Suppose a new client books a session and says they want to make a change, but offers no further detail. A life coaching intake form is a questionnaire that gathers relevant background, goals, challenges, and preferences before you meet. You use the answers to prepare a starting point, then check with the client what they want to discuss.
The questions you choose should reflect the work you offer and the information you need to arrange it. Clients decide which personal details they are comfortable sharing, and you explain why you are asking for them. Key Elements of an Effective Life Coaching Intake Form provides prompts you can select for that conversation.
TL;DR
The 38 questions below cover basic details, goals, program preferences, existing support, and additional context, giving you a bank to select from before a new client’s first coaching session begins. Choose prompts that serve an agreed purpose, explain sensitive requests, mark personal details as optional, and let clients skip anything unrelated to the coaching work or practical arrangements you discuss. Send the questionnaire before the first session, review the client’s wording, ask permission before clarifying sensitive answers, and distinguish coaching topics from concerns that require support beyond your coaching role.
What Is a Life Coaching Intake Form?
A completed questionnaire gives you the client’s own wording to refer back to as you discuss what to work on. It records relevant contact details, goals, challenges, and preferences for discussion before the work begins.
The phrase “ICF coaching intake form” describes a coach’s questionnaire; the name alone does not prove ICF approval or endorsement. The International Coaching Federation’s Core Competencies describe agreements about goals, logistics, and expectations. Use the form as preparation for that conversation, with the client confirming what matters to them.
Why Is a Life Coaching Intake Form Needed?
An intake form gives you written information to review before deciding what to clarify with the client:
- Goals and expectations: The client states what they hope to achieve and what they expect from coaching.
- Current challenges: The client describes obstacles and past efforts that you can discuss together.
- Relevant communication: You explain why you are asking, and the client chooses what they want to share.
- Practical preparation: You gather the contact and logistical details needed to arrange the agreed work.
The answers provide an initial reference for your conversations. Confirm their meaning with the client before deciding how to use them.
When Should You Use a Life Coaching Intake Form?
A life coaching intake form belongs near the start of the relationship, usually before the first coaching session.
- During client onboarding: Send the questionnaire once you have explained its purpose and how you will handle the responses.
- Before a discovery session: Limit the initial questions to contact details and the client’s reason for considering coaching. Leave deeper personal context until you have discussed working together.
- When starting a coaching program: Use relevant prompts across the program while leaving room for each client’s circumstances and preferences.
The question groups serve different purposes. Choose from them according to what you need to prepare for the conversation.
| Question group | Why it appears | Example from the live list |
|---|---|---|
| Contact and logistics | Identify the client before arranging communication. | What is your full name? |
| Goals and reasons | Hear why a goal matters to the client. | Why have you set these goals? |
| Working preferences | Discuss the support the client wants. | How do you want me to support you? |
| Existing support | Record resources the client already uses. | Are there any tools, resources, or habits you rely on to stay motivated or organized? |
| Open context | Let the client name concerns before sessions begin. | Do you have any concerns or apprehensions about the coaching process? |
Key Elements of an Effective Life Coaching Intake Form
Life coaching intake questions cover practical details alongside goals, working preferences, existing support, and context the client chooses to share. Each prompt should have a purpose connected to your coaching or the arrangements you need to make.
A coaching welcome packet template organizes the full form layout and welcome materials around the questions you choose. The question bank below focuses on what to ask and when a personal detail is relevant.
The Basic Details
Basic details identify the client and provide the information you need to arrange contact and billing. Ask for only the contact channels and payment information your agreed work requires. Residential addresses and unused contact fields can stay optional.
Gender, date of birth, marital status, profession, and daily routine are optional context, with a clear explanation for any request. Label these fields as optional in the form, and let clients leave them blank.
Medical conditions and medication details are optional and belong here only when directly relevant to participating in coaching. Explain the limited purpose, obtain consent, and let the client skip either question without losing access to coaching. Keep clinical interpretation and treatment decisions with qualified healthcare professionals.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) describes data minimisation as holding enough relevant personal information for a stated purpose, without keeping more than needed. Decide where answers will be stored, who needs access, and when to remove information you no longer need. Explain those choices before collecting details, and keep card or bank account numbers out of a general questionnaire.
- What is your full name?
