How to Limit Google Forms Responses Per Day (or Total)
Quick answer: Google Forms has no native setting to cap responses per day. The closest built-in behavior is manually toggling "Accepting responses" off. For automation, the third-party formLimiter add-on can close a form after a total count or at a set date/time, and a custom Apps Script can go further — but a true rolling "resets every day" limit requires writing that script yourself.
If you've searched for a way to cap Google Forms submissions to, say, 20 per day for appointment slots or a limited-quantity signup, you've probably noticed Google doesn't offer that setting anywhere in the Forms interface. This is a genuine gap in the product. This guide lays out exactly what is and isn't possible, and the realistic options at each level of effort — from a five-minute manual check to a real Apps Script build.
The honest starting point: there's no native daily limit
Google Forms' own Settings menu lets you require sign-in and restrict to one response per person, but nothing in the standard settings counts responses against a threshold and closes the form automatically — daily or otherwise. If you're looking for a toggle called something like "max responses per day," it doesn't exist. Every option below is a workaround built on top of Forms, either through a third-party add-on or custom scripting.
Option A: the formLimiter add-on (total count or cutoff time)
formLimiter is a popular Google Workspace Marketplace add-on. It's worth being clear that it is a third-party tool, not built or maintained by Google — it works by periodically checking your response count or the current date/time and turning off "Accepting responses" once your condition is met.
- Limit by total response count. Set a maximum number of total submissions (for example, 100 seats for an event), and formLimiter closes the form once that number is reached.
- Limit by date or time. Set a specific cutoff, and the form closes automatically at that moment — useful for an application deadline or an exam window.
- Custom closed message. You can set what respondents see once the form has stopped accepting answers.
This covers a lot of real use cases — a fixed number of appointment slots, a limited-quantity giveaway, or a hard deadline — but notice that neither of formLimiter's two modes is a rolling "20 responses, then reset the count tomorrow" daily quota. It's built around a single total or a single cutoff, not a repeating daily cycle.
Option B: a custom Apps Script trigger (for a real daily reset)
If you genuinely need a limit that resets every day — for example, capping appointment bookings to 20 per day, every day, indefinitely — that requires custom Google Apps Script. The general approach: a script attached to your form runs on form submission, counts today's responses (filtering the response sheet by the timestamp column), and toggles the form's "accepting responses" setting off once today's count hits your target. A separate time-based trigger, run once daily (for example, at midnight), turns responses back on for the next day.
This is genuinely useful, but it's worth being upfront: it is real development work, not a quick setting. You're writing and testing a script, handling edge cases like time zones and Apps Script's execution quotas, and maintaining it going forward. If you're comfortable with Apps Script or have a developer who is, see our broader guide on using Google Apps Script with Google Forms for the fundamentals of connecting a script to a form and its response sheet.
Option C: manual toggling for low-volume or informal use
For a small, informal form — a team lunch order with a 15-person cap, or a class sign-up sheet — the simplest approach is often just checking the Responses tab periodically and manually switching Accepting responses off once you've hit your number. There's no automation here, but for low response volumes where you're realistically checking your phone or laptop throughout the day anyway, it costs nothing and requires no add-on installation or scripting.
If your actual goal is simply closing a form once and for all — rather than a repeating cap — see our more general guide on closing a Google Form and limiting responses, which covers the "Accepting responses" toggle and the built-in (non-repeating) response limit some Workspace accounts have access to.
Setting expectations by use case
- Daily appointment slot caps — realistically needs the Apps Script approach if it must reset automatically every day; formLimiter or manual toggling work fine if you're comfortable resetting it yourself each morning.
- Limited-quantity signups (one-time, fixed total) — formLimiter's total-count mode is a good fit and requires no coding.
- Exam attempt limits — a fixed cutoff time with formLimiter works well if the exam window is a single block; per-student attempt limits are a different problem better solved with Forms' quiz settings and required sign-in.
- Informal, low-volume sign-ups — don't over-engineer it. Manual toggling is genuinely fine.
FAQ
Can Google Forms limit responses to a certain number per day?
Not natively. Google Forms has no built-in setting for a daily response cap. You need a third-party add-on like formLimiter, a custom Apps Script trigger, or manual monitoring to approximate this.
What is formLimiter?
formLimiter is a third-party Google Workspace Marketplace add-on, not built by Google, that can automatically turn off a form's "accepting responses" setting once a total response count or a specific date and time is reached.
Does formLimiter reset every day automatically?
Not out of the box. formLimiter is built around a total count or a fixed cutoff time, not a rolling daily quota. A true "resets every midnight" limit requires a custom Apps Script that checks and resets a counter, which is real development work rather than a simple setting.
Can I limit responses without any add-on or script?
Yes, for low-volume or informal use, you can manually check your response count in the Responses tab and toggle "Accepting responses" off yourself once you've hit your target.