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Troubleshooting 'Your Entry Appears to be Spam' Errors in Formidable Forms

31 threads Sep 9, 2025

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If you've recently encountered the frustrating "Your entry appears to be spam!" or "Your entry appears to be blocked spam!" error in Formidable Forms, you're not alone. This is a common issue that often arises after plugin updates or due to specific spam protection settings. This guide will walk you through the most effective solutions to resolve these errors and get your forms submitting smoothly again.

Why This Error Occurs

This error is typically triggered by Formidable Forms' built-in spam protection systems. These systems are designed to block automated bots but can sometimes incorrectly flag legitimate human submissions. Common causes include:

  • New Anti-Spam Features: Updates can introduce new spam detection mechanisms that may be overly aggressive initially.
  • Honeypot Field Conflicts: The invisible honeypot field can be filled by certain browser autocomplete features (particularly in Safari) or can have CSS issues that make it visible and cause layout problems, leading to a failed spam check.
  • Denylist Words: A word in your submission, such as in an email address or a text field, might match a term on a internal denylist.
  • JavaScript Issues: Problems with JavaScript on the page can prevent spam tokens from being generated or validated correctly.

Common Solutions

Solution 1: Disable the New Denylist Check (Most Common Fix)

Many users have reported that a recent anti-spam feature is the primary cause. You can disable this specific check by adding a small code snippet to your website.

  1. Install a code snippet plugin like WPCode (recommended for ease of use) or edit your theme's functions.php file.
  2. Add the following PHP code: 
    add_filter( 'frm_check_denylist', '__return_false' );
  3. Save the changes and clear any caching on your site. Test your form to see if the error is resolved.

Solution 2: Configure Honeypot and reCAPTCHA Settings

Adjusting your spam protection settings can often resolve the issue.

  1. Go to Formidable → Global Settings → Spam Protection.
  2. Try disabling the Honeypot: If the honeypot is enabled, try turning it off. The honeypot is considered a weaker spam protection method and can sometimes cause conflicts with browser autofill.
  3. Use reCAPTCHA: For stronger spam protection, consider setting up and using reCAPTCHA (v2 or v3) instead of or in addition to other methods. Ensure it is configured correctly within the plugin settings and that a reCAPTCHA field is added to your form.
  4. Check the "Disallowed Comment Keys" field in the spam settings. If you have added custom words here (like "moz"), try removing them to see if a term is incorrectly blocking submissions.

Solution 3: Check for Plugin and Theme Conflicts

A conflict with another plugin or your theme is a frequent source of problems.

  1. Deactivate all other plugins except Formidable Forms.
  2. Switch to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-One.
  3. Test your form. If it works, reactivate your plugins and theme one by one, testing after each, to identify the source of the conflict.
  4. Pay special attention to security, caching, and JavaScript-heavy plugins during this process.

Solution 4: Address JavaScript Errors

If you see console errors or messages about JavaScript tokens not loading, a script on your page is likely broken.

  1. Open your browser's developer console (F12) and look for red error messages when loading the form page and trying to submit.
  2. Follow the conflict testing steps above to find which plugin or theme is causing the JavaScript to break.
  3. Ensure your theme and all plugins are updated to their latest versions.

Conclusion

The "spam" error in Formidable Forms is almost always solvable by methodically working through these common solutions. Start with the code snippet to disable the denylist check, as this resolves the issue for a majority of users. If problems persist, carefully check your spam settings and test for conflicts. By following these steps, you should be able to restore functionality to your forms and continue collecting submissions without interruption.

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