- Specify your gender. Optional.
- What is your date of birth? Optional.
- What is your residential address, email address, and primary contact number?
- Provide the required billing information (e.g., mode of payment).
- What is your marital status? Optional.
- What is your profession? Optional.
- Do you have any specific medical condition worth mentioning? Optional.
- Are you on any medication currently? Optional.
- Can you describe your daily routine? Optional.
Coaching Questions for Goal Setting
Goal setting questions ask what the client wants to change, why it matters, and what they have tried before. Past experiences and present circumstances give you topics to clarify together.
Fears, relationship details, and feelings are optional discussion topics. Stress and happiness ratings record the client’s own description, without clinical interpretation. Clients may skip a question or explain that an assumption, such as feeling unmotivated, does not fit their experience.
- What are your short-term goals (specify a time period)?
- What are your long-term goals (specify a time period)?
- Why have you set these goals?
- Have you ever tried achieving these goals in the past? If yes, with what outcome and lessons learned?
- What were the deterrents you had in the past? How did you overcome them?
- What are your fears? Optional.
- What do you value the most in your life?
- What is it that makes you feel low? Rate your present stress level on a scale of 1 to 10. Optional.
- What makes you feel like you are on cloud nine? Rate your current state of happiness on a scale of 1 to 10. Optional.
- What do you think success is? What is your biggest success? How did you achieve that?
- What positive changes do you wish to bring about in your life?
- How do you wish to attain these goals?
- What are the roadblocks you have currently? Why do you think you aren’t motivated enough?
- Where do you wish to see yourself at the end of the program?
- Who are the most important people in your life, and what is your relationship with them? Optional.
Program Based Questions
Program questions describe how the client prefers feedback, reminders, learning materials, and support from you. Discuss which preferences you can accommodate within the coaching arrangement.
Learning preferences are the client’s report of what they find useful. Agree on an approach together without promising that a particular format will produce a specific outcome.
- What is your take on criticism? How do you handle it?
- Are you quite focused on your immediate task? Or do you need constant reminders to stay on track? If yes, how frequently do you need to be nudged?
- What motivates you and what demotivates you (people, situations, interactions, etc.)?
- What is your preferred way of learning that brings about the best results: reading, listening, seeing, or doing?
- What is your expectation from the program? How do you want me to support you?
Support Systems and Resources
Support questions identify the people, tools, and habits the client already relies on during difficult moments. Let the client decide whether they want to draw on those resources during coaching.
- Who are the most important people in your life, and what role do they play?
- Do you have a strong support system to help you during challenging times?
- Are there any tools, resources, or habits you rely on to stay motivated or organized?
Additional Information
Additional information gives the client room to name concerns, preferred session arrangements, or context that earlier questions did not address. Leave these prompts open and let the client choose what to share.
- Is there anything else you’d like to share that would help tailor the coaching experience to your needs?
- Do you have any concerns or apprehensions about the coaching process?
- What is your preferred method of communication for coaching sessions (e.g., in-person, video calls, phone)?
- Are there any specific coaching techniques or approaches you are drawn to or would like me to use?
- What days and times are most convenient for you for coaching sessions?
Implementing the Intake Form
Intake forms need a clear route from invitation to review before the coaching conversation begins. Tell clients why you are sending the form, how to return it, and which responses are optional.
- Send a form link through your agreed email or coaching workspace, with a clear way to ask for help.
- Include the link in your welcome email so the client has the questionnaire alongside the information about working together.
- For a discovery consultation, review only the details relevant to discussing fit and the client’s initial aims.
- Open the form on a phone and check that the questions, optional labels, and submission process are usable.
A submitted form needs a careful read before you choose how to begin the first session. Prepare by checking the client’s goals, challenges, and preferences in their own words.
- Copy a short phrase that describes what matters to this person, preserving its original meaning.
- Flag an unclear response, then ask whether they are comfortable discussing it further.
- Summarize preferences about encouragement, feedback, or follow-up, and confirm what you are able to offer.
- Notice requests beyond your coaching role, such as interpreting symptoms or advising on medication.
At the first session, ask the client to confirm which stated goal still matters most and correct anything you misunderstood. Ask permission before returning to personal information they have shared, and respect any choice to leave it there.
