---
title: What is a hidden field? | Paperform Help Center | Paperform
description: A hidden field or question is a type of field that is hidden from the user, but contains info relevant to the submission. Various methods exist for how hidden fields can be used on your forms, some more advanced than others.
url: "https://paperform.co/help/articles/what-is-a-hidden-field"
type: static
generatedAt: "2026-04-04T00:42:02.939Z"
---

What is a hidden field?
### Field Types

[Hidden Fields](https://paperform.co/widgets/hidden-fields/) are useful for associating answers with your form *without* the respondent seeing the question. They can be used for a variety of tasks, including: UTM parameters, referral codes, user IDs, and more.

To add a Hidden field to your form, add a question just like you'd add any other question and choose *Hidden* for its type.

A Hidden field can only be answered by using:

 - [A Default Answer](https://paperform.co/help/articles/can-i-select-a-default-answer-for-my-form/)
 - [Form Pre-filling](https://paperform.co/help/articles/pre-filling-guide/)

## Examples

We'll touch upon a couple of examples that illustrate why you might want to consider using a hidden field in your form. This not an exhaustive list, but serves to illustrate how they can be useful.

### UTM parameters or codes

Submission data does include UTM parameters such as `utm_campaign` & `utm_source` when you [export submissions](https://paperform.co/help/articles/share-form-submissions/) as CSV file or when using some integrations (such as directly through Google Sheets or via Zapier). Other than that, though, it's typically hidden from even your view as the form editor and, thus, is usually not included when using answer piping.

To get around this, you can set Hidden fields with custom Question IDs equal to those parameters.

For example, if you want to capture the parameter `utm_source`:

 1. Create a hidden field with a custom Question ID of `utm_source`.
 1. Give the field a title so you can identify what this question corresponds to, but it can be whatever title works for your needs.

Then, when your URL has `utm_source=twitter` in it, for example, it will populate the hidden field with the custom Question ID of `utm_source`. That value can then be used elsewhere in the form, in custom emails or PDFs, dynamic success pages, or sent to another service through integration.

### Identifiers

Another use case for Hidden fields is tying subsequent submissions to a specific person. There are two ways this might be useful:

 - Tracking a user through submissions on various forms
 - Tracking a user's referrals

On their own, distinct forms know nothing about each other. If you send a user from Form 1 to Form 2, Form 2 doesn't know what Form 1 is or that the user was sent to Form 2 from Form 1.

However, you may wish to tie those separate form submissions together by user. You can do this by pre-filling a hidden field on subsequent forms with the submission ID of the first form or with an ID you create on the first form, such as through a calculation that combines multiple pieces of data on that form.

Alternatively, you may not wish to track a user through multiple submissions but rather track multiple submissions that a specific user is responsible for; that is, a referral code.

If you set a referral code in a hidden field through pre-filling, you can tie multiple submissions to that referrer.

> **Note:** Attributing specific submissions using the same referral code/ submission ID is the responsibility of the form owner - Paperform doesn't automate attribution within your results between forms/ different submissions.

### Dynamic forms

You may wish to use pre-filling if the value passed isn't within the URL, or alternatively calculate the value a different way (a different calculation, a combination of answers from the form, etc.).

You'll need a place to store this value that isn't used in anything user-facing, though. If the value isn't in the URL, it can potentially disrupt your formatting and/or calculations. So, you can pre-fill a hidden field with that value.

For example, in a calculation you can use that value (if it exists) or another value if it doesn't. Suppose your Question ID for that hidden field is `abc12`. Your calculation would look similar to

`example_variable = IF({{ abc12 }}, {{ abc12 }}, some_other_operation);`

Here, we'll use the value stored in `abc12` only if it exists. Otherwise, we'll perform `some_other_operation`.

> **Note:** `some_other_operation` is not a valid expression, and only serves as an example here. Please refer to our [Calculations Guide](https://paperform.co/help/articles/calculations-guide/) for more detailed instructions for how to use calculation fields.

These are just a few examples of what you can do with hidden fields. Explore and experiment to come up with ways that suit your unique use-cases.

## Gotchas

 - While pre-filling and hidden fields are available on all plans, Answer Piping and Calculations are features reserved for specific [pricing plans](https://paperform.co/pricing/).

### Related Articles
  [Will a user ever see a hidden field?  No, a user will never see a hidden field. If you use pre-filling to set that field's value, they can see what you put in the URL, though.](/help/articles/will-a-user-ever-see-a-hidden-field/)