Making Forms Better
How can we make our forms better?
Government forms overall will be improved when they are more consistent within and across departments. This can be achieved by adopting common standards that follow well-researched best practices for forms.
We can improve our clients’ experience with government forms in many ways.
We can
- reduce the overall number of forms clients need to fill out
- ask only for information that is truly needed, to reduce the length of the form and the burden of filling it out and managing the data
- make it easy for clients to find and obtain the necessary forms
- post forms online in formats that clients can fill out electronically, save for their records, and email to government
- write and designing forms so they are easy for clients to understand and complete
- assign each form a unique identification code and version number or revision date — to aid version control and support client inquiries
We can make clear
- the purpose of the form and the agency responsible for it
- who clients can contact if they have questions or need help filling out the form
- how to pay when a cost is involved
- how and where clients should submit their completed forms
Follow the 10 steps in Renovating Your Forms to produce better forms.