---
title: FormAnswer
slug: formanswer
createdAt: 2026-04-28T17:56:32.844Z
---

A `FormAnswer` represents a single question's answer extracted from a form submission. It is the return type of the `findAnswers*` family of CQL functions.

Unlike [FormResponse](docId\:lIHL9I6DR0EINbNNDG2ec), which represents an entire form submission with all its answers, a `FormAnswer` is focused on **one specific question** — making it easy to aggregate or analyze a single field across many submissions.

## Properties

| **Property**     | **Type**                                  | **Description**                                                                                                                                                  |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `answerValue`    | @Any                                      | The value given for this question. The type depends on the question — for example, a numeric rating question returns a number, a text question returns a string. |
| `assessmentId`   | [String](docId\:Ujw2AQAktel5uukLuP73S)    | The ID of the assessment cycle this response was part of, or `null` if the submission was not associated with an assessment                                      |
| `formId`         | [String](docId\:Ujw2AQAktel5uukLuP73S)    | The ID of the form the answer came from                                                                                                                          |
| `formResponseId` | [String](docId\:Ujw2AQAktel5uukLuP73S)    | The ID of the parent [FormResponse](docId\:lIHL9I6DR0EINbNNDG2ec) this answer belongs to                                                                         |
| `questionId`     | [String](docId\:Ujw2AQAktel5uukLuP73S)    | The ID of the question this answer is for                                                                                                                        |
| `submitAt`       | [Timestamp](docId\:j1uFZtC3_yprDI3uCIn3u) | The timestamp the form was submitted                                                                                                                             |
| `submitPerson`   | [Person](docId\:BZrX1MTDjk8CgkAW7UjQJ)    | The person who submitted the form, or `null` if anonymous                                                                                                        |
| `target`         | [Person](docId\:BZrX1MTDjk8CgkAW7UjQJ)    | The person the form was about (the target), or `null` if the form had no target                                                                                  |

## Usage Notes

`FormAnswer` is designed for **aggregation**. The most common pattern is to chain it with `.mean{}`, `.count()`, or `.groupBy{}` to derive insights from a specific question across many responses.

The `answerValue` property holds the raw answer value. For numeric questions (ratings, scores), you can use `.mean{answerValue}` directly. For enum/label questions, use `.groupBy{answerValue}.count()` to see the distribution.

## Examples

`findAnswers('managerReviewRating', '-365d').mean{answerValue}`

Average manager review rating across the org over the past year.

`findAnswersByAssessment('managerReviewRating', 'Q3 2024 Performance Review').groupBy{target.department}.mean{answerValue}`

Average manager review rating per department within a specific assessment cycle.

`findAnswersByTarget('peerFeedbackImpactRating', person, '-180d').count()`

Number of peer feedback impact ratings submitted about the current person in the past 6 months.

## See Also

- [FormResponse](docId\:lIHL9I6DR0EINbNNDG2ec) — the full form submission object
- `findAnswers()` — retrieve answers for a question across the org
- `findAnswersByForm()` — scope answers to a specific form
- `findAnswersByAssessment()` — scope answers to a specific assessment cycle
- `findAnswersByTarget()` — scope answers about a specific person