How to Fix Microsoft Forms Showing Previous Submission Instead of New Response
Question details
Users are encountering a problem where they cannot submit a new response to a Microsoft Forms quiz; instead, they are shown their previous submission.
- Product
- Microsoft Forms
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- A respondent attempts to take a quiz or fill out a form multiple times, assuming the form allows multiple submissions.
- Observed behavior
- The system displays the user's past response data rather than presenting a blank form to accept a new entry.
Ensure you are the owner or a co-author of the affected Microsoft Form, as you will need appropriate permissions to view and modify the form's response settings.
Disable the 'One response per person' Setting
The primary cause for this issue is that the form is configured to restrict users to a single submission.
Microsoft Forms allows creators to limit respondents to a single entry to prevent duplicate data. However, if multiple responses are expected for a quiz or survey, this setting must be explicitly disabled in the form's configuration panel.
Navigate to the Microsoft Forms dashboard and click on the specific quiz or form you want to modify.
Click the three dots (More form settings) in the top-right corner of the screen, then select 'Settings' from the dropdown menu.
Scroll down to the 'Who can fill out this form' section and uncheck the box labeled 'One response per person'.
Verify Form Sharing Scope and Test User Access
Determine whether the submission error is a widespread configuration issue or an intermittent glitch affecting only specific users.
Open a Microsoft 365 Support Ticket
If the issue intermittently affects a small group of users and cannot be reproduced locally, it may require backend investigation by Microsoft.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Microsoft Forms say I have already submitted a response?
This usually happens when the creator of the form has enabled the 'One response per person' setting, which blocks duplicate entries from the same account. It can also occasionally occur due to browser caching issues holding onto your previous session.
Does the 'One response per person' setting work for anonymous users?
No. The 'One response per person' option is only available when the form is set to 'Only people in my organization can respond' or 'Specific people in my organization can respond'. The system relies on the user's Microsoft login credentials to track whether they have already submitted a response.
Can respondents edit their answers after submitting a Microsoft Form?
By default, Microsoft Forms does not allow respondents to edit a submitted response. If a user needs to change an answer, they must submit a completely new response, assuming the form owner has allowed multiple submissions.
How do I clear my browser cache to fix submission errors?
You can clear your cache by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac) in your web browser, selecting 'Cached images and files', and clicking clear. Alternatively, opening the form in an incognito or private window will bypass the cache.
