to view entries, because WPForms lists form entries as a Basic feature. On the free Lite version you cannot open entries in the dashboard. WPForms points Lite users to Lite Connect, which backs entries up so they can be restored after an upgrade.

Check it worked: the enquiry you marked as Not Spam should reach the recipient's inbox.

Fix 4: Use a From Email on the site's own domain

Mail providers check whether an email really comes from the domain it claims. If the From Email is a Gmail address but the client's web server sends the message, it can be flagged or blocked. The form builder warns you with “The current From Email does not match your website domain name.”

WPForms' rules for the From Email field:

• Use one address only.
• Use an address on the website's own domain, such as an enquiries address on the client's domain.
• Do not use a free provider such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail.
• Do not use the same address as in Send To Email Address, which can look like spam.
• Do not use the address of the person filling in the form.

To let the client reply straight to the enquirer, put the Smart Tag for the form's email field in Reply-To Email Address. If it is left empty, replies go to the From Email.

If WP Mail SMTP is installed with Force From Email turned on, the From Email field in WPForms is disabled, because the SMTP plugin sets the sender for the whole site. In that case, set the address in WP Mail SMTP instead (Fix 5).

Check it worked: the domain warning disappears from the notification screen, and a test submission lands in the inbox rather than junk.

Fix 5: Send WordPress mail through SMTP with an authenticated domain

WPForms says the most common reason notifications go missing is that the hosting server is not configured to use PHP's mail() function. Even when the server does send, unauthenticated mail often fails the checks that large inbox providers run. Google, for example, requires anyone sending to personal Gmail accounts to set up SPF or DKIM for their sending domain. WPForms recommends an SMTP plugin such as WP Mail SMTP, connected to a proper sending service.

Installing the plugin is not enough by itself. Until you set up a mailer, it uses the default PHP mailer, and WPForms notes that this does not improve deliverability.

Set it up with the wizard (WP Mail SMTP setup wizard guide):

1. Install and activate WP Mail SMTP.
2. Go to WP Mail SMTP » Settings and click Launch Setup Wizard, below the Primary Connection section. Then click Let's Get Started.
3. Click the mailer you want, then Save and Continue.
4. Fill in the details your mailer asks for, such as an API key (that mailer's own guide explains what you need). Enter a From Name and a From Email on the client's domain. Tick Force From Email, which WP Mail SMTP strongly recommends. Tick Force From Name as well if you want one sender name across the site. Click Save and Continue.
5. Work through the remaining steps. Some features, including detailed email logs, need a paid licence, and you can skip the licence key step.
6. At the end, the wizard sends a test email. A congratulations message means it worked. If you see “Whoops, looks like things aren't configured properly.”, click Start Troubleshooting to see the errors and what to do about them.

Choosing a mailer. WP Mail SMTP's guide to mailers marks SendLayer, SMTP.com, Brevo and Mailjet as recommended. Avoid Default (none), which does not use SMTP and will not improve delivery. Do not make Other SMTP your first choice either: the guide calls it less secure and less reliable than the API mailers. Google Workspace/Gmail works but has stricter server requirements and sending limits. Microsoft Outlook/365, Amazon SES and Zoho Mail need a WP Mail SMTP Pro licence.

Authenticating the domain. Most API mailers ask you to verify the sending domain by adding DNS records. The guide lists this for Mailgun, SendGrid, Mailjet, Postmark and SparkPost, among others. Follow your chosen mailer's setup guide and add the records wherever the client's DNS is managed. For agencies this is often the slowest step, because you need access to the client's domain account, so ask for it early.

Check it worked: go to WP Mail SMTP » Tools, open the Email Test tab, enter an address you can read and click Send Email. After sending, WP Mail SMTP checks the DNS records for the From Email domain, including SPF, DKIM and DMARC. It shows the results with links to fix anything missing. Then submit the real form and confirm the notification arrives in the client's inbox.

Fix 6: Make sure Optimize Email Sending is off

This is a site-wide WPForms setting. It is off by default, and WPForms says it “is also not intended to fix email delivery issues”. Even so, its troubleshooting steps ask you to confirm it is off.

1. Go to WPForms » Settings and open the Email tab.
2. In the Sending section, make sure Optimize Email Sending is toggled off.
3. Click Save Settings and submit a test.

If none of this worked

Collect these before you contact anyone, so you are not asked for them twice:

• The form name, and the date and time of your test submissions.
• The Send To, From Email and Reply-To values in the notification, and any conditional logic.
• The mailer WP Mail SMTP uses, and the exact error or domain check result from the Email Test tab.
• If you have WP Mail SMTP Pro, the email log. To turn it on, go to WP Mail SMTP » Settings, open the Email Log tab and tick “Keep a record of basic details for all emails sent from your site” (email logging guide). Each logged email shows a status: Delivered, Sent, Not Sent or Waiting for confirmation.

Then contact the right people. Your web host can confirm that the email server is configured correctly and tell you whether it blocks the built-in PHP mailer. Asking the host is WPForms' last troubleshooting step. WP Mail SMTP's email support needs an active licence, and Lite users are pointed to the WordPress.org support forum. If domain verification will not pass, your mailer's own support can help.

If you look after many client sites, make a test submission after every update part of your routine maintenance. See our guides on managing multiple client websites and monthly website care plans.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the WP Mail SMTP test email arrive but WPForms notifications do not?

Then the site can send mail and the problem is in the form. Check that Enable Notifications is on and the notification is ACTIVE, that Send To Email Address holds the right address, that any conditional logic is being met, and that the missing enquiries are not sitting in the Spam view under WPForms » Entries.

Can I recover a lead whose notification never arrived?

With a paid WPForms licence, entries are saved and you can read them at WPForms » Entries, including the Spam view. Marking a spam entry as Not Spam sends its notifications. On the free Lite version you cannot view entries in the dashboard, although Lite Connect can back them up so they can be restored after an upgrade.

Can I use the client's Gmail address as the From Email?

WPForms advises against it. The From Email should be a single address on the website's own domain, not a free provider such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, and not the same as the Send To address. Gmail is fine as the Send To address, and the enquirer's email can go in Reply-To.

Is installing WP Mail SMTP enough on its own?

No. Until you choose and configure a mailer it uses the default PHP mailer, which WPForms says does not improve deliverability. Pick a mailer, add the DNS records it asks for on the client's domain, turn on Force From Email and send a test from WP Mail SMTP » Tools.

Do I have to fix this separately on every client site?

Yes. Notification settings belong to each form and the SMTP setup belongs to each WordPress site, so check every form on every site. A test submission after each WordPress or plugin update catches problems before a client notices missing leads.

If you would rather enquiries did not depend on email

Everything above fixes WPForms on the site the client already has, and for most sites that is the right call. If you are rebuilding a client's site anyway, WebNewBiz handles this part differently. On the Growth plan and above, website enquiries go straight into the built-in AI CRM, so they don't rely only on a notification reaching an inbox. Agencies can also send email through their own SMTP. The honest limits: it is a young platform with a much smaller app ecosystem and community than the big builders, the CRM starts at Growth ($79 a month), and moving a site across means rebuilding the layout rather than importing it.

Create your website for $1: the first month is $1, then the plan's normal price (from $9 a month), and you can cancel any time. If you run an agency, talk to us about white-label.