Download Free The problem
A job posting filled up, an event registration should stop Friday night, or you need to take a form offline for a weekend—without deleting the form or the embed.
The solution
Use the builder Availability section. You can pause immediately, schedule an auto-close, or set a maximum number of non-spam submissions. Visitors see your custom unavailable message when the form is closed.
How to configure it
- Open the form in the builder.
- Open Availability in the sidebar.
- Choose one or more controls:
Pause immediately
Toggle Paused. The form stops accepting submissions right away. Unpause when you are ready again.
Auto-close at a date and time
Set a close date/time in the site timezone. After that moment, the form shows as unavailable until you clear the date or change settings.
Submission limit
Set a maximum count (e.g. 100). The builder shows progress as N / max. The counter does not reset automatically—raise the limit or clear it when you want to reopen. Only non-spam submissions count toward the limit.
Unavailable message
Write the message visitors see when the form is paused, past its close date, or at the limit. Keep it short and helpful (e.g. “Registration is closed. Email us at …”).
- Save the form.
What visitors see
On a closed form, Sobi Forms shows the unavailable message instead of the fields. Embeds stay on the page—no need to remove the shortcode or block.
Tips
- Combine pause + a clear message for temporary maintenance.
- Use a close date for campaigns (“until Friday 18:00”) and a limit for capacity (“first 50”).
- Closed forms still appear in Sobi Forms → Forms with a status badge so you can find them quickly.
- Submissions already collected stay in the inbox; export or auto-delete as needed.