What does “Review not permitted” mean in Moodle?
It is what Moodle puts in the Review column of the “Your attempts” table on the quiz page when it can’t give you a Review link. In Moodle 4.5’s code, the check runs each time the page loads, using the quiz’s current review options and dates:
| Review column shows | When |
|---|---|
| A Review link | “The attempt” is ticked for the review window you are in now |
| Available + a date | Not reviewable now, but a later window allows it: two minutes after you submitted, or the quiz close date |
| Review not permitted | Not reviewable now, and no later window is set to allow it |
| Nothing | The attempt is still in progress |
Opening the review page directly gives the long version of the same message, “You are not allowed to review this quiz,” because the review page runs the same check. The message comes from the quiz’s settings; nothing is wrong with your account. Assignments follow their own submission rules (can you unsubmit an assignment on Moodle?).
What are Moodle’s four quiz review windows?
Teachers set review options in four columns, one for each window of time. Moodle’s help text for the Review options heading defines them:
| Window | When it applies |
|---|---|
| During the attempt | “only relevant for some behaviours, like ‘interactive with multiple tries’, which may display feedback during the attempt.” |
| Immediately after the attempt | “for the first two minutes after ‘Submit all and finish’ is clicked.” |
| Later, while the quiz is still open | “after this, and before the quiz close date.” |
| After the quiz is closed | “after the quiz close date has passed. If the quiz does not have a close date, this state is never reached.” |
That last line explains many lasting “Review not permitted” messages. If a quiz has no close date and “The attempt” is unticked under “Later, while the quiz is still open,” no window is left in which review could open. In the quiz settings form, the whole “After the quiz is closed” column stays greyed out until the teacher sets a close date. Once the close date passes, Moodle uses that column, even if you submitted less than two minutes earlier.
What does each Moodle review option show?
Each window has the same eight checkboxes. Where Moodle 4.5 ships help text for a box, it is quoted here from Moodle’s English language strings:
| Checkbox | What it reveals |
|---|---|
| The attempt | Your responses to each question. Moodle ships no help text for this box. |
| Whether correct | “This covers both the textual description ‘Correct’, ‘Partially correct’ or ‘Incorrect’, and any coloured highlighting that conveys the same information.” |
| Maximum marks | “The maximum mark available for each question.” |
| Marks | “The mark obtained for each question and the overall attempt score.” |
| Specific feedback | “Feedback that depends on what response the student gave.” |
| General feedback | Feedback that is the same for everyone: “the same general feedback text is shown to all students.” |
| Right answer | “An automatically generated summary of the correct response.” |
| Overall feedback | “The feedback given at the end of the attempt, depending on the student’s total mark.” |
Some boxes depend on others. In the 4.5 quiz settings form, Whether correct, Specific feedback, General feedback and Right answer are greyed out until The attempt is ticked. Marks needs Maximum marks: “You can only select Marks if Maximum marks is selected.” Marks and Overall feedback don’t need The attempt, which is why a grade or overall feedback can sit beside “Review not permitted.” In 4.5’s code, a teacher’s comment on a hand-graded question follows the Specific feedback box.
How do you see your quiz answers on Moodle?
Through the review page for your own attempt, when the review options allow it:
- Open the quiz from your course page.
- In the “Your attempts” table, click Review next to the attempt.
- The page shows what the ticked boxes allow for the current window. With Whether correct, each question is marked “Correct”, “Partially correct” or “Incorrect”. With Right answer, Moodle shows “An automatically generated summary of the correct response.”
If the column says Available and a date, come back then. If it says “Review not permitted,” nothing in a student account changes it. Moodle’s shipped defaults turn every review option on in every window, except Overall feedback during the attempt, so the message usually means your teacher or your school changed those settings for the quiz. A short, specific question to your teacher works best: will review open after the quiz closes, and which parts? In Moodle 4.5’s code, anyone who can view the quiz reports and hidden grades, which usually means your teacher, is shown everything about your attempt, so your teacher can see all of it. Blackboard and Canvas hold answers back with their own settings (how to see feedback on Blackboard, Canvas quiz answers after you submit).
Where Silent Student fits
We make Silent Student, a Mac and Windows desktop app with a Moodle mode that works multiple choice, true/false, matching, short answer and numerical quiz questions and drafts assignments and forum posts through your own Moodle username and password. Because it signs in as you, a review your teacher has turned off is closed to it too. The free Moodle grade calculator runs in your browser and doesn’t save what you type.
Questions people ask
Why does Moodle say “Review not permitted” after I submit?
The quiz’s review options hide the attempt in the window you are in, and no later window is set to open it. If a later window will, Moodle shows Available and a date instead.
Will I be able to review the quiz after it closes?
Only if the quiz has a close date and your teacher ticked The attempt under “After the quiz is closed.” Without a close date, that window never arrives.
Why can I see my grade but not my answers?
Marks and The attempt are separate checkboxes. A teacher can show your grade and overall feedback while keeping the attempt itself hidden.
What does “Available” with a date mean in the Review column?
Review is closed now but opens at that time: two minutes after you submitted, or at the quiz close date, depending on the settings.
How do I see the correct answers on a Moodle quiz?
Open your attempt’s review page. Correct answers appear only if your teacher ticked Right answer for the current window.
Can my teacher still see my attempt?
Yes. In Moodle 4.5’s code, anyone who can view the quiz reports and hidden grades, which usually means your teacher, is shown everything about your attempt whatever the review options say.
Sources
All fetched and checked October 29, 2026 and again November 2, 2026. Code links point to the Moodle 4.5 stable branch; the same messages are in Moodle’s current main branch.
- mod/quiz/lang/en/quiz.php (Moodle on GitHub: review messages and help text)
- lang/en/question.php (Moodle on GitHub: Whether correct, Specific feedback, General feedback and Right answer help text)
- mod/quiz/classes/quiz_settings.php (Moodle on GitHub: when Review not permitted or a date is shown)
- mod/quiz/classes/access_manager.php (Moodle on GitHub: the Review column link)
- mod/quiz/locallib.php (Moodle on GitHub: which review window applies)
- mod/quiz/classes/quiz_attempt.php (Moodle on GitHub: teachers who can see reports and hidden grades are shown everything)
- mod/quiz/review.php (Moodle on GitHub: the review page check)
- mod/quiz/mod_form.php (Moodle on GitHub: the review options form)
- mod/quiz/classes/question/display_options.php (Moodle on GitHub: what each option controls)
- mod/quiz/settings.php (Moodle on GitHub: site default review options)
How this guide was made. We read the listed files in Moodle’s public code on October 29, 2026 and checked every quote against them again on November 2, 2026. Interface quotes are Moodle’s English language strings. Your school can run a different Moodle version, a theme or custom language strings, so labels may differ slightly. We wrote the guide with AI assistance and checked each quote against its source.
Related: Can you unsubmit an assignment on Moodle? · How do you see feedback on Blackboard? · Silent Student on Moodle · Moodle grade calculator · All free grade calculators · All guides
Written by the company that makes Silent Student. Silent Student is not affiliated with or endorsed by Moodle Pty Ltd. Moodle is a trademark of Moodle Pty Ltd or its associated entities.