A forming apparatus includes a substrate holder that holds a substrate; a support table that supports the substrate holder; a mold holder that holds a mold; a driving unit that brings a photo-curable formable material applied to the substrate and the mold into contact with each other; an irradiation unit that irradiates the formable material with light while the formable material and the mold are maintained in contact with each other by the driving unit, the irradiation unit including a light-emitting-element array including light emitting elements arranged on the support table or the substrate holder; and an optical member that is positioned further in a direction from the support table to the mold holder than a position of the mold holder, the optical member guiding light from the light emitting elements toward the formable material on the substrate.