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How to Close a Google Form at a Certain Time (2024 Update)

In this article, we will show you how to close a Google Form at a certain time in just a few clicks.

You can set a Google Form to stop accepting responses at a certain time. While there isn't a built-in feature that will automatically close the form at a specific time, you can use a couple of methods to achieve this. Simply follow the steps below.

Method 1: Using Google Forms Add-Ons

There are Google Forms add-ons available that can automatically close a form at a specific time. One popular add-on for this purpose is "formLimiter." Here’s how you can use it:

1. Click on “More” Options and select “Get add-ons.”

Locate the three dots in the top right corner of the Google Form to access additional settings. From the drop-down menu, choose “Get add-ons” to browse and install new features for your form.

how to close a google form at a certain time

2. Search for “formLimiter.”

In the Google Workspace Marketplace, use the search bar to find “formLimiter.”

how to make a google form close at a certain time

3. Install “formLimiter.”

Click on “formLimiter” from the search results and press the “Install” button. You may be prompted to grant formLimiter certain permissions. 

Close Google Form at set time

4. Set up “formLimiter.”

After installation, a new sidebar should appear at the bottom-right corner of the editor. If not, go back to your form and click on the puzzle icon to see your add-ons. Choose “formLimiter” to set it up.

Google Form auto close time

5. Configure submission limit.

In the sidebar, specify the criteria for closing the form such as a maximum number of responses, a specific date and time, or a spreadsheet cell condition.

Google Form end time setup

6. Set the specific date and time to automatically close your Google Form. 

Once your criteria are set, click “Save and Enable.”

Set end time for Google Form

Method 2: Using Google Apps Script

You can also use Google Apps Script to close the form automatically:

1. Open the Script editor.

Click on the three vertical dots at the top-right corner of the editor and select “Script editor.” You should be directed to another window called Apps Script.

Google Form schedule close

2. Name your project for documentation purposes.

In the Script editor, give your project a name like "Auto Close Form."

Google Form stop responses time

3. Create a function for closing the form.

Here's a simple script you can copy:

function closeForm() {

  var form = FormApp.openById('YOUR_FORM_ID');

  form.setAcceptingResponses(false);

}

Set Google Form time deadline

4. Copy your form ID.

To find your form ID, go back to your form and look at the URL of your form while editing it. It's the part between "d/" and "/edit." Here’s what it looks like from our example:

Google Form finish time

5. Replace <YOUR_FORM_ID> with the actual ID of your form.

In our example, the code now looks like this. Remember to keep the single quotation marks.

set date and time for closing google forms

6. Create a trigger function below the “closeForm” function.

Below the closeForm function, add another function to create a time-driven trigger:

function createTimeDrivenTriggers() {

  ScriptApp.newTrigger('closeForm')

      .timeBased()

      .at(new Date('YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS')) // Set the exact date and time

      .create();

}

Your code should now look like this:

close google form at set date and time

7. Specify date and time to automatically close the form.

Replace <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS> with your desired date and time. For the purpose of this guide, we will set it to 2023-03-01 15:00:00. 

automatically close google form at set date and time

8. Save your script.

Click on the disk icon to save your script.

close google form at scheduled date and time

9. Run the “createTimeDrivenTriggers” function.

Click on the function dropdown, select createTimeDrivenTriggers, and then click the play icon to run it.

can i close a google form at a certain date and time
can you close google forms at a certain time

10. Authorize the script.

A dialog will pop up asking for permission to run the script. Review the permissions and authorize the script. Once done, the execution log should state that it is completed. 

can i set specific date and time to close google form

You can go back to your form and test it.

We hope that this article has helped you and given you a better understanding on how to close a Google Form at a certain time. If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our article on how to show one question at a time in Google Forms or our article on rental applications in Google Forms. If you want to know how to set up workflow approval of Google Forms, we also suggest checking out our detailed guide. 

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