# What should a client request form ask for? > About Dora: Dora is the AI account manager for teams that do client work. An agentic client portal: Dora briefs every request and gets it signed off, and your team or your own AI agents do the work. Edin Abazi · Published 2026-11-10 · Updated 2026-11-10 > A client request form should ask five shared basics: who is asking, what they need, why, by when, and any files or links. Add three to five questions specific to the request type, then follow up only on what's still missing before work starts. ## Short answer A client request form should ask for five shared basics: who is asking, what they need, why, by when, and any files or links. Then add three to five questions specific to the request type, such as a bug versus a new page, and follow up only on whatever details are still missing before work starts. ## When does one form work, and when do you need several question sets? One form works when you sell a single service and get one kind of request. The moment requests mix, a bug fix, a new page, a copy edit, a design asset, one form starts asking questions that don't apply. Request forms already differ by purpose. [DevOpsSchool](https://www.devopsschool.com/blog/designing-effective-request-forms-for-better-customer-engagement/) describes them as tools for questions, feedback and service requests, and [Jotform's template index](https://www.jotform.com/form-templates/new-client-request-form) lists thousands of request form templates organized by use case. Even a quick look at related form types shows the spread: intake, contract, review and consultation forms all exist for different jobs. Dev shops, web agencies, design subscriptions and consultancies hit this wall fastest, because their clients ask for very different things week to week. Here's the problem with one thorough form. A client reporting a broken checkout has to scroll past "Who is your target audience?" and "Do you have brand guidelines?" They skip fields or rush them, and the ones that matter get thin answers. One honest exception: for a one-off project with a single client thread, email is enough. You don't need a form at all. ## Which five fields should every client request include? Every request, whatever the type, needs five things: who, what, why, when, and supporting material. This is the baseline before any branching. 1. **Who is asking, and how to reach them.** Requestor name and contact info. If clients submit through a [client portal](https://dora.work/glossary/what-is-a-client-portal), skip this one, because the portal already knows who they are. 2. **Request type.** A simple picker: bug, new page, design asset, content edit, something else. This is what decides which questions come next. 3. **What they need, in their own words.** One open box. Don't force structure here; clients describe things better when they just talk. 4. **Why it matters, and by when.** The goal behind the request, plus the deadline and what's driving it (a launch, a campaign, a board meeting). A deadline with no reason is hard to prioritize. 5. **Files and links.** Screenshots, docs, references, existing pages. Make it optional but visible. This lines up with what published templates commonly collect. [Adobe](https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/business/hub/what-goes-into-request-for-service-form.html) lists requestor name, contact info, type of service and a detailed description for service requests, and [Formplus](https://www.formpl.us/templates/customer-request-form) adds the reason for the request. Treat those as a baseline, not a full spec. If you want a ready-made version with these fields, copy our [project request form template](https://dora.work/templates/project-request-form-template). Resist the urge to add a sixth. Anything beyond these five either belongs to a request type or is a follow-up. For the longer-form version of a design brief, see how to write a [creative brief clients will fill in](https://dora.work/blog/creative-brief-template-clients-fill). ## What should you ask for each request type? Once the client picks a type, show three to five questions that fit it. Nothing more. Here's a starting set for the types most service teams see. | Request type | Questions to ask | |---|---| | Bug | What happened vs. what should happen; steps to reproduce; URL and device or browser; screenshot or recording; how urgent and who's affected | | New page | Goal of the page; audience; where it sits in the site; status of content and copy; examples they like; who approves | | Design asset | Project title; short brief; business goal; examples of designs they like; deliverables and specs | | Copy or content edit | Which page or asset; the exact current text; the new text or direction; any legal or brand constraints | | Larger project | Overview and scope; what's in and what's out; rough timeline | Treat the bug questions as my recommendation rather than a sourced standard. They come from what a developer needs to reproduce a problem, and no published source in this research covers them directly. Test them with your own team. ### Bug report The goal is a reproducible problem. "What happened versus what should happen" gets you the gap, and steps, browser and a screenshot let a developer see it without a call. Add urgency and who's affected so you can triage without guessing. ### New page Start with the goal and audience, because they shape everything else. Then ask where the page lives, whether the copy exists, and who signs off. A page with no copy and three approvers is a very different job from one with finished copy and one decision maker. ### Design request [Filestage's design request questions](https://filestage.io/blog/design-request-form/) include project title, project brief and the business goal, with examples of designs the client likes and deliverables and specs rounding out the set. The examples question does a lot of work: it's the fastest way to learn taste. For larger projects, start broad. [NDA's intake guide](https://www.nda.ac.uk/blog/10-must-have-questions-for-your-client-intake-form/) opens with project overview and scope of work, for example a full renovation versus a single room. That's an interior-design example, but the idea carries over: is this a full site rebuild or one landing page? For inquiry-style requests, [Elevated Education Co.](https://elevatededucationco.com/2025/08/14/what-to-put-on-your-contact-form-to-generate-dream-client-inquiries/) suggests asking what made someone reach out and what they hope to walk away with. Those come from a coaching context, so adapt the wording to your own service. ## How do you ask follow-ups instead of adding more fields? Keep the first set short, check it for gaps, then ask only for what's missing. Follow-ups work better than extra fields because you ask at the moment you know what's absent, and the question is clearly relevant to that client's request. 