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How to Replace the Owner of a Microsoft Form

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to replace or transfer the ownership of a Microsoft Form created by an employee who has left the organization.

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: A former employee's account is inactive, leaving their unshared Microsoft Form orphaned without a way for new users to access settings or change ownership.
Observed behavior: The inactive account remains listed as the form owner, and there is no direct option for other users to replace the owner or access the form's configuration.

Before you start

Ensure you have Microsoft 365 administrator privileges, as transferring ownership of forms from deleted or inactive accounts requires access to the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Solution 1Recommended

Restore the Deleted Account and Move the Form to a Group

If the original owner's account was deleted within the last 30 days, an administrator can temporarily restore the account to transfer the form to a Microsoft 365 group.

Microsoft Forms currently does not support changing ownership directly from one individual user to another. To retain access and management of the form, it must be moved to a shared Microsoft 365 group where multiple members can act as co-authors.

Restore the user account

Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center with administrator credentials. Navigate to 'Users' > 'Deleted users', select the former employee's account, and restore it.

Log in to Microsoft Forms

Using the restored account's credentials, sign in to Microsoft Forms (forms.office.com).

Move the form to a group

Locate the form you want to transfer. Click 'More options' (the three dots) on the form's tile, select 'Move to a group', and choose the appropriate Microsoft 365 group.

Delete the user account again

Once the form has been successfully moved to the group, return to the Microsoft 365 admin center and safely delete the user's account again.

Limitation on Ownership Transfer: You can only transfer a form's ownership to a Microsoft 365 group. Direct transfer to another individual's account is not supported by Microsoft Forms.

Solution 2

Open a Service Request for Accounts Deleted Over 30 Days Ago

Use this method if the original owner's account was deleted more than 30 days ago and can no longer be restored via the admin center.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I transfer a Microsoft Form to a specific person?

No, Microsoft Forms does not currently support transferring ownership directly from one individual user to another. You must move the form to a Microsoft 365 group to allow other users to manage it.

How long do I have to restore a deleted Microsoft 365 account?

When a Microsoft 365 account is deleted, administrators have a 30-day window to restore the account and its associated data, including Microsoft Forms. After 30 days, the data is permanently deleted.

What happens to a Microsoft Form if the owner's account is permanently deleted?

If the account is permanently deleted (after the 30-day retention period) and the form was not moved to a group, the form and its response data will be lost unless Microsoft Support can intervene through a service request.

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