How do you change the date in excel

Format numbers as dates or times

When you type a date or time in a cell, it appears in a default date and time format. This default format is based on the regional date and time settings that are specified in Control Panel, and changes when you adjust those settings in Control Panel. You can display numbers in several other date and time formats, most of which are not affected by Control Panel settings.

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Display numbers as dates or times

You can format dates and times as you type. For example, if you type 2/2 in a cell, Excel automatically interprets this as a date and displays 2-Feb in the cell. If this isn’t what you want—for example, if you would rather show February 2, 2009 or 2/2/09 in the cell—you can choose a different date format in the Format Cells dialog box, as explained in the following procedure. Similarly, if you type 9:30 a or 9:30 p in a cell, Excel will interpret this as a time and display 9:30 AM or 9:30 PM. Again, you can customize the way the time appears in the Format Cells dialog box.

On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Number.

You can also press CTRL+1 to open the Format Cells dialog box.

In the Category list, click Date or Time.

In the Type list, click the date or time format that you want to use.

Note: Date and time formats that begin with an asterisk (*) respond to changes in regional date and time settings that are specified in Control Panel. Formats without an asterisk are not affected by Control Panel settings.

To display dates and times in the format of other languages, click the language setting that you want in the Locale (location) box.

The number in the active cell of the selection on the worksheet appears in the Sample box so that you can preview the number formatting options that you selected.

Create a custom date or time format

On the Home tab, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Number.

You can also press CTRL+1 to open the Format Cells dialog box.

In the Category box, click Date or Time, and then choose the number format that is closest in style to the one you want to create. (When creating custom number formats, it’s easier to start from an existing format than it is to start from scratch.)

In the Category box, click Custom. In the Type box, you should see the format code matching the date or time format you selected in the step 3. The built-in date or time format can’t be changed or deleted, so don’t worry about overwriting it.

In the Type box, make the necessary changes to the format. You can use any of the codes in the following tables:

Days, months, and years

Months as Jan–Dec

Months as January–December

Months as the first letter of the month

Days as Sunday–Saturday

Years as 1900–9999

If you use «m» immediately after the «h» or «hh» code or immediately before the «ss» code, Excel displays minutes instead of the month.

Hours, minutes, and seconds

Minutes as 00–59

Seconds as 00–59

Time as 4:36:03 P

Elapsed time in hours; for example, 25.02

Elapsed time in minutes; for example, 63:46

Elapsed time in seconds

Fractions of a second

AM and PM If the format contains an AM or PM, the hour is based on the 12-hour clock, where «AM» or «A» indicates times from midnight until noon and «PM» or «P» indicates times from noon until midnight. Otherwise, the hour is based on the 24-hour clock. The «m» or «mm» code must appear immediately after the «h» or «hh» code or immediately before the «ss» code; otherwise, Excel displays the month instead of minutes.

Creating custom number formats can be tricky if you haven’t done it before. For more information about how to create custom number formats, see Create or delete a custom number format.

Tips for displaying dates or times

To quickly use the default date or time format, click the cell that contains the date or time, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+# or CTRL+SHIFT+@.

If a cell displays ##### after you apply date or time formatting to it, the cell probably isn’t wide enough to display the data. To expand the column width, double-click the right boundary of the column containing the cells. This automatically resizes the column to fit the number. You can also drag the right boundary until the columns are the size you want.

When you try to undo a date or time format by selecting General in the Category list, Excel displays a number code. When you enter a date or time again, Excel displays the default date or time format. To enter a specific date or time format, such as January 2010, you can format it as text by selecting Text in the Category list.

To quickly enter the current date in your worksheet, select any empty cell, and then press CTRL+; (semicolon), and then press ENTER, if necessary. To insert a date that will update to the current date each time you reopen a worksheet or recalculate a formula, type =TODAY() in an empty cell, and then press ENTER.

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Insert the current date and time in a cell

Let’s say that you want to easily enter the current date and time while making a time log of activities. Or perhaps you want to display the current date and time automatically in a cell every time formulas are recalculated. There are several ways to insert the current date and time in a cell.

Insert a static date or time into an Excel cell

A static value in a worksheet is one that doesn’t change when the worksheet is recalculated or opened. When you press a key combination such as Ctrl+; to insert the current date in a cell, Excel “takes a snapshot” of the current date and then inserts the date in the cell. Because that cell’s value doesn’t change, it’s considered static.

