You can connect Gravity Forms to LeadConnector/HighLevel with GravityWP API Connector and send each form submission directly to the HighLevel Contacts API. In this tested workflow, the form uses POST /contacts/upsert, so HighLevel can create a new contact or update an existing match based on the Location’s duplicate-contact settings. The returned Contact ID is saved back to the Gravity Forms entry.
This is a direct API workflow. It does not require Zapier between Gravity Forms and LeadConnector. Gravity Forms is the trigger, API Connector handles OAuth and the API request, and HighLevel processes the contact data.
| TESTED SETUP September 21, 2026 • HighLevel Contacts API v3 • GravityWP API Connector • OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code • JSON POST. We tested new contact creation, existing contact updates, returned Contact ID mapping, and automatic OAuth token refresh after more than 24 hours. |
What Will You Build With This Gravity Forms LeadConnector Integration?
This workflow turns a Gravity Forms submission into a LeadConnector contact sync. When a user submits the form, API Connector sends the mapped form data to HighLevel. The Upsert Contact endpoint then creates a contact or updates an existing match according to the duplicate-contact rules in that HighLevel Location.
| WORKFLOW Gravity Forms submission → GravityWP API Connector → HighLevel Contacts API → create or update contact → return Contact ID → save it in Gravity Forms |
In the example, the Gravity Form contains Email, First Name, Last Name, and Phone fields. It also has two administrative fields: LeadConnector Contact ID and LeadConnector Upsert Response. These fields let the entry keep the CRM identifier and the full API response for testing.
This setup is useful when you want to automate Gravity Forms contact sync without a separate automation platform. It also gives you the API response, so the workflow can store returned data instead of only sending data out. This makes the integration useful for no-code automation where the form entry must keep the CRM result.
Why Use Upsert Instead of Create Contact?
Use Upsert Contact when the form should create a new contact but also update an existing match when HighLevel finds one. HighLevel documents the Upsert Contact endpoint as a create-or-update workflow that follows the Location’s Allow Duplicate Contact configuration.
| Method | Best fit | Key behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Create Contact | Every request should create a new record | Creates a contact with the submitted data. |
| Upsert Contact | Lead forms where repeat submissions may belong to the same person | Creates a contact when no match is found or updates a matched contact based on the Location duplicate settings. |
In our test, the first submission created Maria Santos and returned new: true. We submitted the same email and phone again with the first name changed to Maria Updated. HighLevel returned the same Contact ID, changed the existing record, and returned new: false. The HighLevel contact count stayed at two, so no extra contact was created.
Important: duplicate behavior depends on the settings in your HighLevel Location. Check those settings before you rely on email or phone as the matching rule.
What Do You Need Before Connecting Gravity Forms to LeadConnector?
Before you start, prepare the tools and account access used by the workflow:
- WordPress with Gravity Forms.
- GravityWP API Connector.
- A HighLevel/LeadConnector account with access to a sub-account or Location.
- A HighLevel Marketplace app.
- The app Client ID and Client Secret.
- The API Connector redirect URL registered in the Marketplace app.
- Contact permissions for the workflow.
- The HighLevel Location ID.
- A Gravity Form for the contact data.
For our tested setup, the Marketplace app had contacts.readonly and contacts.write selected. Contact write access was needed for the create/update workflow. We kept read access because the same connection was also used during contact lookup testing. HighLevel lists contact scopes in its current scope reference
Never publish a Client Secret, access token, or refresh token in screenshots or article examples.
How Does the Gravity Forms to HighLevel Workflow Work?
Gravity Forms acts as the trigger for the automation. A user submits the form, and the API Connector feed runs after submission. The feed sends a JSON request to the LeadConnector API with the mapped form data.
| POST /contacts/upsert |
The request includes the HighLevel Location ID and the contact fields you want to sync. In this tutorial, those fields are first name, last name, email, and phone.
HighLevel returns a response that includes the contact object. API Connector can then save contact/id into the original Gravity Forms entry. We also store the full API response in an administrative Paragraph Text field so the result is easy to review while testing.
