Google Forms Right to Left: How to Make RTL Forms

a blog post cover about how to create right to left forms

Google Forms does not have a right-to-left toggle. Google's own help thread confirms there is no official RTL setting. The only workaround is to change the Forms account language to Hebrew or Arabic, which flips all your forms RTL, but only in your own view.

If you want every respondent to see the form in RTL, native to their script, you need a form builder that ships RTL as a setting.

This guide covers the Google Forms workaround, the limits you should know about before shipping, a language-by-language quick reference for Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Persian, Pashto, and Sindhi, and three builders with native RTL support (Formester, Jotform, Fillout).

Quick answer

Google Forms does not have a right-to-left toggle. The only workaround is to change your Google account's Forms language to Hebrew or Arabic, which flips the form RTL in your editor view, but respondents still see it left-to-right.

For respondent-facing RTL, use a native builder: Formester (toggle Multilanguage, pick Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Persian, Pashto, or Sindhi, AI translates and aligns), Fillout (per-form RTL flag), or Jotform (custom CSS).

For developers, dir="rtl" with the right lang attribute is the W3C-documented approach.

Native RTL form builders compared

Three builders ship right-to-left support that actually reaches the respondent, not just the form editor. Pick on setup speed and translation depth.

Best for translation

Formester

Best for: One form, many RTL languages, AI does the translation

Toggle Multilanguage in Advanced settings, add an RTL language, hit Translate with AI
RTL alignment auto-applies per language
AI translation across 180+ languages
Built-in respondent language switcher
Free plan caps at 100 responses/month
Branding removal is Personal+

Best for speed

Fillout

Best for: A pure layout flip on a form you already wrote

Per-form Right-to-left toggle in settings
Quickest setup of the three
Layout flips for every field type
RTL is a layout flag, not a translation engine
You write the copy in the target language yourself

Best if you're already in

Jotform

Best for: Teams deep in Jotform who don't want to migrate

Paste a custom CSS block in the Form Designer
Works on any existing form
Covers labels, checkboxes, radios, matrix grids
You maintain the CSS by hand
Jotform updates can break alignment
Not toggle-based

RTL languages: what you need to know before shipping

Six RTL scripts cover almost every audience you will hit. Each one has its own font and numeral gotcha that the form builder needs to handle correctly.

Language	Native script	Speakers (millions)	Common form use cases	Key gotcha
Arabic	العربية	380+	Customer service, government, education, e-commerce checkout in MENA	Numerals are usually Western (0-9), not Eastern Arabic. Set them per field.
Hebrew	עברית	9	Israeli public sector, fintech onboarding, NGO surveys	Mixed Hebrew + English content needs `bdi` or `bdo` tags or labels break.
Urdu	اردو	230+	Pakistani government forms, Indian academic surveys, NGO outreach	Nastaliq script needs a font that supports it (Noto Nastaliq Urdu is safe).
Persian (Farsi, Dari)	فارسی	110+	Iranian banking, Afghan diaspora services, academic intake	Numerals can be Persian (۰-۹) or Western. Confirm with the audience.
Pashto	پښتو	60+	Afghan government, refugee intake, education	Limited font support outside Noto Sans Pashto. Test on mobile.
Sindhi	سنڌي	25+	Pakistani provincial forms, Indian academic	Arabic-Sindhi script differs from standard Arabic. Use a Sindhi font.

The fix is the same at a layout level: dir="rtl" on the form root and a font that supports the script. The complexity sits downstream in numerals, mixed-direction text, and font availability on mobile.

Option 1, Google Forms

How to flip Google Forms to RTL (the language workaround)

Five steps. Flips the editor and your own preview to RTL. Does not change what respondents see.

Open Google Forms

Sign in to forms.google.com with the Google account you build forms with.
Open your Google Account settings

Click your profile icon in the top-right corner of any Google product (Gmail, Drive, Forms).
Go to Personal info, then Language

Click "Manage your Google Account", then "Personal info", then "Language".
Add an RTL language and set it as primary

Pick Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, or Persian, then set it as your primary language.
Refresh Google Forms

Reload the tab. The editor and every form you open or create is now right-to-left aligned.

Limit: this only flips your own view. Respondents on default-English Google accounts still see a left-to-right form. There is no per-form RTL setting and no public link parameter that forces direction. Google's help thread confirms this.

Option 2, Formester native

How to make a native RTL form in Formester (4 steps)

Under two minutes if you start from a finished English form. Every respondent sees the form in their own script, with proper alignment, no CSS.

Build your base form in your primary language

Log in to Formester. Start from scratch with the AI form builder (paste a prompt or a list of questions) or open an existing form. Build it in whichever language is easiest for you; AI translation handles the rest.
Toggle Multilanguage on

Open the form's Advanced settings panel. Find the Multilanguage toggle and switch it on. This unlocks the language picker and adds a dropdown for respondents.
Add an RTL language and let AI translate

Click Add Language. Pick Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Persian, Pashto, or any of the 180+ supported languages. Click Translate with AI. The pass runs across every question, option, placeholder, and helper text. Alignment flips to RTL where it needs to. Review, edit, save.
Preview, test on mobile, share

Hit Preview. Switch to Arabic or Hebrew from the language picker; alignment flips, the submit button moves to the left of the row. Test on mobile (RTL is where most builders fail). Share by public link, QR code, or one of the six embed modes on your site, WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Wix, or Canva.

Option 3, developers

Building your own form? The dir="rtl" snippet

Plain HTML. The W3C-documented attribute is dir="rtl" on the form element (or a parent like body).

<form dir="rtl" lang="ar">
  <label for="name">الاسم</label>
  <input type="text" id="name" name="name" />

  <label for="email">البريد الإلكتروني</label>
  <input type="email" id="email" name="email" />
  <button type="submit">إرسال</button>
</form>

The lang attribute matters as much as dir. Screen readers, search engines, and font-fallback all read it. Use lang="ar" for Arabic, lang="he" for Hebrew, lang="ur" for Urdu, lang="fa" for Persian. For mixed-direction content (a Latin-script brand name inside Arabic body), wrap it in <bdi> so the bidirectional algorithm does not flip it incorrectly.

Native RTL

Build RTL forms in Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu and 180 more languages

Toggle multilanguage, AI translates and aligns RTL automatically. Built-in language switcher for respondents.

Start free on Formester

Free forever plan•No credit card•Setup in 2 minutes

Keep reading

Sister guides on multilingual forms, Google Forms alternatives, and embedding forms across the stack.

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Google Forms Right to Left: How to Make RTL Forms (and 3 Native Alternatives)