> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.firstrespondershub.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Enrollment deadlines

> How the cohort enrollment deadline works: timezone behavior, what gets gated after it passes, and how to set or change it.

Every cohort can have an optional **enrollment deadline** — the last day students are allowed to enroll. When the deadline is set, students can sign up at any time on that day; once it passes, the cohort stops accepting new enrollments.

## Time and timezone

Deadlines are **date-only** and are interpreted in the **cohort location's local timezone**. A deadline of "May 1" means students have until 11:59 PM on May 1 in the timezone of the location where the cohort is being held.

* A New York cohort with a May 1 deadline closes at midnight Eastern.
* A Los Angeles cohort with a May 1 deadline closes at midnight Pacific — three hours later in real time.
* If a cohort has no location-level timezone configured, the system defaults to **Eastern Time**.

## What gets gated after the deadline

Once the deadline has passed, the following are blocked with a "deadline has passed" message:

* Paid enrollment (Stripe checkout)
* Free enrollment (\$0 programs)
* Pre-approval application form submissions
* Loading the application form page itself (students see an "applications closed" screen)

## What is not affected

Already-enrolled students keep full access to the cohort, course materials, schedule, and dashboard. Existing enrollments, payments, applications, and student-invite links continue to work after the deadline regardless. **Only new sign-ups are blocked.**

## Interaction with cohort lifecycle

The enrollment deadline is **independent** from the cohort's lifecycle state (open, full, in\_progress, completed, etc.). If a cohort is closed for any other reason — capacity reached, manually marked full, course already in progress — students see the lifecycle-based "cohort not open for enrollment" message instead of the deadline message. The deadline check only fires when the cohort is otherwise still open for enrollment.

## Setting and changing the deadline

Program admins set the deadline when [creating](/cohort-management/creating-a-cohort) or [editing](/cohort-management/overview-and-editing) a cohort, in **Basic Information**. It can be changed at any time. Removing the deadline (leaving it empty) means students can enroll right up until the cohort starts (or fills up).

## Related but separate: early-bird pricing

Cohorts can also have an **early-bird deadline**, which controls discounted pricing windows. That is a different, more precise field (it includes a specific time, not just a date) and is documented separately under [Coupons](/payment-settings/coupons).

## See also

* [Creating a cohort](/cohort-management/creating-a-cohort) — Set the deadline at creation.
* [Overview and editing](/cohort-management/overview-and-editing) — Change the deadline later.
* [Program offering enrollment settings](/enrollment/program-offerings-settings) — Other settings that shape the enrollment flow.