Google Forms refusing submissions is usually not a mysterious bug — it’s almost always a configuration, storage, or permission issue that stops responses before Google ever writes them to Drive. The problem shows up in three common ways: the form link shows “This form is no longer accepting responses,” the submit button fails with an error after you hit it, or file upload fields are unavailable or greyed out. This feature guide explains why that happens, shows precise, action-oriented fixes for both form owners and respondents, and outlines safer long‑term practices to avoid repeat outages when collecting files or running large campaigns.
Google Forms is an exceptionally convenient tool for surveys, event RSVPs, job applications and light data collection because it ties directly into Google Drive and Google Workspace. That tight integration is a strength: uploaded files land in Drive, responses can stream into Sheets, and permissions are consistent with the owner’s Google account.
That same integration creates three familiar failure modes:
When troubleshooting, run the same checklist every time: owner settings, Drive location and quota, and tenant policies. Duplicate the form for safe testing, capture error text and screenshots, and coordinate with admins early when running large or sensitive intake campaigns. These steps remove 95% of common “not accepting responses” incidents and keep data flowing reliably into Sheets and Drive.
Source: Guiding Tech Google Form Not Accepting Responses – How to Fix?
Background / Overview
Google Forms is an exceptionally convenient tool for surveys, event RSVPs, job applications and light data collection because it ties directly into Google Drive and Google Workspace. That tight integration is a strength: uploaded files land in Drive, responses can stream into Sheets, and permissions are consistent with the owner’s Google account.That same integration creates three familiar failure modes:
- Storage quota exhaustion — uploaded files are written to the form owner’s Drive; when Drive storage is full, the form can stop accepting responses. Evidence from institutional IT guides shows forms stop collecting when the owner’s Drive hits quota.
- Shared Drive incompatibility for file uploads — forms that are stored in a Shared Drive (team drive) cannot use file‑upload questions; moving a form to a Shared Drive or creating it there will either grey out the File Upload option or cause the form to report it isn't accepting responses. Multiple university knowledgebase pages and developer forum threads document this exact behavior.
- Access and validation rules — owner settings (Accepting responses toggle, response limits, “Limit to 1 response” sign‑in requirement, specific people restrictions), strict question validation, or tenant policies (DLP, external sharing rules) can block submissions even though the link is live. Community troubleshooting guides for forms (both Google and other platforms) outline the checklist owners and responders should run.
How the fix differs depending on your role
If you are the form owner
Owners must verify three broad areas: the form’s response settings, its storage/backing location, and any tenant or Drive‑level restrictions that would interfere with writes (especially file uploads). The steps below are ordered from simplest to most involved.If you are a respondent
Most respondent problems are solved by sign‑in and browser troubleshooting, or by spotting required questions and validation errors. If you get a “form is no longer accepting responses” message after submitting, you’ll need to confirm with the owner whether your submission actually succeeded (owners can check the Responses tab).For form owners — a step‑by‑step repair playbook
1. Confirm the form is set to accept responses
- Open the form in forms.google.com (editor view).
- Look for the Published / responses area (top‑right in the editor in the current UI) and make sure Accepting responses is toggled on. If the toggle is off, the UI will show the “no longer accepting responses” message to visitors. Recent UI changes moved this toggle to the Published panel; if you don’t see it where you expect, check the top‑right published/visibility controls.
2. Check for Start / End dates and response limits
- Under form Settings, verify whether you set a Start or End date for accepting responses. An End date in the past will silently close submissions.
- Check whether “Limit to 1 response” is enabled; that setting requires respondents to sign in with a Google account and will block multiple responses from the same account. Adjust if you expect multiple entries per person.
3. Inspect question validation and branching logic
- Look for required questions (they show red when not answered) and strict validation rules (e.g., numeric-only fields, specific date formats).
- Confirm that conditional logic (Go to section based on answer) doesn’t create an unreachable path that prevents reaching the Submit button.
4. Check Drive storage and the file upload configuration
- Verify the form owner’s Google Drive available storage. If Drive is at quota, uploaded files cannot be written and forms that accept uploads may stop collecting responses. Institutional IT guidance explicitly warns that forms will stop collecting when the owner's storage is full.
- If your form includes a File upload question, confirm the form is stored in your My Drive, not a Shared Drive. Google’s product behavior prevents file upload questions from being used when the form is in a Shared Drive; adding or moving a form into a Shared Drive will either grey out the upload option or cause the form to reject responses. University KBs and Google Workspace community discussions repeatedly document this constraint.
5. Validate domain and admin (tenant) policies
- For Google Workspace accounts, ask your Workspace admin whether Data Loss Prevention (DLP), external sharing rules, or other policies could be disabling file uploads or preventing anonymous responses. Admin policies override an owner's form settings.
- If many users across the domain report issues, escalate to the admin to check the Google Workspace Service Health or message center.
6. Duplicate the form as a diagnostic step
- Make a copy of the form and change only the access/upload settings (e.g., move the copy to My Drive and remove file upload questions). If the duplicate accepts responses while the original doesn't, compare settings to find the discrepancy. This lets you test changes without risking the live form. Community troubleshooting playbooks recommend duplication as a safe diagnostic technique.
For respondents — the quick checklist
Common respondent causes (and fixes)
- Required fields left blank — Required questions are marked; the form will refuse submission until they are answered.
- Validation errors — Check for error messages near fields (e.g., “Please enter a number” or “Date format invalid”). Adjust entries to the expected format.
- Signed into the wrong Google account — If the form limits responders to a domain or requires sign‑in, sign out of all Google accounts and sign back in with the correct one. Multiple signed‑in accounts in the same browser can cause authentication confusion; use an incognito/private window to guarantee a single active account.
