How to Enable or Disable a Form Based on Time Using Conditions

There are times when you may want to limit when users can access or submit your form. For example, you might only accept responses during business hours or run time-based promotions.

With Jotform, you can control form availability by combining a Time field with Conditional Logic. This setup lets you show or hide form fields depending on the time a user opens your form—no manual enabling or disabling needed.

To set this up, you’ll need the following:

• Time Field — Captures the user’s current time when they open your form.
• Paragraph Field — Displays a message letting users know the form is unavailable.
• Conditions — Check if the form was opened within your allowed timeframe.

Adding and Setting Up the Time Field

To control form availability based on time, you’ll first need to add and configure a Time field that automatically captures the current time when the form is opened. Here’s how:

1. In Form Builder, click on Add Element on the left side of the page.

2. Now, in the Form Elements menu, under the Basic tab, scroll down and click on Time. Or, just drag and drop it to where you want it to be on your form.

3. Next, click on the Gear icon to open the Time Properties menu on the right side of the page.
4. Then, under the Options tab, set the Default Time to Current.

5. Now, under the Advanced tab, in the Hide Field section, toggle it on to keep the field hidden from the users, and you’re done.

Adding and Setting Up the Paragraph Field

To inform users when the form is unavailable, you’ll need to add a Paragraph field that displays a custom message. This is how it’s done:

1. In Form Builder, click on Add Element on the left side of the page.

2. Now, in the Form Elements menu, under the Basic tab, scroll down and click on Paragraph. Or, just drag and drop it to where you want it to be on your form.

3. Next, click on Click to Edit this Text or the Pencil icon.

4. Then, in the Paragraph Editor, enter the message you want to display when your form is not available. For example: “This form is only available from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Please try again later.”
5. Once done, click on the Encircled Checkmark icon to save your changes.

Setting Up the Conditional Logic

Now that your fields are set up, it’s time to define when your form should be available using Conditional Logic. For example, if you want your form to be available from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM only, here’s how to set it up:

1. In Form Builder, in the orange navigation bar at the top of the page, click on Settings.
2. Then, in the menu on the left side of the page, click on Conditions.
3. Now, in the New Condition menu, click on Show/Hide Field.

4. Then, set the conditions like you see below and click on Save:

In the condition above, if a user opens the form outside of your set hours, they’ll see the unavailability message instead of the form fields. Looking for more info? Check out these helpful guides for more details:

• How to Show or Hide Fields Conditionally
• How to Hide or Show Multiple Fields Conditionally

See how it comes together in this live Demo Form. You can also clone the form to explore it further and adjust the time settings as needed. For a quick how-to, check out our guide on How to Clone and Existing Form From a URL.