Within SimplePractice, there are two types of Paperless Intake documents you can share with a client via the Client Portal to receive an electronic response. In this guide, we’ll cover:

• Consent documents
  • Editing an existing consent document
  • Adding a new consent document
  • Setting consent documents as default

• Intake forms
  • Creating new intake forms
  • Using the Template Library to create an intake form
  • Enabling or disabling an intake form
  • Setting intake forms as default

Important: When editing consent documents and intake form templates, all updates will replace the previous version of each template. To learn how to retain copies of previous versions for your records, see Creating a new custom form based on an existing form and Printing or saving a custom note or form.

Consent documents

Setting up your consent documents is an essential part of managing your practice. A consent document, also known as a practice document, is any text document that you want your client to read, sign, and agree to. These are documents that only require an electronic signature from a client to acknowledge that they've read and agreed to the terms. To manage your consent documents:

• Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files

Here, you'll find the documents listed below included in your SimplePractice account. You can also find the default text of these documents by clicking the respective link:

• Default Notice of Privacy Practices Document
• Default Informed Consent for Psychotherapy Document
• Default Practice Policies Document
• Default Consent for Telehealth Consultation Document
• Default Credit Card Authorization Form

Important: It’s your responsibility to review and update these consent document templates to make sure that they reflect the legal requirements of your state, as well as the way you choose to run your practice. If you have any questions, we recommend consulting your local regulatory body.

In this section, we’ll cover:

• Editing an existing consent document
• Adding a new consent document
• Setting consent documents as default

Editing an existing consent document

When changes occur in your practice, you may need to update your existing consent documents for clients. To do this:

• Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
• Click Edit next to the consent document in question

• Make edits to the text

Note: If you haven’t already, update the bracketed text to match your practice’s information.

• Click Save

Adding a new consent document

If you’d like to add a new consent document:

• Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
• Click + Consent Document

• Fill out the New Consent Document form
• Click Save

Note: For additional details, see Customizing and adding new practice documents.

Setting consent documents as default

You can set specific consent documents as default, so that they’re already pre-selected when sharing an intake packet with a new client. To do this:

• Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
• Under Consent Documents, select Yes in the Default column next to the form

Note: Multiple forms can be selected as default.

These documents will appear pre-selected under Consent Documents on the Send intakes page when granting a brand new client Client Portal access.

Intake forms

An intake form allows you to collect responses from a client in different formats within the Client Portal, such as multiple choice and short answer. You can create custom intake forms or edit a premade template from our Template Library.

In this section, we’ll cover:

• Creating new intake forms
• Using the Template Library to create an intake form
• Enabling or disabling an intake form
• Setting intake forms as default

Creating new intake forms

To create your own custom intake forms:

• Navigate to Settings > Notes & Forms > My Notes & Forms
• Click + Create New Template
• Use the dropdown menu to select for Intake Forms

• Choose Add New to add a new item or question to the form

Important: When creating new templates or editing existing templates, don’t add client names or other PHI to questions.

• Click Save

Note: For a detailed walkthrough on creating your own custom templates, see Creating customized templates in My Notes and Forms.

Using the Template Library to create an intake form

You can also find pre-made templates in the Template Library. To access the library: 

• Navigate to Settings > Notes and Forms > Template Library

Note: You can check the status of intake paperwork that has already been shared with a client in the Shared with Client section of their Overview page. To learn more, see Sending intake forms and documents to clients.

Enabling or disabling an intake form

You also have the ability to enable or disable any form listed on the My Notes and Forms page. We recommend disabling forms, instead of deleting them entirely, as this lets you store them on your My Notes & Forms page for later use. To disable a form:

• Navigate to Settings > Notes and Forms > My Notes & Forms
• Uncheck the box next to the form to disable it
  • Note: Check the box again to re-enable it, if desired

Note: Disabled forms can’t be sent to clients.

Setting intake forms as default

You can set specific intake documents as default, so that they’re already pre-selected when sharing an intake packet with a new client. To do this:

• Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
• Under Intake Forms and Questionnaires, select Yes in the Default column
  • Note: Multiple forms can be selected as default

These documents will appear pre-selected under Questionnaires on the Send intakes page when creating a brand new client.