Overview
Sometimes you may want to create a Qualtrics survey with answer choices that only appear based on availability. For example, you can create an RSVP form inviting people to sign up for different sessions, and have Qualtrics automatically remove some sessions as attendance fills up.
To accomplish this, you can set up quotas tied to specific answer choices, and then use display logic to remove those answer choices as a quota is reached for each one.
New to Qualtrics?
Quotas and display logic are advanced features. For a more basic introduction to Qualtrics, refer to our guide, Creating, branding, and distributing a Qualtrics survey.
Setting up quotas and display logic
Step 1: Create the survey with your questions and answer choices
Create your Qualtrics survey. We recommend adding a heads up to respondents about the quota. For example: "As sessions fill up, they will be removed from the choices. If you do not see any choices, all of the sessions are full." Otherwise, respondents may think there is a bug or unintended issue that is hiding choices from them.
Step 2: Set up a quota for each answer choice
Qualtrics can keep track of how many times an answer choice is selected, making it possible for you to set a limit on selections. For example, maybe your Qualtrics survey is an RSVP form and you want no more than 15 respondents to sign up for each session option. This limit is called a quota, and you can set it up in the Quota section of the Survey tab.
Quick guide
- In the left menu, click the Quotas
icon.
- Click Add a quota.
- A new quota is created. To set it up:
- At the top, click New Quota to name the quota. We recommend giving the quota the same name as the answer choice you're targeting.
- By default, the quota is set to 100. Click 100 if you want to change this (for example, instead of allowing 100 people to select the answer choice, you want to limit it to 15).
- The "Logic conditions" section is automatically open. Select the question containing the answer choice, and then select the answer choice.
- Open the "Quota options" section by clicking the Expand
icon.
- Under "When the quota has been reached, then," select None (for skip logic and survey flow).
- Leave Keep & record selected.
- The new quota is set up.
- Create another quota for each answer choice you want to track. To do so, either create a new quota each time (follow the steps above), or use the duplicate function:
- In the left panel, hover over the quota you want to copy, and click the More options
icon. Then, select Duplicate quota.
- A duplicate quota is created and you can now update its settings for your next answer choice. Make sure to update the following:
- Quota name
- Quota count (if different)
- Logic conditions
- (Optional) To remove a quota, in the left panel, hover over the quota. Click the More options icon, and select Delete quota.
- Your progress is automatically saved. Once you're done creating quotas, return to the survey by clicking the Builder
icon.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- In the left menu, click the Quotas icon.
- Click Add a quota.
- A new quota is created. To set it up:
- At the top, click New Quota to name the quota. We recommend giving the quota the same name as the answer choice you're targeting.
- By default, the quota is set to 100. Click 100 if you want to change this (for example, instead of allowing 100 people to select the answer choice, you want to limit it to 15).
- The "Logic conditions" section is automatically open. Select the question containing the answer choice, and then select the answer choice.
- Open the "Quota options" section by clicking the Expand icon.
- Under "When the quota has been reached, then," select None (for skip logic and survey flow).
- Leave Keep & record selected.
- The new quota is set up.
- Create another quota for each answer choice you want to track. To do so, either create a new quota each time (follow the steps above), or use the duplicate function:
- In the left panel, hover over the quota you want to copy, and click the More options icon. Then, select Duplicate quota.
- A duplicate quota is created and you can now update its settings for your next answer choice. Make sure to update the following:
- Quota name
- Quota count (if different)
- Logic conditions
- (Optional) To remove a quota, in the left panel, hover over the quota. Click the More options icon, and select Delete quota.
- Your progress is automatically saved. Once you're done creating quotas, return to the survey by clicking the Builder icon.
Step 3: Use display logic to hide an answer choice once the quota is reached
Now that you've set up quotas, you'll need to link each answer choice to its corresponding quota using display logic. Since Qualtrics tracks how many times an answer choice is selected, display logic is how you can instruct Qualtrics to only show an answer choice to respondents if its quota has not been reached.
Quick guide
- Return to your survey and select an answer choice you want to apply a quota to.
- Click the Expand
icon next to the answer choice, and select Add Display Logic.
- Click Add logic.
- Click Question and select Quota instead.
- Select the quota corresponding to the answer choice, and select Has Not Been Met.
- The answer choice will now only appear as long as the quota has not been met. In other words, once the number of respondents selecting the answer has met the quota, the answer choice will no longer appear for future respondents.
- Click another answer choice in the list to apply its corresponding quota.
- Repeat steps 3–7 until you are done applying quotas to answer choices.
- Click Save.
- The survey updates, and an
icon appears before each answer choice that you applied display logic to. You can continue editing your survey, and publish it when you are ready.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Return to your survey and select an answer choice you want to apply a quota to.
- Click the Expand icon next to the answer choice, and select Add Display Logic.
- Click Add logic.
- Click Question and select Quota instead.
- Select the quota corresponding to the answer choice, and select Has Not Been Met.
- The answer choice will now only appear as long as the quota has not been met. In other words, once the number of respondents selecting the answer has met the quota, the answer choice will no longer appear for future respondents.
- Click another answer choice in the list to apply its corresponding quota.
- Repeat steps 3–7 until you are done applying quotas to answer choices.
- Click Save.
- The survey updates, and an icon appears before each answer choice that you applied display logic to. You can continue editing your survey, and publish it when you are ready.
Checking quotas
You can return to the Quota section of the Survey tab at any point to view and edit your quotas. While we recommend not making changes to the quota conditions once you publish and distribute the survey, you can check your survey progress at any time.
As respondents select answer choices, the quota counts will increase. If necessary, you can make small manual adjustments by clicking the More options 
icon beside each quota. For example:
- If you want to increase the quota to allow more respondents to select an answer choice, select Edit target.
- If a respondent submitted a response and now want to change their answer choice, select Edit count.
Additional resources
For more information about quotas and display logic, refer to the official Qualtrics documentation: