How To Close a Survey in Microsoft Forms: 1-Min Guide

How To Close a Survey in Microsoft Forms

Updated on:

April 6, 2026

By:

Use this interactive demo to learn how to close a survey in Microsoft Forms.

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Microsoft Forms stops responses instantly by toggling off acceptance, perfect for ending surveys after deadlines or target responses. Follow these steps to set it up:

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On your Microsoft 365 main dashboard, click the App launcher (grid icon) in the upper-left corner.
From the app list, select Forms to open Microsoft Forms.
Select the survey you wish to close
Click Settings to adjust how your form behaves and what respondents see.
Uncheck the box labeled Accept responses.
Type a custom message for anyone who tries to access the link.
Click Preview to verify the survey shows "Closed".
The form is now "Closed", but you can still see your data, but users will only see your custom message.

📌 Why this matters

Closing your survey gives you control over data quality and timing while maintaining professional boundaries with respondents. You can end collection exactly when planned, prevent late submissions that might skew results, and display a polite closure message instead of leaving people confused by a broken link.

Your existing responses remain fully accessible for analysis, making this a clean way to transition from data collection to reporting phase without losing any work you've already gathered.

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