Open House Sign-In Sheet: What to Include, an Example and How to Follow Up
Calum McDonald · October 13, 2026 · 5 min read
What to put on an open house sign-in sheet, what to leave off, whether to go paper or digital, an example layout, and how to follow up with the people who sign it. Written by someone who builds software for agents, with a free sheet maker if you want one to print.
What to put on an open house sign-in sheet
A good open house sign-in sheet asks for a name, a phone number and an email address, plus one or two questions that tell you who to call first. Everything else costs you sign-ins, so keep it short. The sheet has two jobs: it records who came through the door, and it gives you the few people who are actually in the market.
I build software for real estate agents, so I have looked at a lot of these sheets. The ones that work are boring. If you want one to print right now, the free open house sign-in sheet maker lets you pick your columns and save a PDF. The rest of this page is the reasoning behind the choices.
The columns, and what each one is for
| Column | Why it is there | Keep it? |
|---|---|---|
| Name | So you can greet them and follow up by name | Always |
| Phone | Fastest way to reach someone, and the one people hesitate over | Always, or make phone or email enough |
| For the follow-up message and for sending similar homes | Always | |
| Working with an agent? | Tells you whether this is a lead or another agent’s client | Yes |
| How soon do you want to buy? | Puts the callbacks in order | Yes |
| Neighborhood or “how did you hear about this?” | Useful if you track where visitors come from | Only if you will use it |
| Pre-approved? | Qualifies a buyer, but some visitors find it pushy | Off by default |
If you only add two questions beyond contact details, make them “are you working with an agent” and “how soon are you looking to buy”. Those two do most of the sorting.
What to leave off
Anything you will not act on. Every extra column is one more reason for a visitor to walk past the clipboard, and a sheet that looks like a form at the DMV gets ignored.
Keep the questions to contact details and buying plans. Do not ask for anything about who the visitor is, and be careful that nothing on the sheet steers or screens people. In the US, fair housing rules apply to how you treat visitors and describe homes, and your brokerage may have its own policy on what you can collect. This is not legal advice, so check with your broker.
An example layout
Example only. The names are made up.
| Name | Phone | Working with an agent? | Looking to buy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Rivera | 555-0101 | sam@example.com | No | Within 3 months |
| Dana Okafor | 555-0102 | dana@example.com | Yes | 6+ months |
| Lee Nguyen | 555-0103 | lee@example.com | No | Just looking |
Add a line under the table that says visitors agree the listing agent may contact them about the property. If you plan to text people, check your state and brokerage rules on consent first. The sheet maker has that line as an option.
Paper, digital or both
Use whichever your typical visitor will actually use, and run both if you can: paper at the door, a QR code on the same page or by the exit. Watch what happens at your next open house and keep the one that gets more sign-ins.
Making people actually sign it
- Put the sheet where people have to pass it, not on a side table.
- Have a working pen and a clean page. A sheet covered in old entries looks like a chore.
- Say hello and hand them the pen. “Would you mind signing in?” works better than a sign that says “Please sign in”.
- Keep a second copy or a phone photo of the page, so you do not lose it.
How to follow up
Sort the list before you write anything. Visitors who are not working with an agent and want to buy soon get a personal call or message the same day. Everyone else gets a short email within a day, while the visit is still fresh.
Keep the first message about them, not you. Thank them, mention something specific about the home, and ask what they thought and whether they want to see anything similar. Do not send a sales pitch. If you want help with the wording, how to use AI as a real estate agent has a follow-up text prompt you can copy. If you plan to text, check your state and brokerage rules on consent first.
The sheet is for leads, feedback is for the home
A sign-in sheet tells you who came. It does not tell you what they thought of the home, and that is what the seller wants to know. Most visitors will tell you if you ask in a way that takes a minute.
Two ways to do it. You can print a short open house feedback form next to the sheet. Or you can put a feedback QR code on the sign-in sheet itself, so visitors scan on the way out.
If you would rather not type any of it up, Viewing Feedback gives every listing its own feedback link and QR code. Visitors answer a few questions on their phone with no app to download, and the answers roll up into a seller report that stays up to date. You can see how it looks in the demo.
In this guide
Frequently asked questions
How many columns should an open house sign-in sheet have?
Five is plenty for most agents: name, phone, email, whether they are working with an agent, and how soon they want to buy. Add a sixth only if you know what you will do with the answer.
How do I get more visitors to sign in?
Put the sheet where people have to pass it, greet them and hand them the pen, and keep it short enough to fill in in under a minute. A sheet that asks for a lot gets walked past.
Who should I call first after an open house?
Visitors who are not working with an agent and want to buy soon. They get a personal call or message the same day. Visitors who are just looking, or who already have an agent, can wait for a short email.
What if a visitor will not give a phone number?
Let phone or email be enough. An email address still lets you follow up, and a visitor who feels pushed for a number is less likely to sign at all. Do not chase a number they chose not to give.
Should the sign-in sheet and the feedback form be the same page?
Usually not. The sheet is for leads and the form is for the home, and the people who give useful feedback are not always the people who want a call. Keep the sheet short and add a feedback QR code beside it, so visitors can answer separately on their way out.
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