How to easily add reCAPTCHA v2 to your Contact Form 7

Updated on 7 April, 2026

Have you been struggling to add reCAPTCHA v2 to your Contact Form 7? In this short post, we’ll guide you through the step-by-step process on how to properly add reCAPTCHA v2 to your WordPress Contact Form 7.

Adding reCAPTCHA to your Contact Form 7 can effectively prevent spam submissions from bots. However, in order for it to work, you must integrate it with Contact Form 7 correctly. And if you prefer reCAPTCHA v2, the installation might not be straightforward as the latest Contact Form 7 doesn’t support reCAPTCHA v2 by default. But don’t worry, this guide will help you easily add reCAPTCHA v2 to your Contact Form 7. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

How to add reCAPTCHA v2 to Contact Form 7

Before you start, keep in mind that in order to activate reCAPTCHA v2 in your latest Contact Form 7, you need an additional plugin. The latest version of CF7 doesn’t support reCAPTCHA v2, it only supports the latest reCAPTCHA v3 version by default. Here’s a step-by-step process:

Step 1: Ensure you have Contact Form 7 installed

Log in to your WordPress dashboard.

On the left menu, click on Plugins > Installed Plugins

Look for Contact Form 7 in the list.

If it is already there and active, you can move to the next step.

If it is not installed yet:

1. Click Plugins > Add New
2. In the search box, type Contact Form 7
3. Click Install Now
4. Then click Activate

Step 2: Install a plugin that helps you add reCAPTCHA v2 to Contact Form 7

In your WordPress dashboard, go to:

Plugins > Add New

In the search box, type ReCaptcha v2 for Contact Form 7

Install and activate the plugin.

According to WordPress, this plugin restores reCAPTCHA v2 support for Contact Form 7 and re-adds the [recaptcha] tag. 

Basically the plugin reconnects Contact Form 7 to the older reCAPTCHA checkbox method. Then it allows the form to understand the recaptcha field again. You can easily switch between different versions of reCAPTCHA

Step 3. Generate reCAPTCHA API Keys

In the next step, you need to get two codes from Google:

• Site Key
• Secret Key

The Site Key tells your website which reCAPTCHA account to use and the Secret Key lets your website verify the visitor with Google behind the scenes.

You need these API keys from Google to integrate reCAPTCHA with your Contact Form 7. To do that, visit the Google reCAPTCHA admin page and register your site with Google. Here’s how to obtain API keys:  

1. Visit the Google reCAPTCHA page.
2. Sign in to your Google account.
3. Click on the “+” (plus) button to create a new site.
4. Choose “reCAPTCHA v2” and then choose “I’m not a robot” Checkbox.
5. Enter your domain in the “Domains” field. Make sure you enter the address correctly.
6. Accept the reCAPTCHA Terms of Service.
7. Click on “Submit”.

Once you click on “Submit”, the page will generate your site key and secret key. Save the keys, as you’ll need them in the next steps.

Here are a few things you want to know to ensure things go smoothly:

Label: Just add a reference name for yourself in this field, for example, My website contact form or CF7 CAPTCHA for business site.

reCAPTCHA type: Choose the option for the checkbox challenge or reCAPTCHA v2 checkbox. This is very important. If you accidentally choose v3, you will not get the visible “I’m not a robot” checkbox. Google separates v2 checkbox from v3 score-based protection. 

Domain: Here’s where you enter your domain name. Usually you should enter the main domain without https:// and without extra page paths, for instance, mywebsite.com. Inputing your domain address like https://mywebsite.com or www.mywebsite.com/contact-form may not work.

Accept the terms and keep that page open for now, or copy both keys into a note temporarily.

Step 4. Add reCAPTCHA keys in to WordPress

Once you’ve generated your API keys, you’ll be setting up reCAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 on your WordPress dashboard. Here’s how to do it:  

1. Go to your WordPress admin dashboard and click on Contact > Integration.
2. Under Integration, you’ll find reCAPTCHA. Click on “Setup Integration” and you’ll see fields for API keys. 
3. Enter the site key and secret key that you got from the Google reCAPTCHA admin page.
4. Click on “Save Changes”.

Until these keys are saved, your website doesn’t have a way to connect your Contact Form 7 to Google’s reCAPTCHA service. Keys are the core connection between your site and reCAPTCHA. 

