Lead form (Meta instant form)
A lead form (Meta instant form) is a request form that opens inside a Facebook or Instagram ad: a person leaves a name, a phone number and answers to questions without visiting a website. Meta stores every submission under its own lead ID.
Also written: lead form, instant form, Meta instant form, Facebook lead form, Instagram lead form, lead gen form, Lead Ads, lid forma, лид-форма
How does a lead form work?
Meta calls it an instant form; media buyers say lead form, and the ad format is known as Lead Ads. A person taps the button on the ad and the form opens inside Facebook or Instagram. Name and phone come prefilled from the profile; the person answers the advertiser’s questions and submits. No website is needed. The lead stays at Meta: it has to be moved into the CRM by hand or by an integration.
What does a lead form collect?
| Data | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Name, phone, e-mail | Form fields, usually prefilled from the profile |
| Answers to questions | Questions the advertiser added to the form |
| Lead ID | A number Meta assigns to every submission |
| Ad, ad set, campaign | Which ad the lead came from |
What is the lead ID for?
The lead ID is a 15–17 digit number Meta assigns to every submission; Meta’s documentation asks you to store it in the CRM. It does three jobs:
- Delivery without duplicates. One lead ID is one record in the CRM.
- Attribution. A lead ID in the CRM is the most reliable way to tie a lead to its exact ad.
- Outcomes back to Meta. When the lead becomes qualified or a sale, the Conversions API event carries this ID: Meta recognises the lead, with no website or cookie.
Example: 2,103 leads delivered to the CRM
In two projects CAPI Platform delivered 2,103 leads from lead forms into the CRM: 1,790 for a driving school since 25 September 2026 and 313 for a learning centre since 5 October 2026 (as of 8 October 2026). Lost: 0, in the queue: 0, errors: 0. That is a measurement for those dates, not a guarantee. A lead arrives by Meta’s webhook; as a backup the platform checks the forms itself every minute.
FAQ
How do leads from a lead form get into a CRM?
There are three ways: download them from Meta by hand, use a connector service, or use a direct integration. CAPI Platform delivers lead-form leads into Bitrix24, amoCRM or capiCRM in about a minute, with the name, phone, answers and the ad, each lead once. See lead delivery.
Which is better: a lead form or a website form?
Meta reported on 18 April 2024 that in 15 A/B tests instant forms delivered a 20% lower cost per qualified lead than website forms (Meta’s own data, 86% confidence). That is not your result: your answer is the cost per qualified lead in your CRM.
Does the Conversions API work without a website?
Yes. Meta recognises a lead-form lead by its lead ID, so CRM outcomes (QualifiedLead, Purchase) can be sent with no website. The steps are in Conversions API without a website.
Related terms and pages
- LeadA lead is a person who has shown interest in a product or service and left contact details, usually a phone number, so the business can reach them. A lead is not yet a customer: it becomes a sale only after the sales team follows up and closes.
- Qualified leadA qualified lead is a lead the sales team has contacted and confirmed as a possible buyer. The ad account does not decide this, the CRM does: a lead becomes qualified the moment it reaches the stage marked as “qualified”.
- Conversions API (CAPI)The Conversions API (CAPI) is Meta’s server-side interface: a business sends events from its website or CRM — a lead, a qualified lead, a sale — straight from a server to Meta, with no browser involved. Meta uses these signals to measure and optimise Facebook and Instagram ads.
- Attribution (tying a lead to its ad)Attribution is tying a lead or a sale to the ad that brought it: the campaign, the ad set and the ad. Without it, spend sits in the ad account, sales sit in the CRM, and nobody can see which creative brings in money.
- Lead deliveryFacebook and Instagram lead form leads reach Bitrix24, amoCRM or capiCRM in about a minute, with every answer, UTM tags and the exact ad. No duplicates.
- Facebook Lead Ads to Bitrix24 integration: three ways to connect, step by stepThree ways compared, five things a delivery must do, setup steps, and the half most setups skip: sending Bitrix24 stages back to Meta.
- Conversions API without a website: CAPI for lead forms and a CRMNo website, only lead forms and a CRM? The Conversions API still works: the Meta lead ID is the key, the CRM stage is the signal. Meta’s requirements, the steps and the timing.
Updated:
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