HIPAA Compliance Guide
Which form builders are actually HIPAA compliant?
If your practice collects patient health information online, you need a vendor with a signed BAA, encryption, and audit trails. Here is how the most popular platforms compare.
What HIPAA requires
Before a cloud form tool can handle protected health information (PHI), it must meet these requirements.
Signed BAA
A Business Associate Agreement between your practice and the vendor is legally required before PHI can be processed.
Encryption
Data must be encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256) to prevent unauthorized access.
Audit trails
The system must log who accessed, created, or modified PHI, with timestamps and user identification.
Access controls
Role-based access ensuring only authorized personnel can view patient data, with automatic session timeouts.
At a glance
| Platform | BAA | Audit | Healthcare | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Forms | Conditional | |||
| Typeform | Not Compliant | |||
| Tally | Not Compliant | |||
| Microsoft Forms | Conditional | |||
| JotForm | Conditional | |||
| Formstack | Conditional | |||
| Formisoft | HIPAA Ready |
Why practices choose Formisoft
Healthcare-first intake, not a consumer form tool with a HIPAA upsell.
Signed BAA included on every plan
200+ medical form templates
Validated screening tools (PHQ-9, GAD-7, PCL-5)
Patient record mapping and auto-population
Appointment scheduling and reminders
Insurance verification forms
AES-256 encryption and complete audit trails
All data hosted in the United States
Frequently asked questions
Only if you have a paid Google Workspace account with a signed BAA. Free Google Forms accounts cannot be used to collect PHI. Even with Workspace, Google Forms lacks healthcare-specific features like screening tools, patient record mapping, and appointment scheduling.
No. Typeform does not offer a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is a legal requirement for any vendor handling protected health information under HIPAA. Using Typeform to collect patient data would be a HIPAA violation.
HIPAA compliance for form builders requires: a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the vendor, encryption of data in transit and at rest, access controls and authentication, audit trails logging who accessed what data and when, and a breach notification process. The vendor must also store data in compliant infrastructure and follow HIPAA's administrative, physical, and technical safeguard requirements.
Generally, no. Free tiers of popular form builders (Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Tally, Typeform) do not include the BAA, encryption, and audit trail features required for HIPAA compliance. Some platforms offer HIPAA compliance as a paid add-on or premium tier.
Yes. Every Formisoft plan includes a signed Business Associate Agreement at no extra cost. There is no separate HIPAA tier or add-on. All accounts are HIPAA-ready from day one with encryption, audit trails, role-based access, and US-only data residency.
Both JotForm and Formstack offer HIPAA-compliant tiers, but only on their premium plans. You must be on the specific HIPAA plan to get a signed BAA and compliant storage. Their standard plans are not HIPAA compliant. Additionally, neither platform is purpose-built for healthcare, so you will not get features like validated clinical screening tools or patient record mapping.
Ready for a HIPAA-compliant form builder?
No separate HIPAA tier, compliance is built into every plan.
