Closing Registration

Sometimes you need to stop taking sign-ups, either on a set date or right this second. Churchday gives you two switches for this in the event editor: one that closes registration automatically on a date you choose, and one that closes it immediately.

Before you begin

You need admin access to edit your church's events.
Your event must be set to collect responses. In the Registration section, How people respond has to be set to Register or RSVP. If it is set to No sign-up, there is nothing to close, and the public page always reads "No registration needed."

Set an automatic deadline

Use this when you know the last day you want to accept sign-ups.

Open the event and find Registration. A repeating event closes each date instead, as described below.
Turn on the Registration deadline switch.
Pick the last day in the date picker that appears. The deadline cannot be later than the event date itself, so you can close sign-ups early but not after the event.
Save your changes. From now on, once that day has passed, the public event page shows a "Registration closed" card that reads "Registration ended on" followed by your chosen date.

The deadline is measured in the event's time zone (your church's, unless the event sets its own), so sign-ups stay open through the end of that day where the event is, not in some other time zone.

Close each date of a repeating event

A repeating event can close sign-ups a set number of days before each date instead of on one day.

Open the event, find Registration, and click Edit next to Registration deadline. A window opens. The deadline applies to every date.
Turn on Close sign-ups before each date, then set the number of days. The window shows an example, such as "Sign-ups for Sun, Oct 5 close at the end of Fri, Oct 3." Zero keeps sign-ups open through the day of each date.
Click Save for all dates. The deadline saves right away. Any other changes to the date you're viewing stay unsaved until you click Save.

Each date closes on its own schedule, counted from the day it actually happens, so a date you moved closes relative to its new day. A repeating event that already closes on one fixed day keeps working that way. The window shows that day, and Close before each date instead switches it to the days-before rule.

Close registration right away

Use this when you need to stop new sign-ups immediately, no matter what deadline is set.

For a repeating event:

Choose the date at the top of the editor.
Turn on Close registration now in the Registration section.
Click Save, choose This date, This and following dates, or All dates, then click Save changes.

To reopen those dates, turn Close registration now back off and save with the dates you want. A shared deadline that has already passed still prevents new sign-ups.

For a one-time event, turn on Close registration now in Registration and save. Turn it off to reopen.

What people see

When a deadline has passed: the public page shows "Registration closed" with "Registration ended on" and the date.
When you have closed it manually: the public page shows "Registration closed" with "The host has closed registration for this event."
When the event uses No sign-up: the page never shows "Registration closed." It always reads "No registration needed," even if an old deadline or close date is still saved on the event.
To someone who already registered: when they're signed in, they see "You're registered!" instead of the closed card, with a line saying registration is closed but their spot is saved, and a cancel registration link. On an RSVP event it reads cancel your RSVP.
To a visitor who isn't signed in: below "Registration closed," the card says "Already registered? Sign in with the email you used." and offers a Sign in button that brings them back to the event.

Good to know

Closing only blocks new sign-ups. People who already registered can still cancel their spot from the event page after registration closes, including spots for family members they signed up. You are not locking anyone in, just turning off new responses. Once the event date has passed, the cancel link goes away.
Refunds work the same as before you closed. If the event allows refunds and someone paid by card, cancelling after registration closes still refunds them in full, until the event date has passed. If it doesn't, they're told before they confirm that cancelling won't return their payment.
The two switches work together. A deadline closes sign-ups on its own once the date passes. The manual switch closes them right away and stays in charge until you turn it back off.
Nobody is emailed automatically when registration closes. If you want to tell people, send a message separately.