Client Intake Form Questions: Templates by Profession

A client intake form should cover five things: contact details, the reason for booking and the goal, relevant background, practical preferences, and consent. Keep it to 8-15 questions, ask only for what you will actually use, say why you are asking, and get clear consent before collecting anything sensitive such as health details.

Below are copy-ready intake form question banks for coaches, therapists, consultants, fitness trainers, tutors and salons, written for Indian clients. You will also find a short privacy note based on India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, a consent line you can adapt, and a simple way to send the form after a client books.

What questions should a client intake form include?

A good test for every question: will I read this answer and use it in the first session? If not, cut it. Shorter forms get finished. If you are unsure what an intake form is or how it differs from a booking form, see our glossary entry on the intake form.

Coaching intake form questions

1. 1.What made you decide to book a coaching session now?
2. 2.Which area do you want to focus on: career, leadership, relationships, health, business, or something else?
3. 3.What would make these sessions worth it for you in 3 months?
4. 4.What have you already tried, and what got in the way?
5. 5.On a scale of 1-10, how important is this change to you right now?
6. 6.How much time can you give to this each week outside our sessions?
7. 7.Have you worked with a coach before? What did you like or dislike?
8. 8.How do you prefer feedback: direct, gentle, or a mix?
9. 9.Preferred language for sessions (English, Hindi, other)?
10. 10.Best days and times for sessions (IST)?
11. 11.Is there anything you would rather not discuss?

For career or executive coaching, add current role, years of experience and the role you are aiming for. For business coaching, add monthly revenue range, team size and the single biggest bottleneck. More ideas for coaches are on our page for life coaches. Once the intake is sorted, see how to price coaching services in ₹ packages.

Therapy intake form questions

Therapy intake forms collect sensitive personal information, so keep the pre-session form short and leave the detailed history for the first session. Explain who will see the answers and how they are stored.

1. 1.What brings you to therapy at this time? (A sentence is enough.)
2. 2.How long have you been feeling this way?
3. 3.Have you seen a psychologist, counsellor or psychiatrist before?
4. 4.Are you currently taking any medication you would like me to know about? (Optional)
5. 5.How are your sleep, appetite and energy at the moment?
6. 6.Who is your main support at home or among friends?
7. 7.Preferred language and pronouns.
8. 8.Online or in-person sessions? If online, will you have a private space?
9. 9.Emergency contact name and phone number.
10. 10.Do you consent to me contacting this person only in an emergency?

Consultation form questions for consultants, CAs and lawyers

1. 1.Describe the issue or project in one or two lines.
2. 2.Is there a deadline (filing date, hearing date, launch date)?
3. 3.What outcome do you want from this consultation?
4. 4.Which documents can you share before the call? (Upload link or list)
5. 5.Have you consulted anyone else on this? What did they advise?
6. 6.Business details if relevant: name, type (proprietor, LLP, Pvt Ltd), city, rough annual turnover.
7. 7.Budget range for ongoing work, if any.
8. 8.Who else should join the call?

Fitness and nutrition intake form questions

1. 1.Age, height and current weight.
2. 2.Main goal: fat loss, strength, mobility, sport, medical recovery, or general fitness.
3. 3.Do you have any medical conditions, injuries or surgeries I should know about?
4. 4.Has a doctor ever advised you to avoid certain exercise?
5. 5.Current activity level and how many days a week you can train.
6. 6.Diet type: vegetarian, eggetarian, non-vegetarian, vegan, Jain.
7. 7.Food allergies or intolerances.
8. 8.Typical work hours and sleep hours.
9. 9.Home workouts, gym, or outdoor?

For anyone with a heart condition, pregnancy, recent surgery or a doctor's restriction, ask them to get medical clearance before training starts, and note the date you received it. If you are setting up as an independent trainer, see how to become a freelance personal trainer.