Needs beyond your competence call for a discussion about support from a qualified professional. Keep any follow-up questions within the coaching role you have agreed with the client.
Agreements, scheduling, and intake sit within the wider process supported by client onboarding tools for coaches. The questionnaire’s job is to gather information you will review with the client.
Downloadable life coaching intake form template
To help you get started, we’ve created a comprehensive and customizable life coaching intake form template that you can use with your clients. This template includes all the essential sections and questions outlined in this blog.
Tools for Life Coaching Intake Forms
An intake tool should fit how you send questionnaires, receive answers, and control access to client information. Choose it around those tasks and the questions you need to ask.
Google Forms
Google Forms needs the same checks as any tool you consider for collecting client information. Confirm current access requirements and how responses will be handled before sending your questionnaire.
Simply.Coach
Simply.Coach lets you create digital coaching forms and keep submitted responses in one place. Select relevant prompts before building the questionnaire, so the digital version reflects your intended use. Form links can also be shared with reminders.
The session scheduling tools support client self-scheduling and connections to Google and Microsoft calendars. Use the client’s stated availability when discussing arrangements for your first meeting.
The goal tracking features let coaches record goals and assign actions to them. Confirm the client’s intended focus before turning an intake answer into an agreed goal.
Conclusion
A life coaching intake form gives you written context to discuss with a new client before the work begins. Each selected question should have a purpose you can explain, whether it concerns the client’s focus or a practical arrangement. Personal details remain the client’s choice, with room to skip anything that is irrelevant.
The next conversation starts with the client’s words and the priorities they want to explore. Review those answers before session one, then clarify what the client wants to discuss and how they would like your support.
Key Takeaways
The intake questions work together when you apply these limits to selection, handling, and review.
- Purpose first: Choose each prompt for an agreed coaching topic or practical need. Explain that purpose before asking the client to respond.
- Personal choice: Make sensitive fields visibly optional, including health and medication prompts. Let clients decline details they do not want to share.
- Relevant context: Use goal and support answers to hear what matters to the client. Leave room for corrections and changing priorities.
- Careful handling: Decide who needs access to answers and how long to retain them. Collect only information you have reason to use.
- Early preparation: Send the form before the first session and review it in advance. Ask permission before returning to sensitive responses.
- Coaching boundaries: Keep medical interpretation outside the intake discussion. Agree on the opening topic and the support the client wants from coaching.
Your selected questions need a place to collect and review client responses. Consider how you will connect intake with scheduling and follow-up. When you are ready to choose a tool, explore Simply.Coach for coaches and see how its features fit your practice.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a life coaching intake form?
A life coaching intake form is a questionnaire you use to gather relevant background, goals, challenges, and preferences before coaching begins. Review the answers before meeting, then confirm what the client wants to discuss and which details are useful for your work together.
What questions should be on a life coaching intake form?
Choose questions about contact arrangements, goals and reasons, working preferences, existing support, and any additional context the client wants to share. Each prompt needs a coaching or operational purpose. Make sensitive details optional, including medical conditions and medication, and explain why you are asking.
When should a life coach send an intake form?
Send it near the start of the relationship, usually before the first coaching session, after explaining its purpose and information handling. Before a discovery consultation, ask only for contact details and the client's reason for considering coaching. Leave deeper personal questions until you have discussed working together.
What is an ICF coaching intake form?
The phrase describes a coach's own intake questionnaire; it does not by itself prove ICF approval or endorsement. The International Coaching Federation's Core Competencies describe agreements about goals, logistics, and expectations.
How should a coach use intake form answers in the first session?
Read the answers before the session, keeping the client's wording intact. Flag an unclear point for permission to explore, note preferred support, and identify requests outside your coaching role. Begin by asking which goal matters most now and inviting the client to correct your understanding.
What should a coach avoid asking on an intake form?
Avoid requests with no defined coaching or operational use, and avoid making sensitive personal details a condition of participation. Keep card and bank account numbers out of a general questionnaire. Do not use health or medication answers to diagnose, interpret treatment, or offer medical advice.
Is an intake form the same as client onboarding?
No, the intake form collects information you will review with a client. Onboarding is the wider process that also includes agreements and session arrangements. Keep your questionnaire focused on relevant questions and preparation for the conversation, with other materials addressing the broader working relationship.