How to generate PDF files from WordPress form submissions

Decide whether staff will create PDFs manually, or whether each submission should produce a file automatically. Also decide whether the PDF is for internal records, a visitor download, an email attachment, or all three.

List the fields, logo, header, footer, page numbers, filename format, and any uploaded files that must appear. This prevents you from building a template that later omits signatures, uploads, or important consent text.

If you only need an occasional copy, open the individual submission in your form plugin’s submissions screen. Use the browser’s Print command, select Save as PDF, check the page preview, and save the file.

This route is fine for low-volume internal work and needs no PDF extension. It is not a proper automation workflow: the result may include admin-screen styling, it does not normally create a branded template, and it will not automatically attach a PDF to notification emails.

Automatic PDF generation needs access to the submitted values. Enable your form plugin’s submission-storage or entry-recording action before configuring the PDF. With Ninja Forms, the PDF documentation specifically says that the Store Submission action must be enabled for the document body to work.

Do not assume that an email notification is a permanent record. Check that entries appear in the form plugin’s submissions area and review who can access them.

Install the PDF extension made for your form plugin, then activate it. The form plugin and the PDF extension are separate parts of the workflow; a form builder alone may collect and email data without creating a PDF.

For Ninja Forms, the PDF Form Submissions add-on adds PDF export and PDF customisation features. Its documentation says the add-on must be installed and activated before those features appear.

Open the form’s PDF settings and create the document title and body using the form’s merge tags. Add the company logo and contact details to the header, then configure the footer, pagination, disclaimer text, and filename.

With Ninja Forms, these options are available under the form’s Advanced settings. The filename can use merge tags so each PDF receives a useful name based on submitted data. For uploaded images, the documentation provides a PDF-embed modifier; signatures may need a custom body containing the {fields_table} merge tag to render as an image.

Edit the email action that should receive the file and enable its PDF attachment option. In Ninja Forms, this is under Emails & Actions: edit the email action, open its advanced settings, and turn on Attach PDF. The generated PDF is then added to that email.

Submit the form with short and long answers, empty optional fields, special characters, an uploaded file, and a signature if applicable. Check the PDF layout, filename, attachment size, and email delivery. A PDF can be generated correctly but still fail to arrive because of WordPress mail or server configuration; Ninja Forms also notes that the server needs the PHP mbstring extension with mbregex support for PDF generation.

If you use Ninja Forms and need branded PDFs without writing custom PHP, Ninja Forms PDF Form Submission is the practical shortcut. It supports customised document content, headers, footers, filenames, manual export, and automatic PDF attachments to form emails.

Keep the manual browser method for occasional one-off exports. Use the add-on when every submission must produce a consistent file, be downloadable, or reach an administrator or customer by email.