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

# Launch, Pause, and Edit a Study

> How to launch a study, what pausing and resuming actually do, and which fields lock once a study goes live.

For setting up a study, see [Setup & Launch](/studies/setup-and-launch).

## Launching

Once your study configuration is complete, select **Launch** in the study controls. Recruiting processes begin, and volunteers start matching against your criteria.

## Pausing a study

Pause recruitment at any time from the study dashboard. When a study is paused:

* Volunteers stop being matched and sent to sites.
* Your configuration and all historical data stay exactly as they were.
* Most fields remain editable, the same as while the study is active.

Pausing is a reasonable choice when a site needs time to catch up on existing volunteers, or a protocol change needs review before recruitment continues.

## Resuming a study

Open the study dashboard and resume it. Recruitment restarts with the same configuration, ready to go as-is unless you want to make a change.

<Note>
  If your organization has an outstanding billing hold, matching resumes once the hold clears. See [Credits](/billing/credits). If your study's price has drifted over the platform's custom-quote threshold since it last ran, you may need to contact your platform representative.
</Note>

## Making changes while a study is active or paused

Most fields, including eligibility rules, description, contact info, visibility settings, compensation, and recruitment dates and area, stay editable through both active and paused. A small set of identity fields (name, study type, delivery model, phase, protocol number) lock permanently the moment a study first leaves draft. See [Setup & Launch](/studies/setup-and-launch) for the full breakdown.

<Warning>
  Saving eligibility rules replaces the current eligibility rules. A change applies to matching going forward: a volunteer who has already been offered your study is evaluated against whatever rules are live at the moment they submit their opt-in form.
</Warning>

## Ending a study

When enrollment is done and recruitment is no longer needed, move the study to ended or completed from the study dashboard. Both are final, permanent statuses within the portal.

<Tip>
  If you're not certain enrollment is truly final, for example if some sites still have volunteers mid-pipeline, pause. A paused study stays resumable.
</Tip>


## Related topics

- [Setup and Launch](/studies/setup-and-launch.md)
- [Launch Your First Study](/getting-started/quickstart.md)
- [Roles & Permissions](/sharing/roles-permissions.md)
- [Studies Overview](/studies/overview.md)
- [Pricing](/billing/pricing.md)