Track submitted form events in Hubspot

Accurate form tracking in Hubspot is essential if you want to understand how visitors convert on your website and which forms perform best. By creating submitted form events, you can log every successful submission and use this data in reports, funnels, and automation workflows across your account.

This guide explains how to configure submitted form events, choose the right match criteria, and verify that your events collect data properly.

What is a submitted form event in Hubspot?

A submitted form event is a type of custom behavioral event that records when a visitor successfully submits a form on your website. These events are tracked through the Hubspot tracking code and can be used to power:

Attribution and conversion reports
Funnels and path analysis
Audience segmentation based on submissions
Automation workflows triggered by specific forms

Submitted form events are different from basic form submissions because they rely on strict matching rules for URLs and form IDs. This gives you precise control over which forms are included in the event.

Requirements before creating events in Hubspot

Before setting up a submitted form event, make sure you meet the following requirements in Hubspot:

You have the necessary custom behavioral events permissions for your subscription tier.
The Hubspot tracking code is correctly installed on the external pages where your forms are embedded.
You know whether the form is a Hubspot form or a non-Hubspot (external) form.
You can identify the URL where the form appears and, for non-Hubspot forms, the CSS selector or form ID that uniquely identifies the form element.

Having this information ready will make the configuration process much faster and reduce the chance of mismatched events.

How to create a submitted form event in Hubspot

Follow these steps to create a submitted form event using the analytics tools in Hubspot.

Step 1: Open the events tool in Hubspot

Sign in to your Hubspot account.
In the main navigation menu, go to Reports.
Select Analytics Tools.
Open the section for Custom Behavioral Events or similar events configuration, depending on your account interface.

The exact label may vary slightly by subscription, but the events area is where you manage all behavioral tracking, including submitted form events.

Step 2: Create a new submitted form event

Click Create event.
Choose the option for a Submitted form event type.
Give the event a clear, descriptive name such as Contact us form submitted – homepage.

Using consistent naming helps later when you build reports or automation based on specific Hubspot forms.

Step 3: Choose Hubspot form vs non-Hubspot form

Next, you must define whether the event will track a native Hubspot form or a form from another system. The configuration steps differ for each.

Track a Hubspot form

If you are tracking a native Hubspot form:

Select the option to track a Hubspot form.
From the dropdown menu, choose the specific form you want the event to track.
Define the match rules based on the page URL or variation where the form is embedded.

This method is usually simpler, as the platform automatically knows the form ID and structure.

Track a non-Hubspot or external form

If your form is provided by a third-party tool or custom code, select the option for a non-Hubspot form. You will need:

The CSS selector that identifies the form element.
The page URL or URL pattern where the form appears.
The Hubspot tracking code installed on the site to capture submissions.

Make sure that each external form has a unique selector or ID so Hubspot can consistently identify it when a user submits it.

Set URL match rules for submitted form events in Hubspot

URL match rules tell Hubspot which page or group of pages should trigger the submitted form event. You can use different match criteria depending on how your site is structured.

Common URL match options in Hubspot

Exactly matches: Tracks submissions only when the user is on one precise URL.
Begins with: Captures submissions on any page whose URL starts with a given path, such as https://example.com/contact.
Contains: Tracks events on any page whose URL includes a particular substring.

Choose the narrowest rule that still covers all the relevant pages, to avoid collecting data from unrelated forms.

Best practices for URL matching in Hubspot

Use Exactly matches for single landing pages with only one form.
Use Begins with when the same form is used across multiple localized or campaign variations under one path.
Use Contains when your URLs include dynamic parameters, but keep the match phrase as specific as possible.

Test the match against a few sample URLs to ensure that only the intended pages will trigger the submitted form event.

Verify your submitted form event in Hubspot

After creating the event, you should confirm that it fires correctly when a visitor submits the form.

Step-by-step verification process

Open the live page that contains the tracked form in an incognito window.
Fill out the form with test data and submit.
Return to the events area in Hubspot.
Open the specific submitted form event you created.
Look for new event occurrences in the recent activity section.

If you do not see any new activity, double-check that:

The Hubspot tracking code is present on the page.
The URL matches the rule you configured.
The form ID or selector for non-Hubspot forms is correct.

Using submitted form events in Hubspot reports

Once your submitted form events are collecting data, you can use them across several Hubspot tools.

Common use cases for submitted form events

Conversion rate analysis: Measure how many sessions or page views result in a submitted form event.
Attribution reporting: See which campaigns or traffic sources lead to specific form submissions.
Lifecycle tracking: Tie events to contact records and track how forms influence lead stages.
Automation triggers: Start workflows only when a particular submitted form event occurs.

By building dashboards around these events, you can quickly identify high-performing forms and find pages where optimization is needed.

Advanced tips for managing Hubspot form events

Organize naming conventions in Hubspot

To keep your event list manageable, use a structured naming convention such as:

Form - [Page/Section] - [Goal] (for example, Form – Pricing page – Demo request)
Include the form type, such as popup, inline, or footer, if you have many variations.

This ensures that anyone using reports in Hubspot can quickly identify which event corresponds to which form.

Align submitted form events with contacts in Hubspot

Because submitted form events are behavioral, they are most powerful when they connect to contact records. Whenever possible:

Use forms that create or update contact properties in Hubspot.
Segment contact lists based on the presence or absence of specific submitted form events.
Use event-based filters in workflows to send targeted follow-ups.

This helps you design highly relevant marketing and sales sequences based on actual user behavior.

Learn more about submitted form events

The official product documentation provides the most detailed and up-to-date instructions for creating submitted form events. You can review the original guide on the Hubspot knowledge base here: How to create submitted form events.

If you need strategic help designing analytics and conversion tracking around your forms, you can also review consulting resources such as Consultevo which specializes in measurement architecture and optimization.

By carefully configuring submitted form events, validating your setup, and incorporating the data into your reports, you can turn every form in Hubspot into a reliable source of insight about your visitors and customers.

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Hupspot form submission events guide