This makes the form submission more than a one-way notification. It sends data to the CRM and keeps selected response data in WordPress.
How Do You Create the HighLevel OAuth App?
HighLevel uses OAuth 2.0 for Marketplace apps. The app needs a redirect URL, client keys, and scopes that match the API actions you want to perform. See the HighLevel OAuth 2.0 documentation for the current provider requirements.
Create or open a Marketplace app
Open the HighLevel Marketplace developer area and create an app, or use the app you already manage. During testing, a HighLevel App Test Account and a test sub-account can keep the workflow separate from live CRM data.
Add the API Connector redirect URL
Create the OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code connection in API Connector first so you can copy its callback URL. Add that exact URL to the Redirect URLs section in the HighLevel app. GravityWP explains the general callback flow in its OAuth Authorization Code documentation.
https://yourdomain.com/wp-json/gwpapiconnector/v1/oauth/callbackReplace yourdomain.com with the WordPress site where API Connector is active. Redirect URLs should match exactly.
Select the contact scopes
For the tested workflow, select:
| contacts.readonly contacts.write |
HighLevel recommends requesting only the scopes the app needs. The create/update workflow needs write access to contact data.
Create the client keys
Create a Client ID and Client Secret in the HighLevel app. Copy the secret when it is generated and store it securely. Do not include it in public screenshots.
How Do You Configure the LeadConnector API Connection in GravityWP?
In WordPress, go to Forms → Settings → API Connector and add a new API connection.
| API Connector setting | Tested value |
|---|---|
| API Name | LeadConnector |
| Base URL | https://services.leadconnectorhq.com |
| Authentication method | OAuth 2.0 (Authorization Code) |
| Authorization URL | https://marketplace.gohighlevel.com/oauth/chooselocation |
| Token URL | https://services.leadconnectorhq.com/oauth/token |
| PKCE | Off for this tested setup |
| Scope field | Leave blank |
Enter the Client ID and Client Secret from the HighLevel Marketplace app.
Add the HighLevel app version and scopes as authorization parameters
In our draft Marketplace app test, HighLevel needed the app version in the authorization request. Without it, the OAuth screen returned noAppVersionIdFound.
version_id=YOUR_APP_VERSION_ID
scope=contacts.readonly contacts.writeKeep API Connector’s normal Scope field blank for this HighLevel setup.
Why? Our first configuration used contacts.readonly in the normal Scope field. The first authorization worked, but after the HighLevel access token expired, API Connector tried to refresh it and HighLevel returned HTTP 422 with property scope should not exist.
We moved the scope value to Extra Authorization Parameters and left the normal Scope field empty. Authorization still worked. More than 24 hours later, the same contact request also worked without manual reauthorization. This confirmed automatic refresh in our tested setup.
This is a provider-specific setup based on the HighLevel behavior we reproduced in September 2026. Recheck the current HighLevel OAuth documentation if the provider changes its authorization flow.
How Do You Authorize the HighLevel Connection?
- Save the API connection and click Authorize.
- Review the HighLevel app permissions.
- Select the correct HighLevel sub-account.
- Approve the installation and access request.
- Wait for HighLevel to redirect to the API Connector callback URL.
- Confirm the connection shows Authorized in WordPress.
If you change the app scopes later, update the HighLevel app first, update the Extra Authorization Parameters if needed, and re-authorize so the new permission set is applied.
How Do You Build the Gravity Forms Contact Sync Form?
Create a Gravity Form for the lead or contact data. This is the form you will integrate with LeadConnector. Our test form used:
| Field | Type / visibility | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Email • required | Main contact identifier submitted to HighLevel. | |
| First Name | Single Line Text | Mapped to firstName. |
| Last Name | Single Line Text | Mapped to lastName. |
| Phone | Phone | Mapped to phone. |
| LeadConnector Contact ID | Single Line Text • Administrative | Stores contact/id returned by HighLevel. |
| LeadConnector Upsert Response | Paragraph Text • Administrative | Stores the full API response for testing and troubleshooting. |
The administrative fields are useful during testing because visitors do not need to see the CRM identifier or the raw response. They also keep useful API data inside the form entries.
