Deleted File Recovery

How to Recover a Microsoft Form Owned by a Former Employee

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to recover and transfer ownership of a Microsoft Form that was created by a former employee whose account has been disabled or deleted.

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: An employee leaves the company, and their Microsoft 365 account is disabled or deleted. Consequently, a Microsoft Form they owned is no longer accessible, and ownership needs to be transferred to another team member to save the form and its responses.
Observed behavior: The form becomes inaccessible or disappears after the owner's account is disabled or deleted, putting the form data at risk of permanent deletion once the retention period expires.

Before you start

Ensure you have Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or Office Apps Administrator privileges, as standard users cannot access or transfer forms owned by disabled or deleted accounts.

Solution 1Recommended

Transfer Form Ownership via Administrator Access

Use your Microsoft 365 administrator privileges to locate the deleted form and transfer its ownership to an active user within the retention window.

When a user account is deleted in Microsoft 365, their Microsoft Forms are moved to a deleted state. Administrators have a limited 30-day retention period to recover and transfer these forms before they are permanently erased.

Verify the Account Status

Check the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to confirm whether the former employee's account has been temporarily disabled or permanently deleted.

Access the Deleted Forms Area

Log in with your administrator credentials and navigate to the Microsoft Forms admin portal to view forms associated with deleted accounts.

Initiate Ownership Transfer

Select the form owned by the former employee and use the administrative options to reassign ownership to a current team member or a shared Microsoft 365 Group.

Retention Period Warning: If the account has been deleted for more than 30 days, the form and all its collected responses are permanently purged and cannot be recovered.

Solution 2

Submit an Authenticated Support Request

If the standard ownership transfer process is unavailable or fails, contact Microsoft Support through official admin channels.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the retention period for a deleted Microsoft Form?

Microsoft Forms associated with a deleted account are typically retained for 30 days. After this period expires, both the forms and their collected responses are permanently deleted and can no longer be recovered.

Can a standard user transfer ownership of a former employee's form?

No, only users with Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or Office Apps Administrator roles have the permissions required to transfer ownership of a form if the original owner's account has been disabled or deleted.

What happens to form responses when ownership is transferred?

When an administrator successfully transfers ownership of a Microsoft Form, all existing responses, data, and active sharing links remain intact and are moved to the new owner.

Why shouldn't I post the form ID in public support forums?

Posting sensitive information like form IDs, personal data, or corporate email addresses publicly can expose your organization to security and privacy risks. Always use the authenticated support request process within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Migration & Recovery