On a worksheet, select the cell into which you want to insert the current date or time.

Do one of the following:

To insert the current date, press Ctrl+; (semi-colon).

To insert the current time, press Ctrl+Shift+; (semi-colon).

To insert the current date and time, press Ctrl+; (semi-colon), then press Space, and then press Ctrl+Shift+; (semi-colon).

Change the date or time format

To change the date or time format, right-click on a cell, and select Format Cells. Then, on the Format Cells dialog box, in the Number tab, under Category, click Date or Time and in the Type list, select a type, and click OK.

Insert a static date or time into an Excel cell

A static value in a worksheet is one that doesn’t change when the worksheet is recalculated or opened. When you press a key combination such as Ctrl+; to insert the current date in a cell, Excel “takes a snapshot” of the current date and then inserts the date in the cell. Because that cell’s value doesn’t change, it’s considered static.

On a worksheet, select the cell into which you want to insert the current date or time.

Do one of the following:

To insert the current date, press Ctrl+; (semi-colon).

To insert the current time, press + ; (semi-colon).

To insert the current date and time, press Ctrl+; (semi-colon), then press Space, and then press + ; (semi-colon).

Change the date or time format

To change the date or time format, right-click on a cell, and select Format Cells. Then, on the Format Cells dialog box, in the Number tab, under Category, click Date or Time and in the Type list, select a type, and click OK.

Insert a static date or time into an Excel cell

A static value in a worksheet is one that doesn’t change when the worksheet is recalculated or opened. When you press a key combination such as Ctrl+; to insert the current date in a cell, Excel “takes a snapshot” of the current date and then inserts the date in the cell. Because that cell’s value doesn’t change, it’s considered static.

On a worksheet, select the cell into which you want to insert the current date or time.

Do one of the following:

To insert the date, type the date (like 2/2), and then click Home > Number Format dropdown (in the Number tab) > Short Date or Long Date.

To insert the time, type the time, and then click Home > Number Format dropdown (in the Number tab) > Time.

Change the date or time format

To change the date or time format, right-click on a cell, and select Number Format. Then, on the Number Format dialog box, under Category, click Date or Time and in the Type list, select a type, and click OK.

Insert a date or time whose value is updated

A date or time that updates when the worksheet is recalculated or the workbook is opened is considered “dynamic” instead of static. In a worksheet, the most common way to return a dynamic date or time in a cell is by using a worksheet function.

To insert the current date or time so that it is updatable, use the TODAY and NOW functions, as shown in the following example. For more information about how to use these functions, see TODAY function and NOW function.

Current date (varies)

Current date and time (varies)

Select the text in the table shown above, and then press Ctrl+C.

In the blank worksheet, click once in cell A1, and then press Ctrl+V. If you are working in Excel for the web, repeat copying and pasting for each cell in the example.

Important: For the example to work properly, you must paste it into cell A1 of the worksheet.

To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press Ctrl+` (grave accent), or on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click the Show Formulas button.

After you copy the example to a blank worksheet, you can adapt it to suit your needs.

Note: The results of the TODAY and NOW functions change only when the worksheet is calculated or when a macro that contains the function is run. Cells that contain these functions are not updated continuously. The date and time that are used are taken from the computer’s system clock.

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Change the date system, format, or two-digit year interpretation

Dates are often a critical part of data analysis. You often ask questions such as: when was a product purchased, how long will a task in a project take, or what is the average revenue for a fiscal quarter? Entering dates correctly is essential to ensuring accurate results. But formatting dates so that they are easy to understand is equally important to ensuring correct interpretation of those results.

Important: Because the rules that govern the way that any calculation program interprets dates are complex, you should be as specific as possible about dates whenever you enter them. This will produce the highest level of accuracy in your date calculations.

Excel stores dates as sequential numbers that are called serial values. For example, in Excel for Windows, January 1, 1900 is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448 because it is 39,448 days after January 1, 1900.

Excel stores times as decimal fractions because time is considered a portion of a day. The decimal number is a value ranging from 0 (zero) to 0.99999999, representing the times from 0:00:00 (12:00:00 A.M.) to 23:59:59 (11:59:59 P.M.).