Email was required in our example. The duplicate fields HighLevel uses depend on the Location settings, so check the matching rules for your own sub-account.
How Do You Create the LeadConnector Upsert Feed?
Open the form, then go to Settings → API Connector → Add New. This feed will automate the process each time a new form submission is saved. The available feed controls are documented in the API Connector Feed Settings guide.
| Feed setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Upsert LeadConnector Contact |
| API Configuration | LeadConnector |
| Request Method | POST |
| Body format | JSON body |
| Endpoint | /contacts/upsert |
| Input type | Regular Field input |
| API request trigger | On form submission |
| Store full response | LeadConnector Upsert Response |
The JSON body format is important because the HighLevel Upsert Contact endpoint accepts application/json. In the tested feed, selecting JSON body was enough; we did not add a separate Content-Type header.
How Do You Map Gravity Forms Fields to LeadConnector?
Add this required HighLevel API version header:
Version = v3Then map the POST body parameters. This mapping tells API Connector how to send data from Gravity Forms to LeadConnector:
| Body key | Value source |
|---|---|
| firstName | First Name |
| lastName | Last Name |
| phone | Phone |
| locationId | Your HighLevel Location ID |
The Location ID is the identifier for the HighLevel sub-account that should receive the contact.
Under Target Fields, map LeadConnector Contact ID to contact/id. Keep Store full response enabled and select LeadConnector Upsert Response. This makes testing easier because you can inspect values such as new, succeeded, and the returned contact object inside the Gravity Forms entry.
How Do You Test Creating a New HighLevel Contact?
Start with contact data that does not already exist in the test Location. Our first Upsert test used:
| Field | Test value |
|---|---|
| First Name | Maria |
| Last Name | Santos |
| leadconnector-upsert-test@example.com | |
| Phone | +639171234567 |
After the Gravity Form was submitted, the entry stored a LeadConnector Contact ID and the full API response. The response included new: true. HighLevel also showed Maria Santos in the Contacts list.
| CONFIRMED CREATE RESULT New form submission → API Connector POST request → new HighLevel contact → returned Contact ID saved to Gravity Forms |
Always verify both systems. A saved WordPress entry only proves that the Gravity Form submitted. Check the API response and the destination CRM record before you call the integration successful.
How Do You Test Updating an Existing Contact?
Submit the same email and phone again, but change one mapped field. We changed the first name from Maria to Maria Updated.
The second Gravity Forms entry returned the same LeadConnector Contact ID as the first entry. The response included new: false and succeeded: true. HighLevel changed the existing record to Maria Updated Santos, and the Contacts list still contained two contacts in total.
| CONFIRMED UPDATE RESULT Same email + same phone → same Contact ID → existing HighLevel record updated → no extra contact in the test Location |
That result proved that the tested Upsert workflow updated the existing matched contact instead of creating another record.
Your result can differ if the Location allows duplicate contacts or uses a different duplicate matching order. HighLevel documents that the Upsert endpoint follows the Location’s duplicate-contact configuration.
Does the LeadConnector OAuth Connection Refresh Automatically?
Yes, it did in our tested configuration. HighLevel documents that its access token expires after 86,399 seconds, which is about 24 hours. GravityWP API Connector supports OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code token refresh handling.
Our first setup exposed an important compatibility issue. When the normal API Connector Scope field contained contacts.readonly, the refresh request failed with:
| HTTP 422: property scope should not exist |
We then left the Scope field blank and moved the scopes to Extra Authorization Parameters:
version_id=YOUR_APP_VERSION_ID
scope=contacts.readonly contacts.writeAfter more than 24 hours, we submitted the known test contact again. The request succeeded without clicking Re-authorize, and the mapped contact values populated again. That confirmed automatic refresh in this tested HighLevel setup.
