Forms

Digitize inspections, checklists, and custom workflows with Samsara’s Connected Forms API.

Samsara’s Connected Forms enable you to digitize inspections, checklists, and custom workflows across your organization. Through the API, you can:

• Discover form templates with the List form templates endpoint.

• Create form submissions with the Create a form submission endpoint.

• Assign forms to a driver or to a route.

• Pre-populate form fields so drivers have partial data already filled in.

  When you create and assign a form submission (with status set to notStarted), the driver or route assignee is notified via the Samsara Driver App and can complete the form from their inbox.

Key concepts

• Field: A single question or prompt that collects one piece of information from the user (e.g., text input, number, signature, etc.).
• Form Template: A predefined collection of fields that outlines how a particular form should look and what information it should gather.
• Form Submission: An instance of a form template that has been filled out (partially or fully) and then submitted.
• Field Types: The various data types you can include in a form, such as text, number, geofence, signature, or asset-based fields.
• Approval vs Non-approval: Approval based forms offer a structured review and approval process for form submissions. Ensures that forms meet required standards before they are completed, enhancing accountability and compliance.
• Statuses: Where a form submission is in its workflow—from initial assignment (notStarted) through completion or archival. Some statuses are only applicable for approval based forms.

submittedAtTime, createdAtTime, and updatedAtTime are always stored in UTC (ISO 8601). The dashboard or your local environment may show these times in the local timezone.

How it works

1. Design your form template

   Choose which field types you need, and set up your custom form template to capture all required data.

2. List available templates

   Use the API to fetch and discover your existing form templates.

3. Create and assign

   Generate a new form submission from a template and assign it to a driver or route, optionally pre-populating specific fields.

4. Driver App notification

   Once assigned with status: 'notStarted', the driver or route assignee receives the form in their Samsara Driver App inbox.

5. Completion and submission

   The driver fills out the form, submits it, and the results become available for further processing or auditing via the API.

This flexible workflow allows you to streamline data collection tasks, enforce consistency, and integrate form data into your other business systems and processes.

Next, learn how to Create and assign forms.

Before you begin

You’ll need an API key or OAuth access token with the following scopes:

• Read Form Submissions to list or retrieve form submissions
• Write Form Submissions to create or update form submissions

Learn more about authentication.