Close your Google Form by turning off the "Accepting responses" toggle
When you stop wanting people to fill out your form, you turn off the switch that lets them submit answers. In Google Forms, open the form you created, click the Responses tab at the top, then look for the toggle switch labeled "Accepting responses" — it looks like a circle you can slide left or right. Click it once to turn it off. The form stays on the internet and people can still see it, but they cannot submit new answers anymore.
This is the most common reason to "close" a form: you have enough responses, or the important date has passed, and you do not want more people filling it out. The form itself does not disappear, and anyone with the link can still open it and read the questions — they just cannot send in their answers.
Key Takeaways
- Turning off "Accepting responses" stops new submissions without deleting the form or hiding it from people who have the link.
- You can turn responses back on again at any time by clicking the same toggle switch.
- Closing a form does not automatically send confirmation emails or notify people who already filled it out.
- If you want the form completely gone from your Google Drive, you delete it separately — closing and deleting are two different actions.
Where to find the toggle and what happens when you click it
Open the form in Google Forms (not in a preview, but in the actual editing view). At the top of the page, you will see three tabs: Questions, Responses, and Settings. Click Responses. In the top right corner of that tab, you will see a toggle switch next to the words "Accepting responses." The switch is usually blue and turned to the right when responses are on.
Click the toggle once. It will turn gray and slide to the left. That is it — the form is now closed. If you look at the form from someone else's computer (or in a private browser window), they will see a message saying "This form is no longer accepting responses" instead of the submit button.
Reopening a form you have closed
If you closed the form too early, or you want to collect more responses later, click the same toggle switch again. It will turn blue and slide back to the right, and the form will start accepting answers again. People who have the link can submit new responses when ready.
You can turn the form on and off as many times as you want. There is no limit to how many times you can toggle it, and closing it does not erase any of the responses you already collected.
The difference between closing and deleting a form
Closing a form (turning off responses) and deleting a form are not the same thing. When you close a form, it stays in your Google Drive and anyone with the link can still see the questions — they just cannot submit answers. When you delete a form, it goes to your trash and the link stops working for everyone.
To delete a form, go to Google Drive, find the form in your list of files, right-click it, and choose "Delete." It will move to your trash folder. You can recover it from trash for 30 days. After 30 days, it is permanently gone.
What to do with your responses after you close the form
Once you close the form, all the responses you collected are still there in the Responses tab. You can view them, read them as a spreadsheet, or print them. Click the three-dot menu icon in the top right of the Responses tab to see options for downloading or printing.
If you want to keep the responses but do not want anyone to see the form anymore, you can delete the form while keeping the responses. When you delete a form, Google Forms asks whether you want to keep the linked spreadsheet — choose yes, and your data stays in Google Sheets even after the form is gone.
Sending a message to people who filled out your form
Closing a form does not automatically send an email to people who already submitted answers. If you want to thank them or tell them what happens next, you have to contact them separately — Google Forms does not have a built-in way to message respondents.
If you collected email addresses in the form (for example, as the first question), you can read the responses as a spreadsheet and use that list to send an email through Gmail or another email service. If you did not collect emails, you have no way to reach the people who filled it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can people see my form after I close it?
Yes. The form stays visible to anyone with the link. They can see all the questions and read any instructions you wrote, but they will see a message saying the form is no longer accepting responses instead of a submit button.
What happens to my responses when I close the form?
Nothing. All your responses stay in the Responses tab exactly as they were. Closing the form does not erase, hide, or change any of the answers people already submitted.
If I reopen the form, will people see their old answers?
No. When someone opens the form again, they see a blank form with empty fields. They cannot see what they answered before, and if they fill it out again, their new answers will be recorded as a separate response.
How do I stop people from seeing the form at all?
Delete the form. Right-click it in Google Drive and choose Delete. The link will stop working, and people who try to open it will see an error message. You can recover it from trash for 30 days.
Can I close a form on my phone?
Yes. Open the form in the Google Forms app or in your mobile browser, tap the Responses tab, and tap the toggle switch next to "Accepting responses." It works the same way as on a computer.