Description: Change an inspection form that's already being used, what happens to inspections already out there, and the one kind of form you can't edit.
Overview
You can edit an inspection form that's already in use. You don't need to take it out of service, copy it, or wait for a quiet moment.
Editing doesn't overwrite what's gone before. Saving creates a new version of the form, and inspections that already started keep the version they started on. That's what versioning is for — a form your program relies on will be updated many times over its life, and none of those updates disturb the record behind it.
There's one exception, and it's the only thing on this page that stops you: Custom forms can't be edited.
Before You Begin
You need Org Editor. The forms list is an organization-level screen.
Know whether the form is a Custom one — see below. If it is, editing isn't available to you and support has to make the change.
Opening the Forms List
Open your organization.
Under Configuration Options, click Forms.
Expand My Active Forms. Forms are grouped by category, and each card shows the form's name and the organization that owns it.
Editing a Form
Click the ⋮ menu on the form's card.
Choose Edit — "Make Changes to this form."
Make your changes in the builder and save.
📝 Use the ⋮ menu, not the form's name. Clicking the name doesn't open the form for editing.
The One Form You Can't Edit
A form built from a custom template file is locked. On its card you'll see an ⓘ icon, and its ⋮ menu offers only Copy and Deactivate — there's no Edit.
Hover the ⓘ and ComplianceGo tells you why: "Cannot edit Custom forms please contact support".
That's the route — contact support and they'll make the change for you.
💡 Copy on that menu reads "Make a copy of this form to reuse and make changes." It gives you a new, separate form you can edit freely. It does not change the original, and any site still using the original carries on using it.
What Saving Does
Saving creates a new version of the form and switches the previous one off, in one step. There is only ever one active version of a form at a time.
That has two consequences worth knowing:
Sites using the form pick up the new version automatically. There's nothing to re-assign.
There's no revert. ComplianceGo doesn't offer a way to switch back to an earlier version — Deactivate and Activate always act on the most recent version of a form, not on one you choose. If you need to undo a change, make the opposite change and save again, which produces another new version.
What Happens to Inspections Already Out There
This is the part people worry about, and the answer is reassuring.
An inspection locks its form version at the moment the inspector presses Start — not when it was scheduled.
The inspection | What it uses |
Completed | The version it was completed on. Its answers and its report are unaffected. |
In progress | The version it started on. It finishes on that version. |
Due, not yet started | The current active version — so it picks up your change when someone starts it. |
📝 Inspection history doesn't change when you edit a form. A report regenerated from a completed inspection comes back on the version that inspection used, so it looks the same as it did on the day.
The Mobile App
An inspector working in the mobile app is using whatever the app last downloaded, which may not be the latest version if the app hasn't synced recently.
The app tries to sync every 60 seconds, and forces a sync every 24 hours before it will let the inspector carry on. So in normal use this looks after itself.
📝 The only situation worth watching is someone working offline for an extended stretch at the same time as a form edit. If you know an inspector is out of signal for a long period, it's worth a word before you change a form they're relying on.
Taking a Form Out of Service
Deactivate on the ⋮ menu reads "Move this form to the 'My Inactive Forms' list AND prevent it from being used on any sites."
Use it when a form shouldn't be used again — not as a way to undo an edit.
Deactivated forms move to My Inactive Forms and can be brought back from there.
What Happens Next
The new version becomes the form's active version straight away.
Inspections started from now on use it.
Inspections already under way, and every completed one, keep the version they started on.
Mobile users pick it up on their next sync.
FAQ
Q: Can I edit a form that's already being used on sites?
A: Yes. Editing an in-use form is normal and supported — saving creates a new version, and inspections already started keep the version they started on.
Q: There's no Edit option on the form's menu.
A: It's a Custom form, built from a custom template file. Its card shows an ⓘ reading "Cannot edit Custom forms please contact support". Contact support and they'll make the change.
Q: Clicking the form's name doesn't open it.
A: That's expected — the name isn't a link to the builder. Use the ⋮ menu on the card and choose Edit.
Q: I made a mistake. How do I go back to the previous version?
A: You can't switch back to an earlier version. Edit the form again to reverse the change, which creates a further new version. Deactivate doesn't roll a form back — it takes the form out of service altogether.
Q: Will my change affect inspections that are already finished?
A: No. A completed inspection keeps the version it was completed on, and its report regenerates on that version.
Q: An inspector is part-way through an inspection. Will my change disrupt them?
A: No. They finish on the version they started with.
Q: An inspector says they're seeing the old questions.
A: Their mobile app hasn't synced. It syncs every 60 seconds and forces a sync every 24 hours — ask them to sync the mobile app.
Q: Which version is a site using?
A: The form's current active version. There's only ever one, and sites always use it for inspections started from now on.
Q: The forms page won't load.
A: Open your organization first and use Configuration Options → Forms rather than going straight to the forms URL.
Related articles
Choosing the Right Form Component
Scheduling a Recurring Inspection
Completing an Inspection