Permission & Access Issues

How to Get Microsoft Forms Editing Access Without the Original Owner

Maira Mehtab Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to gain design-mode access, editing permissions, or response downloads for a Microsoft Form when the original owner is no longer available.

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: The original form owner has left the company or is otherwise unavailable, leaving colleagues unable to edit the form or access collected responses.
Observed behavior: The standard form response link does not grant editing rights, reveal the form creator's identity, or provide access to the backend design mode and response data.

Before you start

Ensure you have the exact URL of the Microsoft Form in question and verify that you are signed into an account associated with your organization's Microsoft 365 tenant.

Solution 1Recommended

Contact Your Microsoft 365 Administrator for Ownership Transfer

The most secure and reliable way to regain access to an orphaned form is to request an ownership transfer through your IT department.

Microsoft restricts design mode to the original form owner. If that owner's account is inactive or inaccessible, an administrator must intervene.

Identify your Administrator

Reach out to your organization's IT department or Microsoft 365 Administrator.

Provide Form Details

Send them the exact URL of the Microsoft Form and explain that the original owner is no longer available.

Request a Support Case

Ask the administrator to open an official support request with Microsoft Support to investigate transferring the form ownership to an active user or a Microsoft 365 Group.

Prevent Future Access Issues: To prevent forms from becoming orphaned in the future, always move important forms to a Microsoft 365 Group before an employee departs.

Solution 2

Modify the URL Path and Recreate the Form

If you previously had co-authoring rights, you may be able to force the design view to load and manually copy the contents to a new form.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I find out who created a Microsoft Form from the response link?

No, the form creator's identity is not visible from the standard response page. Only users with administrative rights or existing design-mode access can view ownership details.

How can I prevent losing access to forms when an employee leaves?

It is highly recommended to move essential forms to a Microsoft 365 Group. Doing so grants ownership and editing rights to all members of that group, ensuring continuous access regardless of individual account deletions.

Does changing the URL path guarantee edit access?

No. Replacing the response-page path with a design-page path in the URL may sometimes load the design view if you were previously granted co-authoring rights, but it does not bypass core ownership restrictions or grant full admin control.

Document & File Issues