### [How to Create Conditional Email Recipients](https://wpforms.com/developers/how-to-create-conditional-email-recipients/)

**Published:** September 26, 2023
**Author:** Editorial Team

**Excerpt:** In this tutorial, we'll walk you through how to set up conditional email recipients for notifications using a single line of code. 

**Content:**

## Introduction

Ever wanted to create a form that’s super smart with conditional email recipients based on a selection from your form? Well, you’re in luck!

With WPForms, you can set up conditional logic notifications that you can [read about more in this article](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-create-conditional-form-notifications-in-wpforms/ "Creating Conditional Form Notification Emails"). As well as even going a step further by setting up multiple notifications, which is pretty cool and [you can learn about it in this documentation](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-multiple-form-notifications-in-wordpress-forms/ "How to Create Multiple Form Notifications in WordPress Forms").

But hold on, in this tutorial, we’re about to make your life even easier. We’ll show you a nifty trick that lets you set up conditional recipients with just a single line of code. Yep, you read that right! It’s going to save you time and make your forms even more intelligent. Let’s dive right in! 🚀

## Adding the snippet

Typically, we’d kick things off by creating a brand-new form. But today, we’re going to take a slightly different route and start by adding just a single line of code to our website.

If you’re not sure about the ins and outs of adding code snippets to your site, don’t worry. Check out [this handy guide for some step-by-step assistance](https://wpforms.com/developers/how-to-add-custom-php-or-javascript-for-wpforms/ "How to Add Custom PHP or JavaScript for WPForms").

```

/**
 * Create conditional email recipients with a single line of code.
 *
 * @link https://wpforms.com/developers/how-to-create-conditional-email-recipients/
 */
  
add_filter( 'wpforms_fields_show_options_setting', '__return_true' );
```

This snippet’s magic lies in its ability to let **Checkbox**, **Dropdown**, or **Multiple Choice** fields hold not one, but two distinct values for each selection. It’s like having a visible value and a hidden one working behind the scenes. This neat trick will be incredibly useful when it’s time to decide which recipient should get that email notification.

## Creating the form

Now, let’s get down to the fun part – creating the form! If you’re new to form creation and could use some guidance, [feel free to check out this documentation](https://wpforms.com/docs/creating-first-form/ "Creating Your First Form").

For this tutorial, we’re rolling up our sleeves to craft a versatile form that covers a range of topics: sales, account management, customer support, and even a catch-all “other” option for those who aren’t quite sure which category fits their question. To make this possible, we’re going to introduce a **Dropdown** field into our form. This will allow our visitors to easily select the topic that best suits their specific inquiry.

![create](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wpforms-field-value-add-dropdown.jpg)

## Enabling Field Values

After you’ve configured your **Dropdown** field labels, navigate to the **Advanced** tab. Here, you’ll find the option to activate **Show Values**.

![on the Advanced tab you will now see an option to Show Values on the dropdown field, you will need to turn this option on](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wpforms-enable-field-values.jpg)

Once you’ve enabled **Show Values**, return to the **General** tab. You’ll now notice an additional space below the options. This is where we’ll input the email addresses associated with each specific department.

![add the specific email address for each department](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wpforms-add-field-values.jpg)

## Setting the email notification

To set up our conditional email recipients, we’ll need to adjust the email notification settings for the **Send To Email Address** field. To do this, go to your **Settings** and choose **Notifications**.

In the **Send To Email Address** section, we’ll keep the original Smart Tag `{admin_email}` intact because we still want the site admin to receive the email notification. However, we’re also going to incorporate a Smart Tag to dynamically fetch the email address associated with the correct department.

For multiple notifications, separate email addresses with a comma.

To include the field value email address, you’ll need to be aware of the field ID for your **Dropdown** field. For the purposes of this tutorial, our **Dropdown** field has an ID of **15**. So, after the comma, you’ll append `{field_value_id="15"}`. By incorporating this tag at this point, you’re effectively associating the appropriate email address with the relevant department for the email notification.

Please remember that you’ll need to update the **15** to match your own field ID for your **Dropdown** field. If you’re not sure what your field ID is and where to find it, [please checkout this guide for further details](https://wpforms.com/developers/how-to-locate-form-id-and-field-id/ "How to Locate Form ID and Field ID").

![add the field value smart tag to the send to email address field](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wpforms-add-field-value-to-notifications.jpg)

And that’s all you need to enable conditional email recipients without having to create multiple notifications! Now when the user selects which department they want to reach out to, an email address will auto-populate and deliver to the correct email address assigned through field values.

Would you like to also store these field values inside an entry? Take a look at our tutorial on [How to Store Field Values in the WPForms Entry](https://wpforms.com/developers/how-to-store-field-values-in-the-wpforms-entry/ "How to Store Field Values in the WPForms Entry").

## Related

Filter Reference: [wpforms\_fields\_show\_options\_setting](https://wpforms.com/developers/wpforms_fields_show_options_setting/ "Using the wpforms_fields_show_options_setting filter")

**Categories:** Tutorials

**Tags:** notifications, PHP

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