Because dates and times are values, they can be added, subtracted, and included in other calculations. You can view a date as a serial value and a time as a decimal fraction by changing the format of the cell that contains the date or time to General format.

Both Excel for Mac and Excel for Windows support the 1900 and 1904 date systems. The default date system for Excel for Windows is 1900; and the default date system for Excel for Mac is 1904.

Originally, Excel for Windows was based on the 1900 date system, because it enabled better compatibility with other spreadsheet programs that were designed to run under MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, and therefore it became the default date system. Originally, Excel for Mac was based on the 1904 date system, because it enabled better compatibility with early Macintosh computers that did not support dates before January 2, 1904, and therefore it became the default date system.

The following table shows the first date and the last date for each date system and the serial value associated with each date.

January 1, 1900
(serial value 1)

December 31, 9999
(serial value 2958465)

January 2, 1904
(serial value 1)

December 31, 9999
(serial value 2957003)

Because the two date systems use different starting days, the same date is represented by different serial values in each date system. For example, July 5, 2007 can have two different serial values, depending on the date system that is used.

Serial value of July 5, 2007

The difference between the two date systems is 1,462 days; that is, the serial value of a date in the 1900 date system is always 1,462 days greater than the serial value of the same date in the 1904 date system. Conversely, the serial value of a date in the 1904 date system is always 1,462 days less than the serial value of the same date in the 1900 date system. 1,462 days is equal to four years and one day (which includes one leap day).

Important: To ensure that year values are interpreted as you intended, type year values as four digits (for example, 2001, not 01). By entering four-digit years, Excel won’t interpret the century for you.

If you enter a date with a two-digit year in a text formatted cell or as a text argument in a function, such as =YEAR(«1/1/31»), Excel interprets the year as follows:

00 through 29 is interpreted as the years 2000 through 2029. For example, if you type the date 5/28/19, Excel assumes the date is May 28, 2019.

30 through 99 is interpreted as the years 1930 through 1999. For example, if you type the date 5/28/98, Excel assumes the date is May 28, 1998.

In Microsoft Windows, you can change the way two-digit years are interpreted for all Windows programs that you have installed.

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel, and then select Control Panel.

Under Clock, Language and Region, click Change date, time, or number formats

Click Regional and Language Options.

In the Region dialog box, click Additional settings.

Click the Date tab.

In the When a two-digit year is entered, interpret it as a year between box, change the upper limit for the century.

As you change the upper-limit year, the lower-limit year automatically changes.

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Search (or if you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search), enter Control Panel in the search box, and then tap or click Control Panel.

Under Clock, Language and Region, click Change date, time, or number formats.

In the Region dialog box, click Additional settings.

Click the Date tab.

In the When a two-digit year is entered, interpret it as a year between box, change the upper limit for the century.

As you change the upper-limit year, the lower-limit year automatically changes.

Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.

Click Region and Language.

In the Region dialog box, click Additional settings.

Click the Date tab.

In the When a two-digit year is entered, interpret it as a year between box, change the upper limit for the century.

As you change the upper-limit year, the lower-limit year automatically changes.

By default, as you enter dates in a workbook, the dates are formatted to display two-digit years. When you change the default date format to a different format by using this procedure, the display of dates that were previously entered in your workbook will change to the new format as long as the dates haven’t been formatted by using the Format Cells dialog box (On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the Dialog Box Launcher).

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel, and then select Control Panel.

Under Clock, Language and Region, click Change date, time, or number formats

Click Regional and Language Options.

In the Region dialog box, click Additional settings.

Click the Date tab.

In the Short date format list, click a format that uses four digits for the year («yyyy»).

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Search (or if you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search), enter Control Panel in the search box, and then tap or click Control Panel.

Under Clock, Language and Region, click Change date, time, or number formats.

In the Region dialog box, click Additional settings.

Click the Date tab.

In the Short date format list, click a format that uses four digits for the year («yyyy»).

Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.

Click Region and Language.

In the Region dialog box, click Additional settings.

Click the Date tab.

In the Short date format list, click a format that uses four digits for the year («yyyy»).

The date system changes automatically when you open a document from another platform. For example, if you are working in Excel and you open a document that was created in Excel for Mac, the 1904 date system check box is selected automatically.

You can change the date system by doing the following:

Click File > Options > Advanced.

Under the When calculating this workbook section, select the workbook that you want, and then select or clear the Use 1904 date system check box.

