Contact forms are not working unless cookies are accepted

Before we begin, it’s important to understand that if your contact forms wont send without cookie consent, this blocking is intentional, required for compliance, and independent of GetTerms.

Why does this happen?

The most likely cause is that you're using a spam protection tool called reCAPTCHA.

reCAPTCHA is a Google product, and like many Google products, it collects a boat load of personal data in the background, and Google's purposes for this data collection are everything but transparent. To do this, reCAPTCHA uses a functional cookie/tracker.

For this reason, certain browsers, ad blockers and all cookie banners will block reCAPTCHA if the user denies functionality cookies.

We understand this is inconvenient, which is why we want to make sure you know there are options that won’t have auditors ringing you on weekends.

Firstly… What NOT to do

Do not set reCAPTCHA’s cookie as essential

_grecaptcha is not an essential cookie, categorizing it as such in your cookie banner puts you at risk of fines, especially in the EU.

Do not remove your cookie banner

Removing your cookie banner won’t solve this problem. Brave browser, ad block plugins like uBlock, and other privacy tools may still block reCAPTCHA by default, regardless of whether you have a cookie banner.

A cookie banner / notice of collection is still a requirement in the EU, USA and Canada.

What you SHOULD do!

Add a message to your forms (Important)

We recommend everyone takes this step. Give your customers feedback on why their form isn’t submitting – here’s a suggestion.

“This form uses Google reCAPTCHA for spam protection. If you’re having issues submitting a form, please accept functional cookies and try again.”

Make it easy to update consent preferences

Add the following HTML below the message. This adds a link which reopens the consent window, allowing users to quickly update their preferences.

<a href="#" data-gt-cookie-widget-show="true">Update cookie preferences</a>

If you’d prefer a codeless option, you can enable a floating cookie icon that provides the same functionality. This can be enabled via the "persistent icon to manage preferences" in the configuration settings of your cookie banner.

Setup your regional consent settings

reCAPTCHA will only be blocked automatically when the opt-in consent preset is used. For most businesses, the opt-in requirement applies only in the EU and in a limited number of other states and regions worldwide.

Although we always recommend using opt-in consent, opt-out consent is accepted in the United States.

Setting your banner to the opt-out consent preset will ensure that reCAPTCHA runs automatically unless the user intentionally blocks functional cookies.

Recommended consent preset:

United States: opt-out
Europe, UK, Canada: opt-in

Consider GDPR compliant reCAPTCHA alternatives

Cookie-free CAPTCHAs exist with both free and paid plans. These spam protection solutions won’t be impacted by privacy tools.

Here’s a few commonly recommended providers that don’t track your users (we’re not affiliated with any of them)