How to schedule form availability and limited submissions in Google Forms

Learn how to limit the number of responses a Google Form can accept. You can also specify a closing date for your Google Forms or schedule them to open on specific days

When you create a Google Form, it’s public by default which means anyone with a link to the form can submit a response. There forms, whether they are quizzes, polls or surveys, have no expiration date and can collect an unlimited number of responses unless the form owner chooses to close it manually.

However, there are scenarios when setting limits on Google Forms can be beneficial. For example:

Contests and Giveaways: Limit entries to a certain number, on a first-come, first-served basis, and close the form automatically.
Event Registration: Set a closing date and automatically close registration forms after the event date.
Quizzes and assignments: A school teacher can add restrictions simulating class availability and keep the form open only on specific days and hours.

Limit Google Form responses

Google Forms does not natively support the ability to schedule forms or limit responses. However, you can easily include this functionality in your forms with the help of the Form Notifications add-on for Google Forms. The add-on is primarily designed to send form responses in an email message but also includes features for scheduling Google Forms and limiting responses.

How to Set Limits in Google Forms

Install the Forms add-on, go to your Google Forms and click on the Add-ons menu (it looks like a puzzle icon).

From the menu, select Email Notifications > Open the app > Options > Limit Google Form responses and you’ll see the settings panel shown above. This is where you can easily control when and how many people can submit your Google Form.

1. Close the form after certain number of responses

You can specify the maximum number of responses a Google Form should accept. Once the form receives the specified number of responses, it will automatically close and no new responses will be accepted.

You can also specify a custom message that will be displayed when someone accesses your closed form.

2. Close the form after the specified date and time

You can specify the exact date and time when your Google Form should close for new responses. The form will automatically close on the specified date and time and no new responses will be accepted.

You can also specify an open date and your closed Google Form will automatically open on the scheduled date. This can be useful for event registration forms where registrations must be opened to the public only on a certain date.

3. Open and close the form in a recurring schedule

You can easily set up a recurring schedule and keep your Google Form open only on specific days and within specific hours. The example above shows that the form is only available on weekdays between 11:00 AM and 3:45 PM.

Form Limiter is written in Google Apps Script. You can find the source code on Github if you want to roll out your own form limiter.

Important things to know

The form will close based on whichever condition is met first, either the response limit or the closing date.
All times mentioned are in the local timezone of the user’s browser that is setting up the form schedule and limits.
Due to technical constraints of Google add-ons, the actual opening and closing time of the form may differ by approximately ±30 minutes from your set time.
If you want to manually turn off your Google Form for new responses, open the form, go to the Responses tab, and uncheck it. Accepting Responses option. You can reopen the form at any time by checking back Not Accepting Responses button.