What Problems Can Occur With a Gravity Forms LeadConnector Integration?
| Problem | What it meant in our test | Fix / check |
|---|---|---|
| noAppVersionIdFound | The draft Marketplace app version was missing from the authorization request. | Add version_id=YOUR_APP_VERSION_ID under Extra Authorization Parameters. |
| Scopes cannot be empty | HighLevel reached sub-account selection without a scope value. | Pass the tested scopes through Extra Authorization Parameters. |
| property scope should not exist | HighLevel rejected the refresh request when scope came from API Connector’s normal Scope field. | Leave the normal Scope field blank and pass scope in Extra Authorization Parameters. |
| Contact is not created or updated | The request may not have run or may be missing permission, Location ID, header, or mapping. | Check Authorized status, contacts.write, feed status, Version=v3, Location ID, body keys, and logs. |
| Duplicate contact is created | The Location duplicate settings do not match the behavior you expected. | Review Allow Duplicate Contact and the matching priority in HighLevel. |
| Gravity Forms entry exists but HighLevel is unchanged | A successful form submission does not prove the external API feed succeeded. | Review the stored response and enable Gravity Forms logging for a short test. |
When troubleshooting, use logging only as long as needed. Gravity Forms warns that logs can contain sensitive data. See Gravity Forms logging and debugging.
When Should You Use API Connector Instead of Zapier or a Dedicated Plugin?
There is no single best integration method. Use the method that fits the workflow.
| Method | Good fit when |
|---|---|
| Dedicated Gravity Forms or HighLevel plugin | The plugin already supports the exact lead sync and fields you need. |
| Zapier / automation platform | You want a managed visual workflow that connects several apps. |
| GravityWP API Connector | You want direct API control, reusable OAuth authentication, JSON mapping, and response data saved back into Gravity Forms. |
For this tutorial, API Connector was useful because the workflow needed a direct POST request to HighLevel and the returned Contact ID needed to be stored in the original Gravity Forms entry. That lets you integrate Gravity Forms with the CRM without adding another step in your workflow.
For broader decision guidance, read How to Integrate Gravity Forms: Add-Ons vs Webhooks vs APIs and Best Gravity Forms Integrations. For another tested CRM POST workflow, see the Gravity Forms Pipedrive integration.
Final Result
The finished Gravity Forms LeadConnector integration creates a direct contact workflow between WordPress and HighLevel:
| FINAL WORKFLOW Gravity Forms submission → API Connector → LeadConnector/HighLevel → create or update contact → save returned Contact ID in Gravity Forms |
The final setup was tested with HighLevel Contacts API v3 in September 2026. It created a new contact, updated the same contact on a repeat submission, stored the returned Contact ID, and continued working after the first OAuth access token had expired.
If your next workflow also needs custom API requests, reusable authentication, or response mapping, review GravityWP API Connector and the API Connector feed settings documentation before building the production form.
Gravity Forms LeadConnector Integration FAQ
Yes. A Gravity Forms submission can send mapped contact data to the HighLevel API. This tutorial uses GravityWP API Connector and the v3 Upsert Contact endpoint.
Yes. In our first Upsert test, a new form submission created a new HighLevel contact and returned the Contact ID to Gravity Forms.
Yes, when HighLevel finds a duplicate according to the Location’s duplicate-contact settings. In our test, a repeat submission with the same email and phone updated the existing contact and returned the same Contact ID.
No. Zapier is one option, but this workflow sends data directly through the HighLevel API using GravityWP API Connector.
Our tested Marketplace app used contacts.readonly and contacts.write. The scopes were passed in Extra Authorization Parameters while the normal API Connector Scope field stayed blank.
In our first test, putting the scope in that field caused HighLevel to reject the later refresh-token request with property scope should not exist. Passing the scopes as Extra Authorization Parameters allowed the initial authorization and the later automatic refresh to work in our test.
It is the identifier for the HighLevel sub-account or Location. The Upsert Contact request requires locationId so HighLevel knows where to create or update the contact.
Yes. Map contact/id from the API response to an administrative Gravity Forms field. The ID can then stay with the original entry for later workflows or troubleshooting.
No. This tutorial covers a submission-triggered workflow. It sends form data to HighLevel when the Gravity Form is submitted and saves selected response data back into the Gravity Forms entry.
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