1. **Collect the five basics plus the type questions.** Nothing else upfront. 2. **Review for gaps before work starts.** Is there a goal? A deadline? A way to reproduce the bug? 3. **Follow up on the gaps only.** One short message, not a questionnaire. 4. **Give a reason and an example.** [Intray's guidance](https://intrayhq.com/client-request-form-template-for-agencies) is to make questions specific, explain why difficult information is needed, and use examples where clients may read a field differently. 5. **Update the brief and confirm.** Fold the answers back in so the brief is the single source of truth, then confirm before work begins. Say a client writes, "The contact page is broken." A good follow-up isn't "Please provide more details." It's: "Which browser were you using, what happened when you hit submit, and could you send a screenshot? That helps us reproduce it instead of guessing." You can also sequence questions in the form itself. [Jotform](https://www.jotform.com/form-templates/new-client-request-form) offers a classic layout with all questions on one page or a card layout with one question per page. That's a way to pace questions, though I wouldn't claim either converts better. This is the part Dora handles. Dora is an [AI account manager](https://dora.work/features/ai-account-manager) that takes requests by portal, email or chat, asks the client for what's missing, and writes the brief. Because Dora [turns client emails into requests](https://dora.work/features/email-intake), clients who never open a form still end up with a briefed request. Decisions about the work stay with your team. Dora isn't a form builder, and it doesn't do invoicing or contracts. It covers the request-to-brief part of the job. To know whether any of this works, measure it. For two weeks, count how many requests need at least one clarifying message before work starts. Then switch to shared basics, type questions and follow-ups, and track the share of requests that arrive workable and the days from request to first work. Review after four to six weeks with real clients, since published sources give example questions, not conversion data. If you'd rather not build and maintain these forms, try Dora free and let her ask clients for what's missing; your [first client is free](https://dora.work/pricing), forever. ## Related questions ### How long should a client request form be? The shared basics are about five fields. Add three to five type-specific questions, and treat everything else as a follow-up. The sources give example questions but no conversion data on ideal length, so test with real clients and trim whatever they skip. ### What's the difference between a client intake form and a client request form? An intake form happens once, at onboarding, and covers scope, background and brand. A request form is for each piece of work. Intake can run longer because you only ask it once. Copyable versions of both are in our [client intake form template](https://dora.work/templates/client-intake-form-template) and [project request form template](https://dora.work/templates/project-request-form-template). ### What are some good questions to ask clients beyond the form? Ask why now, what they've tried before, and who signs off. These are valuable but not needed on every request. Ask them in a follow-up when the request calls for it, not all upfront. ### How do you get clients to fill in the form? Make it easy to start. Let clients send requests by email or portal in plain words, and don't force them through a long form first. Then have follow-ups ask only what's missing, with a reason and an example, so each question feels relevant. ## Questions ### How long should a client request form be? The shared basics are about five fields. Add three to five type-specific questions, and treat everything else as a follow-up. The sources give example questions but no conversion data on ideal length, so test with real clients and trim whatever they skip. ### What's the difference between a client intake form and a client request form? An intake form happens once, at onboarding, and covers scope, background and brand. A request form is for each piece of work. Intake can run longer because you only ask it once. Copyable versions of both are in our [client intake form template](https://dora.work/templates/client-intake-form-template) and [project request form template](https://dora.work/templates/project-request-form-template). ### What are some good questions to ask clients beyond the form? Ask why now, what they've tried before, and who signs off. These are valuable but not needed on every request. Ask them in a follow-up when the request calls for it, not all upfront. ### How do you get clients to fill in the form? Make it easy to start. Let clients send requests by email or portal in plain words, and don't force them through a long form first. Then have follow-ups ask only what's missing, with a reason and an example, so each question feels relevant. ## Sources - [DevOpsSchool](https://www.devopsschool.com/blog/designing-effective-request-forms-for-better-customer-engagement/) - [Jotform's template index](https://www.jotform.com/form-templates/new-client-request-form) - [Adobe](https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/business/hub/what-goes-into-request-for-service-form.html) - [Formplus](https://www.formpl.us/templates/customer-request-form) - [Filestage's design request questions](https://filestage.io/blog/design-request-form/) - [NDA's intake guide](https://www.nda.ac.uk/blog/10-must-have-questions-for-your-client-intake-form/) - [Elevated Education Co.](https://elevatededucationco.com/2025/08/14/what-to-put-on-your-contact-form-to-generate-dream-client-inquiries/) - [Intray's guidance](https://intrayhq.com/client-request-form-template-for-agencies) [Try Dora free](https://dora.work/sign-up): your first client is free, forever.