You can encounter problems when you copy and paste dates or when you create external references between workbooks based on the two different date systems. Dates can appear four years and one day earlier or later than the date that you expect. You can encounter these problems whether you are using Excel for Windows, Excel for Mac, or both.

For example, if you copy the date July 5, 2007 from a workbook that uses the 1900 date system and then paste the date into a workbook that uses the 1904 date system, the date appears as July 6, 2011, which is 1,462 days later. Alternatively, if you copy the date July 5, 2007 from a workbook that uses the 1904 date system and then paste the date into a workbook that uses the 1900 date system, the date appears as July 4, 2003, which is 1,462 days earlier. For background information, see Date systems in Excel.

Correct a copy and paste problem

In an empty cell, enter the value 1462.

Select that cell, and then on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy.

Select all of the cells that contain the incorrect dates.

Tip: To cancel a selection of cells, click any cell on the worksheet. For more information, see Select cells, ranges, rows, or columns on a worksheet.

On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Paste, and then click Paste Special.

In the Paste Special dialog box, under Paste, click Values, and then under Operation, do one of the following:

To set the date as four years and one day later, click Add.

To set the date as four years and one day earlier, click Subtract.

Correct an external reference problem

If you are using an external reference to a date in another workbook with a different date system, you can modify the external reference by doing one of the following:

To set the date as four years and one day later, add 1,462 to it. For example:

To set the date as four years and one day earlier, subtract 1,462 from it. For example:

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You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

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The standard date format in the UK is different for the US. In the UK, dates are formatted dd/mm/yyyy (day/month/year), whereas in the US, dates are formatted mm/dd/yyyy (month/day/year). If you want to switch from one format to another, you can do that using the desktop and web versions of Microsoft Excel. And in this guide, we’ll show you how!

How to change the date format in Excel from mm/dd/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy (desktop):

1. Open your Excel desktop application.
2. Select the cell, row, or column that you want to change in your spreadsheet.
3. Press Ctrl+1 or click “Home,” then click the pop out icon in the “Number” section.
4. Click on “Custom” at the bottom of the left menu.
5. Select “dd/mm/yyyy” from the list.
6. Click “OK.”

How to change the date format in Excel from mm/dd/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy (web):

1. Go to office.com and open Excel.
2. Select the cell, row, or column that you want to change in your spreadsheet.
3. Press Ctrl+1 or click “Home,” click the select box in the “Number” section, then select “More Number Formats” at the bottom of the list.
4. Click the dropdown box under “Locale (Location).”
5. Select “English (United Kingdom)” from the dropdown box.
6. Then select “14/03/2012” from the “Type” list.
7. Click “OK.”

Please continue reading for a detailed, step-by-step guide on changing the date format in Excel.

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How are dates formatted in Excel?

Dates in Excel are referred to as “Serial numbers” and can be stored in long or short-form, as well as numeric values. A simple way to convert or format a date is to use the TEXT function. For example, the function =TEXT(A1, “dddd”) would return “Sunday” if the date in the “A1” cell was “01/01/2023.”

Date / Time	Format	Result
01/01/2023	d	1
01/01/2023	dd	01
01/01/2023	ddd	Sun
01/01/2023	dddd	Sunday
01/01/2023	m	1
01/01/2023	mm	01
01/01/2023	mmm	Jan
01/01/2023	mmmm	January
01/01/2023	mmmmm	J
01/01/2023	y	23
01/01/2023	yy	23
01/01/2023	yyy	2023
01/01/2023	yyyy	2023
1:05:06 AM	h	1
1:05:06 AM	hh	01
1:05:06 AM	h:m	1:5
1:05:06 AM	h:mm	1:05
1:05:06 AM	hh:mm	01:05
1:05:06 AM	s	6
1:05:06 AM	ss	06
1:05:06 AM	hh:mm:ss AM/PM	01:05:06 AM

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Method 1: Format dates using a custom format (Desktop)

To demonstrate this method, we’ve created a spreadsheet in Excel with a list of US-formatted dates. You can still follow along if the dates in your spreadsheet are listed differently. However, you will need the desktop version of Microsoft Excel for the steps below.

The same effect can be achieved in the web version of Excel using a slightly different process.

• First, open the desktop version of Excel and the workbook containing your dates.
• Then, select all the cells you want to format.

