# Email routing

Route form submissions to different recipients using named aliases. Send a hidden route field and Form Plume emails the right team for each submission.

Email routing lets one form notify different people based on what the visitor
picked. You configure named aliases in the dashboard, such as `sales`,
`support`, or `billing`, and each alias gets its own To, CC, and BCC
recipients.

When a submission includes a matching hidden route value, Form Plume sends the
notification to that alias's recipients. If there is no match, the form uses
the [default notification recipients](/docs/notifications/email) instead.

## When to use routing aliases

Use routing aliases when one public form feeds more than one team:

- A contact form with "Sales" and "Support" choices
- A demo request form that routes enterprise leads to a senior rep
- A department form that sends billing, legal, and partnership messages to
  different inboxes
- A campaign form where each landing page should notify a different owner

If you want a route to notify multiple people, add all of them to that alias's
To, CC, or BCC list. There is no extra code for that part.

## 1. Create aliases in the dashboard

Open the form, go to **Settings -> Email -> Routing aliases**, then turn it on.

For each alias:

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Alias | The route name your form sends, for example `sales` |
| To | Primary notification recipients for this route |
| CC | Recipients copied on this route |
| BCC | Recipients blind-copied on this route |

Keep aliases simple: lowercase letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens.
Examples: `sales`, `support`, `enterprise_sales`, `billing-team`.

## 2. Send the route from your form

Add a hidden field named `_route` or `_formplume_route` (see [Special
fields](/docs/forms/special-fields)). Its value must match one of the aliases
configured in the dashboard.

```html
<form action="https://api.formplume.com/f/{public_slug}" method="POST">
  <input type="hidden" name="_route" value="sales">

  <label>
    Email
    <input type="email" name="email" required>
  </label>

  <label>
    Message
    <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>
```

`_formplume_route` works the same way:

```html
<input type="hidden" name="_formplume_route" value="support">
```

## Routing from a select field

If the visitor chooses a department, keep the public select field separate from
the hidden route field. Then set the hidden value before submit.

```html
<form id="contact-form" action="https://api.formplume.com/f/{public_slug}" method="POST">
  <input type="hidden" name="_route" id="form-route" value="sales">

  <label>
    Department
    <select id="department" name="department">
      <option value="sales">Sales</option>
      <option value="support">Support</option>
      <option value="billing">Billing</option>
    </select>
  </label>

  <label>
    Email
    <input type="email" name="email" required>
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

<script>
  const department = document.querySelector("#department");
  const route = document.querySelector("#form-route");

  department.addEventListener("change", () => {
    route.value = department.value;
  });
</script>
```

> Route values only select aliases you already configured. A visitor cannot
>   submit an arbitrary email address and make Form Plume notify that address.

## Fallback behavior

Routing is intentionally forgiving:

- If `_route` is missing, the form uses the default notification recipients.
- If `_formplume_route` is missing, the form uses the default notification
  recipients.
- If the value does not match a configured alias, the form uses the default
  notification recipients.
- The route control field is not stored as a normal submission field.

This means you can roll routing out one landing page at a time without breaking
the rest of the form.