- Browser or extension interference — Try a different browser or an incognito window to rule out ad‑blockers, privacy extensions or cookie restrictions blocking the cross‑site calls Forms uses to validate sessions. Clearing the browser cache sometimes helps.
- Network restrictions — If you’re on a corporate network or VPN, try a different network (mobile hotspot or home network) to see whether firewall rules are preventing submission.
File‑upload specific pitfalls and workarounds
Why file uploads are special
File uploads are stored in the form owner’s Drive and therefore trigger Drive‑level rules: storage quotas, ownership semantics, and sharing restrictions. Google deliberately restricts upload behavior for security and governance reasons:- File uploads require authentication in many contexts (you usually must be signed into a Google account to upload).
- Forms with upload questions cannot be reliably placed in Shared Drives; the upload mechanism is designed to write into the owner’s My Drive and ownership is tied to the owner, not the team drive. Attempting to use a Shared Drive for a form with uploads will either block the control or cause the “not accepting responses” message for submitters. Multiple institutional docs and community threads document this exact incompatibility.
Short‑term workarounds if you need external uploads
- Remove the file upload question from Google Forms and provide a separate authenticated upload link (a dedicated Drive folder with guest upload permissions, or a secure third‑party upload tool). This keeps the survey public while routing files to a controlled location.
- Use third‑party form/file services that support anonymous uploads and larger quotas (these solutions typically route files outside your Drive and offer configurable storage). Product options exist that plug into Google workflows and let non‑Google users upload without sign‑in. Form facade vendors and standalone file intake services advertise these features when Google’s restrictions are unacceptable.
Preventive best practices (stop outages before they start)
- Plan Drive capacity before a big collection window. If you expect a large number of file uploads, provision additional Drive space or use a separate intake account dedicated to the event. Institutional policies that cap storage can cause sudden stoppages; monitor usage actively during campaigns.
- If you need team ownership, create the form in My Drive and then use a shortcut or transfer ownership after the intake window closes; avoid storing active upload forms in Shared Drives. University KBs advise creating forms in My Drive to preserve upload functionality.
- Communicate deadlines and storage warnings to respondents. If you use an end date, include it in invitations and reminders. A short QA test window before public distribution is high leverage: collect a few test submissions, verify they appear in Drive/Sheets, and confirm uploads succeed from external accounts if expected.
- Add a contact or fallback instruction on the form’s description (for example, “If you see an error, email X”) so users have immediate recourse rather than repeating submissions.
Advanced diagnostics for stubborn or enterprise issues
- Reproduce the problem as an outsider: open the public form link in an incognito window and try to submit. Use an external account and network to isolate domain/tenant policies.
- Capture the exact error text and screenshots — different messages indicate different root causes (e.g., “This form is no longer accepting responses” vs “You need permission to access this form”). These clues narrow whether the issue is the Accepting responses toggle, a domain restriction, or storage.
- If you are an admin, check the Workspace Service Health and any DLP or external sharing settings that may be blocking uploads. Tenant policies can override owner controls.
- When uploads fail intermittently (large files timing out), limit the per‑file size in the form settings or use a dedicated upload mechanism with resumable uploads to avoid browser timeouts. Third‑party intake tools often have better resumable upload support than a browser form.
Critical analysis — what’s good and what to watch
Notable strengths
- Google Forms’ integration with Drive creates an end‑to‑end workflow that’s fast to set up: forms → Sheets → Drive. That simplicity is ideal for small teams and low‑risk file collection.
- Built‑in upload controls (file type restrictions, per‑file size limits, and max files per question) are practical and reduce manual triage.
- For internal, authenticated collections (within a Workspace domain), uploads work reliably and inherit domain governance.
Practical blind spots and risks
- The Shared Drive limitation is surprising to many owners: team drives are conceptually the right place for team assets, but Google’s upload implementation requires owner‑level My Drive ownership, which causes friction for organizational workflows. Many institutional KBs and developer forum threads flag this as a repeated source of confusion.
- Storage quotas create a single point of failure. When an owner's Drive is full, forms — especially those collecting files — can stop accepting responses without clear notice to respondents. Plan capacity for big events.
- Admin policies in large organizations (DLP, external sharing restrictions) can silently block uploads or external responses, and owners have no direct way to override tenant settings. This requires early coordination with IT for enterprise surveys.
Unverifiable or changeable details to watch
- Product behavior and UI placement change over time (the Accepting responses control has been moved in recent UI updates). Any time a UI element is not where documentation described it, verify in your live editor. Treat UI positions as ephemeral and look for published product notes if you can’t find a control.
Quick‑reference troubleshooting checklist (for owners and support teams)
- Is the form Accepting responses? (top‑right Published / visibility controls)
- Are there Start / End dates or a response limit?
- Is File upload present and the form stored in My Drive (not Shared Drive)?
- Is the owner’s Google Drive at quota? Free space or purchase more.
- Are domain/tenant policies (DLP, external sharing) blocking external uploads?
- Are respondents reporting the same error message? Capture screenshots and reproduce as an external user.
Conclusion
A Google Form stopping submissions is rarely mystical — it’s a configuration, permission, or storage problem in most real‑world cases. The fastest fixes are: toggle Accepting responses back on, move or create upload‑enabled forms in My Drive, free up Drive storage or buy additional quota, and confirm domain admin settings for file uploads and external responses. For robust external file intake, either separate file upload flows from the public form or use a purpose‑built uploader that supports anonymous uploads and resumable transfers.When troubleshooting, run the same checklist every time: owner settings, Drive location and quota, and tenant policies. Duplicate the form for safe testing, capture error text and screenshots, and coordinate with admins early when running large or sensitive intake campaigns. These steps remove 95% of common “not accepting responses” incidents and keep data flowing reliably into Sheets and Drive.
Source: Guiding Tech Google Form Not Accepting Responses – How to Fix?
