# Pause and close a form

Stop accepting submissions by hand, after a maximum number of submissions, or on a set date.

A form can stop accepting submissions in three ways. While it is closed, new submissions are rejected with status `423`, and everything you already received stays in the inbox.

## Pause a form

Open **Settings**, **General** and choose **Pause form**. The status changes from **Accepting submissions** to **Paused**. Choose **Resume form** to open it again.

Rejected submissions get the error `form_closed_manual`.

## Close after a number of submissions

Open **Settings**, **Submissions**, **Limits** and set **Maximum submissions**. The form closes once it has received that many. Leave it empty for no limit.

Spam and test submissions don't count toward the maximum. Once the form is full, new submissions get `form_max_submissions`.

This works well for limited signups, like an event with 50 seats or a beta with 200 spots. To reopen the form, raise the maximum or clear it.

## Close on a date

In the same section, set **Close on** to a date and time, shown in your own time zone. From that moment, new submissions get `form_auto_close`. Clear the date, or move it later, to reopen the form.

## What visitors see

* Browser submits show a page titled **This form is closed** with a message and a link back to your site.
* `fetch` requests get JSON with `ok: false`, the error code and a message.

The default message is "This form is closed and not accepting submissions". On Pro, write your own in **Closed message**, for example "Registration has closed. See you next year!". It is used for all three ways of closing.

```json
{ "ok": false, "error": "form_closed_manual", "message": "Registration has closed. See you next year!" }
```

The styled embed shows the same message inside the form, next to the button.