Guide
Canvas Quiz Settings Explained: Timers, Attempts, and Access Codes
Canvas quizzes are controlled by settings your instructor chooses: time limits, allowed attempts, access codes, availability windows, question shuffling, and result visibility. Understanding how each setting behaves prevents the most common avoidable zeros. Here's what every setting does from the student side.
Key takeaways
The timer starts when you click Take the Quiz and never pauses, even if you close the tab.
Due date and Available Until are different. After Available Until, Canvas force-submits no matter how much timer you had left.
Check the details page before starting: time limit, attempts, access codes, and which attempt score counts.
Canvas autosaves your answers, so if your connection drops, get back in fast and email the instructor with the time.
How do Canvas quiz timers work?
If a quiz has a time limit, the timer starts the moment you click "Take the Quiz" and runs continuously. Three things students learn the hard way:
- Closing the tab does not pause the timer. It keeps counting whether the quiz is open or not.
- Opening a quiz to "look at it" starts the attempt on timed quizzes. Read the details page instead; it lists the time limit and attempt count without starting anything.
- When the timer hits zero, Canvas auto-submits whatever you've answered. Unanswered questions score zero.
If your internet drops mid-quiz, get back in as fast as possible; your answers up to that point are usually saved, but the clock never stopped. If something goes wrong, email your instructor immediately with the time it happened. Canvas logs quiz activity, which can back up your story.
How do multiple attempts work?
The quiz details page shows "Allowed Attempts." If it says 2 or more, check which score counts: instructors can keep the highest, the latest, or the average. Canvas shows this as "Score to Keep" behavior, and if it isn't stated, ask before assuming your best attempt counts. On the second attempt, questions may differ if the instructor uses question banks.
What is a quiz access code?
An access code is a password the instructor sets, typically for quizzes taken in class or in a testing center. You can't start the quiz without it. If a quiz asks for a code you weren't given, that usually means the quiz isn't meant to be taken remotely or isn't open to you yet; message the instructor rather than guessing.
What's the difference between the due date and the availability window?
This distinction causes more missed quizzes than any other setting:
- Due date: when the quiz should be finished. Submissions after this are marked late.
- Available Until: when the quiz locks entirely. After this moment, you cannot open or submit it at all.
A quiz can be due Friday at 11:59 PM and also lock at Friday 11:59 PM, which means starting a 60-minute quiz at 11:30 gives you 29 minutes, not 60. Canvas force-submits at the lock time regardless of your remaining timer. Always start timed quizzes at least the full time limit before the Available Until moment.
Why are the questions in a different order than my classmate's?
Instructors can shuffle answer choices and pull questions randomly from banks, so two students may see different questions in different orders. This is normal and doesn't affect grading.
Why can't I see my quiz answers afterward?
Result visibility is a setting. Instructors can show correct answers immediately, only after the due date, only during a date range, or never. If your score is visible but the answers aren't, they'll usually unlock after the availability window closes so nobody still taking the quiz benefits. If you see "protected" or restricted results, that's the setting, not a glitch.
What should I check before starting any Canvas quiz?
A 30-second pre-quiz checklist:
1. Time limit and allowed attempts (details page) 2. Due date vs Available Until (they're often different) 3. Whether it requires an access code or proctoring software 4. Stable internet, charger plugged in, other tabs closed 5. Which browser: use a desktop browser, not the mobile app, for anything timed
Some courses pair Canvas quizzes with proctoring software, which adds requirements before you can start. If your course does, see the Proctor Compatibility guide for how CanvasTool handles those environments, and our complete Canvas guide for general quiz workflow tips.