• Notes:
  • A simple way to select cells is to click and drag over them.
  • Alternatively, you can select the entire row or column.
  • Or select individual cells by pressing Ctrl + click.

• Then, with your cells selected, press Ctrl + 1 on your keyboard.
• Alternatively, click on the pop out icon in the “Number” section in the “Home” tab.

• Next, click on “Custom” at the bottom of the left menu.
• Then select “dd/mm/yyyy” from the “Type” list.
• You can also manually type in the format of your choice into the text bar.
• Click “OK” to finish.

By formatting the whole column instead of individual rows, any additional dates entered into that column will be changed from mm/dd/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy automatically. You can also use the same process to change a date from dd/mm/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy. Please view the image below:

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Method 2: How to change the date format in Excel from mm/dd/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy using a custom format (Web)

• First, go to office.com and open Excel.
• Open the workbook containing your dates.
• Select the cells that you want to format.

• Notes:
  • A simple way to select cells is to click and drag over them.
  • Alternatively, you can select the entire row or column. (1)
  • Or select individual cells by pressing Ctrl + click.

• With the cells selected, press Ctrl + 1.
• Alternatively, click the dropdown box in the “Number” section. (2)
• Then select “More Number Formats” at the bottom of the list. (3)

• Click the dropdown box under “Locale (Location).” (1)
• Select “English (United Kingdom)” from the dropdown box. (2)
• Then select “14/03/2012” from the “Type” list. (3)

• Click the “OK” button, and your dates will change from mm/dd/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy.
• To reverse the process, select “English (United States)” as the location.
• Then select “*3/14/2012” from the “Type” list.

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Method 3: How to change date format in Excel from mm/dd/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy using a formula (Desktop & Web)

If you want to change an mm/dd date to a dd/mm date in the web version of Excel, you can do that by using the TEXT function. Please follow the steps below to learn how.

• First, go to office.com and open Excel, or open your Excel desktop application.
• Open your workbook and select an empty cell on the same row or adjacent to your date.
• Then, type the following formula into the cell:

=TEXT(CELL, "dd/mm/yyyy")

Replace “CELL” with the cell address of your date (e.g., A1). If your dates are in a list, select an empty cell in the same row as the top date.

• Once you’ve typed in the formula, press the Enter key.
• Click the formula cell and hover over the corner until you see a black plus symbol.
• Then click and drag the function down next to all your dates.

The dates in Column A will automatically appear in Column B with the format changed from the US standard (mm/dd/yyyy) to the UK standard (dd/mm/yyyy).

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Method 4: Change the short date format to a long-form date in Excel with st, nd, and rd (Desktop & Web)

So far, we’ve covered how to convert an mm/dd date into a dd/mm date, but there are other interesting ways of formatting dates in Excel. You can’t add st, nd, and rd to the days of the month using a single function, but you can achieve that effect using a formula.

We’re going to turn “1/20/2023” into “Friday 20th January 2023.”

• First, go to office.com and open Excel, or open your Excel desktop application.
• Open your workbook and select an empty cell on the same row or adjacent to your date.
• Then, type the following formula into the cell:

=TEXT(CELL, "dddd d") &
IF(OR(DAY(CELL)=1, DAY(CELL)=21, DAY(CELL)=31), "st",
IF(OR(DAY(CELL)=2, DAY(CELL)=22), "nd",
IF(OR(DAY(CELL)=3, DAY(CELL)=23), "rd", "th"))) & 
TEXT(CELL, " mmmm yyyy ")

• Change “CELL” to the cell address (e.g., A1) where your first date is located.
• Then press the “Enter” key.

• Click the formula cell and hover over the corner until you see a black plus symbol.
• Then click and drag the function down next to all your dates.

The dates in Column A will automatically appear in Column B with the format changed from the US standard to a long format, including st, nd, and rd for the days of the month.

Conclusion

The best way to format mm/dd dates into dd/mm dates in Excel is to use Method 1 or 2, depending on whether you are using the desktop or web version. It would be ideal if your dates were listed in a single column, as you can format the whole column into dd/mm. That way, whenever you add a new date to the column, it will automatically change to the correct format.

Method 3 is ideal if you want to keep both the US (mm/dd) and UK (dd/mm) date formats in separate columns. But if you’re looking for readability, Method 4 is perfect!

Thank you for reading our guide.