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To close a survey in Qualtrics, pause response collection: from the Projects page, click the three dots next to the project, select Close, choose what happens to responses in progress, and click Pause response collection. You can also pause from the survey’s Distributions tab, or let the survey close itself on a set date through the expiration setting in Survey Options. The same page also covers how to share a Qualtrics survey link, because the two tasks use the same Distributions tab.
What most guides leave out is the data side of closing. Which option you pick for responses in progress decides whether partial responses are kept or deleted, and that depends on a setting you should check before you click anything. This guide puts the manual and automatic methods side by side and ties each to that choice.
What closing a survey means in research
In Qualtrics, closing a survey puts it in the Paused stage. The distributions overview notes that you should decide what to do with respondents who are still taking the survey, how to tell invited respondents who arrive late, and whether to accept partial responses. It also warns that some edits to a live survey may invalidate parts of your data. Freezing collection first keeps the dataset stable (see research questionnaire for how instrument changes affect comparability).
Access: where the controls are
Both manual methods start from your Qualtrics account: either the Projects page or the survey’s Distributions tab. The automatic method lives in Survey Options.
How to close a survey in Qualtrics manually
From the Projects page
- Open the Projects page.
- Click the three dots next to the project.
- Select Close.
- Choose how to handle responses in progress (the two options are explained below).
- Click Pause response collection.
From the Distributions tab
- Open the survey and go to the Distributions tab.
- Click Pause response collection.
- Choose how to handle responses in progress.
- Click Pause response collection again to confirm.
Once paused, no one can start the survey. The anonymous link and other distributed links are disabled.
What happens to responses in progress
When you pause, Qualtrics asks what to do with people who have started but not finished. The two options are:
- Stop them and record them according to the survey’s partial response completion settings. If the survey is set to delete incomplete responses, those in-progress responses will be deleted.
- Allow them to finish. People cannot start new responses, but those already in progress can finish, within the time limit set in survey options.
Check the incomplete response settings in Survey Options before you pause. If deletion is on and you choose to stop respondents immediately, the partial data is gone.
How to close a Qualtrics survey automatically with an expiration date
If you know the end date in advance, set it in Survey Options so the survey closes without anyone remembering to click. The Survey Options page describes Survey Availability (formerly called survey expiration) as the setting that keeps the survey available as long as it is active, or sets an expiration date when it closes to new respondents. After the date passes, clicking the survey link shows the respondent a message that the survey has expired. Removing the expiration or extending it into the future reactivates the links.
A separate Automatic Survey Closure setting (off by default) closes in-progress sessions based on whichever comes first of the survey availability setting, personal link expiration and the incomplete survey response settings. Qualtrics also states that you cannot extend the availability window for a response that has already started: if a respondent began before the original expiration, a later extension does not give that person more time.
Manual pause or automatic expiration: which to use
| Question | Pause response collection | Expiration date (Survey Availability) |
|---|---|---|
| Where you set it | Projects page or Distributions tab | Survey Options |
| When it takes effect | When you click | On the date you set |
| Responses in progress | You choose: stop and record per partial response settings, or allow them to finish | Respondents who already started can finish for a limited period set by the Incomplete Survey Response setting |
| Reversing it | Resume response collection (Distributions tab) or Activate (Projects page) | Remove or extend the expiration; links are reactivated |
A practical reading of the table: use the expiration date for a fixed fielding window, and the manual pause when you must stop collection at a moment you cannot predict, such as when a quota is reached.
Reopen a closed survey
From the Distributions tab, click Resume response collection. From the Projects page, click the three dots and choose Activate. The links stay the same, and individual links are re-enabled for respondents who had not completed the survey.
How to share a survey in Qualtrics
Sharing uses the same Distributions tab as closing. To share the anonymous link:
- Open the survey’s Distributions tab.
- If the survey is not yet active, click Get a single reusable link. This also activates the survey.
- If it is already active, select the Anonymous link section.
- Click Copy survey link.
- Paste the link into an email or onto a website.
Because the link is reusable and anonymous, it stops working the moment you pause or the expiration date passes. Plan the close date before you send the link, and tell invited respondents the deadline. For choices that affect who answers through which channel, see survey mode effects and mixed-mode designs.
Before and after closing: a data checklist
These are general research-practice suggestions, not Qualtrics requirements.
- Check the incomplete response setting before pausing, so you know whether partial responses will be kept.
- Record the close date and the number of responses at closing; you will need both in a methods section.
- Export or snapshot the data after closing, then clean it. Screening for low-effort answers is covered in detecting careless responding in survey data.
- If you reopen, note the reopening dates, because the response window is no longer continuous.
Troubleshooting
- Respondents say the survey is unavailable. The survey is paused or past its expiration date. Resume collection or remove or extend the expiration.
- Responses keep arriving after the expiration date. Respondents who started before the date can finish for a limited period set by the Incomplete Survey Response setting. Pausing and choosing to stop respondents in progress ends their sessions, subject to the partial response settings.
- Partial responses are missing after a pause. The survey was set to delete incomplete responses and you chose to stop respondents in progress.
- Extending the expiration did not help someone mid-survey. The window for a response that has already started cannot be extended.
Other survey tools
If you are choosing a platform rather than closing one, the CASRAI comparison of survey tools for academic research sets out the options. For a closing-and-scheduling equivalent in a REDCap project, see REDCap survey queue and automated invitations.
FAQ
How do I close a survey in Qualtrics?
Pause response collection from the Projects page (three dots, then Close) or from the Distributions tab, then choose how to handle responses in progress and confirm.
How do I close a Qualtrics survey automatically?
Set an expiration date through the Survey Availability setting in Survey Options. After that date, new respondents cannot start the survey.
What happens to people who are mid-survey when I close it?
You choose: stop them and record their answers per the partial response settings (which may delete them), or allow them to finish within the time limit in survey options.
Can I reopen a closed survey?
Yes. Use Resume response collection on the Distributions tab or Activate on the Projects page. The links stay the same.
How do I share a survey in Qualtrics?
Go to the Distributions tab, get or select the Anonymous link, click Copy survey link, and paste it into your email or website.
Does pausing a survey disable the link?
Yes. While paused, no one can start the survey and the anonymous link and other distributed links are disabled.
Sources
Qualtrics support pages, checked 2026-10-29:
