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How to Automatically Record the Submission Date in Microsoft Forms

Kushani Nimanthika Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to know how to automatically capture and record the date and time when a respondent submits a Microsoft Form.

How to Automatically Record the Submission Date in Microsoft Forms

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Collecting form responses and needing an accurate, automatically generated timestamp for each submission.
Observed behavior: Microsoft Forms does not offer a visible auto-filling date/time question field for the respondent, but it automatically captures the submission completion time in the background data.

Before you start

Ensure you have access to the Microsoft Forms editing dashboard and permissions to view or download the response data.

Solution 1Recommended

View Submission Dates via the Excel Results Workbook

Use the default Excel export feature in Microsoft Forms to access automatically recorded start and completion times for all responses.

Although Microsoft Forms does not provide a form field that automatically displays a date and time stamp to the respondent, the system records this information by default. You can access the exact submission timestamps by exporting your form responses to an Excel workbook.

Open your Microsoft Form

Navigate to Responses

Click on the 'Responses' tab located at the top of the form interface.

Export to Excel

Click the 'Open in Excel' button to download or view the results workbook.

Locate the timestamp columns

Open the Excel spreadsheet and look for the 'Start time' and 'Completion time' columns. These columns contain the automatically recorded dates and times for each submission.

View Submission Dates via the Excel Results Workbook

Data Accuracy: The Completion time column provides the exact moment the user clicked the submit button.

Solution 2

Create a Custom Form with Power Apps and SharePoint

If you need a highly customized timestamp field or a different data destination, building a form in Power Apps linked to a SharePoint list is a robust alternative.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Analyze Your Form Data with WPS Office

After downloading your Microsoft Forms results, you need a powerful spreadsheet tool to analyze the timestamps and response data. WPS Office is a free, lightweight, and fully compatible alternative to Microsoft Office that makes viewing, formatting, and analyzing exported Excel files completely seamless.

1. Download and Install WPS Office: Get WPS Office for free and install it on your computer or mobile device.
2. Export Form Data: In Microsoft Forms, click 'Open in Excel' to download your response data as an .xlsx file.
3. Open in WPS Spreadsheet: Double-click the downloaded file to open it directly in WPS Spreadsheet and begin analyzing your submission timestamps.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx, .xls) files exported from forms.Lightweight architecture ensures fast loading even for large response datasets.Advanced sorting and filtering tools to organize form submissions by date and time.Familiar user interface makes transitioning from Microsoft Office effortless.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a visible auto-timestamp field directly on the Microsoft Form?

No, Microsoft Forms does not currently support a visible auto-filling date or time question type. However, the exact submission time is automatically captured in the background and can be viewed in the exported Excel results.

Where can I find the exact time a Microsoft Form was completed?

You can find the completion time by navigating to the 'Responses' tab of your form and clicking 'Open in Excel'. The downloaded workbook will contain a 'Completion time' column with the exact timestamps.

Why does the exported Excel file show the wrong time zone for submissions?

The time zone displayed in the downloaded Excel file usually reflects your local computer settings or the regional settings of the SharePoint site if the form was created within a Microsoft 365 Group.

Can I track how long a respondent took to complete the form?

Yes. The exported Excel results file includes both a 'Start time' and a 'Completion time' column. You can use a simple spreadsheet formula to calculate the difference between the two columns to determine the duration.

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