Deleted File Recovery

How to Recover a Microsoft Forms Survey Shared by a Former Employee

Bushra Parveen Oct 16, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to regain access to a Microsoft Forms survey that was created and shared by a colleague who has since left the company.

How to Recover a Microsoft Forms Survey Shared by a Former Employee

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to access, edit, or view results for a shared survey after the original owner's account has been removed from the organization's system.
Observed behavior: The Microsoft Forms link becomes completely inaccessible, displaying an error, because the former employee's account has been deactivated and the form was stored in their personal workspace.

Before you start

Verify the exact date the former employee's account was deactivated, as Microsoft 365 enforces a strict 30-day retention period for recovering soft-deleted user data.

Solution 1Recommended

Contact Your Microsoft 365 Administrator to Restore and Move the Form

The most effective method is for a Microsoft 365 tenant administrator to temporarily restore the deactivated account and transfer the form's ownership to a shared group.

When a user account is deleted in Microsoft 365, their personal data, including Microsoft Forms and OneDrive files, is kept in a soft-deleted state for exactly 30 days.

During this window, a global or user administrator can restore the account, access the forms, and permanently move them to a Microsoft 365 group to ensure ongoing access for the rest of the team.

Contact the IT Department

Identify and contact your organization's Microsoft 365 tenant administrator immediately. Provide them with the former employee's name, email address, and the approximate date of their departure.

Restore the User Account

Ask the administrator to navigate to the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to 'Deleted users', and restore the former employee's account.

Transfer Form Ownership

Once the account is temporarily active, the admin must log in, access the user's Microsoft Forms portal, and click 'Move' on the specific survey to transfer it to a permanent Microsoft 365 group.

Time-Sensitive Action: If more than 30 days have passed since the account deletion, the user data is permanently purged by Microsoft and the form cannot be recovered.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I copy the form if I only have the sharing link?

No. Once the original owner's account is deactivated, the form itself goes offline, rendering any sharing, duplication, or collaboration links inactive. You must have an administrator restore the original file first.

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

To prevent data loss, always create important business forms directly within a Microsoft 365 Group instead of a personal account. Group forms remain accessible to all group members regardless of individual account deactivations.

Is it possible to recover a form after the 30-day retention period?

Generally, no. Once the 30-day soft-deletion period expires, Microsoft permanently purges the user's personal data from their servers, including all personal forms, making recovery impossible.

Migration & Recovery