Before you move on to the next step, you’ll want to make sure the plugin is using reCAPTCHA v2, not the other reCAPTCHA version. It’s because some plugins that support CAPTCHA offer more than one mode. If your plugin gives you a choice, choose:

reCAPTCHA v2 or Checkbox / I’m not a robot

This is important because Google offers multiple reCAPTCHA types, and only reCAPTCHA v2 creates the visible checkbox. Google describes v3 as a score-based system with no checkbox, while the checkbox challenge is documented separately. 

If there is a save button, click it.

Step 5. Add reCAPTCHA to your contact form

In WordPress, go to Contact > Contact Forms

Click the form you want to protect. You will see the form editor with lines that look something like this:

[text* your-name]

[email* your-email]

[textarea your-message]

[submit “Send”]

This is a normal form structure.

Inside the form editor, add the following line: 

[recaptcha]

Place it just above the submit button, so the visitor sees the checkbox before clicking Send.

A simple example:

[text* your-name]

[email* your-email]

[textarea your-message]

[recaptcha]

[submit “Send”]

Why this exact tag?

The WordPress plugin ReCaptcha v2 for Contact Form 7 re-adds the [recaptcha] tag that Contact Form 7 removed. 

Then click Save

Step 6: Check whether Contact Form 7 already has reCAPTCHA v3 connected

This can be an easy thing to miss. The latest Contact Form 7 integration doesn’t have the old reCAPTCHA checkbox. While reCAPTCHA remains part of the plugin ecosystem, their older v2 behaviour has been replaced with add-ons after v5.1. 

So, go to Contact > Integration in your WordPress dashboard. If you see an existing Google reCAPTCHA connection there, it may be tied to the newer setup.

If your form is not displaying the checkbox correctly, disconnect or remove the existing built-in reCAPTCHA setup, if there’s one. This reduces the chance of your website trying to run two different reCAPTCHA methods at the same time

Step 7. Test your form

To test your form, visit the page where your contact form appears. Open the page on your website where the contact form is shown and you should now see the “I’m not a robot” checkbox inside the form. If you see it, the plugin is active, the keys are connected, and the [recaptcha] tag is working

How to test your form

To make sure reCAPTCHA v2 works for real visitors, open your form from your page and try submitting the form without checking the checkbox. If the form is not submitted successfully or you should see a validation or error message, it confirms the CAPTCHA is being enforced.

Next, tick the box and submit the form again. The form should be sent normally. This confirms the form accepts real users. To ensure you’re avoiding false confidence caused by being logged in as an admin or by cached scripts, try submitting the form from another browser or phone.

Troubleshooting checklist if reCAPTCHA v2 checkbox doesn’t appear

If you followed the steps and the checkbox still does not show, here are the most common reasons.

Problem 1: The wrong Google key type was created

You may have accidentally created a v3 key instead of a v2 checkbox key.

Fix:

• Go back to Google
• Create a new key for reCAPTCHA v2 (not v3)
• Replace the old keys in WordPress

Google clearly separates checkbox keys from other types. 

Problem 2: The domain in Google does not match your website

Sometimes you may accidentally create keys for a different domain.

Fix:

• Check if the domain name matches exactly
• Add the correct domain in Google
• Save again

Google’s website key creation is tied to domain configuration. 

Problem 3: You forgot to add [recaptcha] inside the form

Many people think saving keys alone enough to add reCAPTCHA. But it’s not! You should also add the reCAPTCHA shortcode to your form.

Fix:

• Edit the form
• Add [recaptcha] above the submit button
• Save

Problem 4: You already have another CAPTCHA plugin active

Two CAPTCHA systems can conflict.

Fix:

• Temporarily disable other CAPTCHA or anti-spam plugins
• Test again

Problem 5: Caching is delaying the update

Sometimes the form is correct but your browser or cache plugin is still showing the old version.

Fix:

• Clear your cache plugin
• Clear CDN cache if you use one
• Hard refresh the page

Problem 6: JavaScript errors on the page

reCAPTCHA needs scripts to load correctly.

Fix:

• Open the page in a private browser window
• If it still fails, ask your developer or hosting support to check browser console errors

We hope this guide will help you install reCAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 correctly.