Student intake form questions for tutors

1. 1.Student's name, class and board (CBSE, ICSE, State, IB, IGCSE).
2. 2.Parent or guardian name and WhatsApp number.
3. 3.Subjects and topics the student finds hardest.
4. 4.Latest marks or a recent test result (optional).
5. 5.Target exam or goal (boards, JEE, NEET, Olympiad, school improvement).
6. 6.Preferred days, times and mode (online or home tuition).
7. 7.Anything that helps the student learn better, such as more examples or shorter sessions.

For students under 18, address the form to the parent or guardian and collect their consent. The DPDP Act treats anyone below 18 as a child (more on this below). For the rest of the setup, from batches to fees, see how to start online tuition.

Salon and beauty client consultation questions

1. 1.Service you are booking and the look you want (reference photos welcome).
2. 2.Hair or skin type, if you know it.
3. 3.Any allergies, especially to hair colour, henna or skincare products?
4. 4.Have you had a patch test with us before?
5. 5.Any recent treatments (keratin, colour, peel, laser) and when?
6. 6.Are you pregnant or on any medication that affects skin or hair? (Optional)
7. 7.For bridal bookings: event date, number of looks, venue and timing.

Intake forms and India's DPDP Act: a short privacy note

India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 governs how digital personal data is collected and used, and an online intake form collects exactly that. The government notified the DPDP Rules in November 2025 with an 18-month phased compliance timeline. The points below are a plain-language summary for small practices, not legal advice.

• Consent must be “free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous”, given by a clear affirmative action, and limited to the data needed for the stated purpose (Section 6). A pre-ticked box is not a clear action.
• Each request for consent must come with a notice saying what data you collect and why, how the client can withdraw consent or exercise their rights, and how to complain to the Data Protection Board (Section 5).
• Clients can withdraw consent at any time, and withdrawing must be as easy as giving it.
• You must take reasonable security safeguards to prevent a breach, and inform affected people and the Board if one happens (Section 8).
• Erase the data when consent is withdrawn or the purpose is no longer served, unless a law requires you to keep it.
• A child is anyone under 18. You need verifiable consent from a parent or lawful guardian before processing a child's data (Section 9).
• Under the Rules, you should respond to requests to access, correct or erase data within a maximum of 90 days.

Privacy & consent I share these details so that [Your Name / Practice] can prepare for and provide my sessions. They will be used only for this purpose, stored securely, and not shared with anyone without my permission, except in an emergency or where the law requires. I can ask to see, correct or delete my information, or withdraw this consent, by writing to [email / WhatsApp number]. ☐ I agree

Consent line for the end of an intake form (adapt for your practice)

Practical habits that follow from the Act: collect the minimum, keep forms in one account protected by two-factor login, do not forward intake answers in WhatsApp groups, and delete old forms when a client has finished and you no longer need them.

How to send an intake form after a client books

1. 01Build the form in a tool you already use, such as Google Forms, with your consent line at the end.
2. 02Keep it to 8-15 questions. Mark only 2-3 as required.
3. 03Send the link once the booking is confirmed, by WhatsApp or in your booking notes, so only paying clients receive it.
4. 04Ask for it back at least 24 hours before the session so you have time to read it.
5. 05Read the answers before the session and refer to one of them in your first five minutes.

Hi Aditi, thank you for booking your session on Sat, 18 Oct at 10:00 AM IST. To help me prepare, please fill this short form (5 minutes): [Google Form link] Your answers are seen only by me and used only for your sessions. See you on Saturday!

WhatsApp message to send your intake form

Clients who book through a public link sometimes face a vague notes box instead. If you want to see what clients typically write there, our guide to what to write in 'Please share anything that will help prepare for our meeting' has 30 examples.

Where Book A Sloth fits

Book A Sloth handles the booking and payment side: clients choose a slot on your page at bookasloth.com/yourname, verify with a phone OTP and pay up-front by UPI, card or netbanking through Razorpay, and the booking confirms on payment with email and WhatsApp confirmations. It does not include an intake form builder, so keep your Google Form and send its link once the booking is confirmed. See how booking pages work.