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 you want to edit and scroll to the Registration section.
Turn on the Registration deadline switch. The helper text reads "Automatically close sign-ups after this date."
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 your church's time zone, so sign-ups stay open through the end of that day where you are, not in some other time zone.

Close registration right away

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

Open the event and scroll to the Registration section.
Turn on the Close registration now switch. The helper text reads "Immediately stop new sign-ups and show 'Registration closed,' whatever the deadline says. Turn back off to reopen."
Save your changes. The public page immediately shows a "Registration closed" card that reads "The host has closed registration for this event."

To reopen sign-ups later, come back and turn the same switch off, then save. This switch overrides the deadline, so it closes registration even if the deadline date is still in the future.

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.

Good to know

Closing only blocks new sign-ups. People who already registered can still cancel their spot from their own events page after registration closes. You are not locking anyone in, just turning off new responses.
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.