To change the date format in Excel, select your date cells, open Home > Number Format, and choose Short Date or Long Date. For a specific pattern, open Format Cells and choose a built-in or custom date format. Formatting changes how a recognized date looks while keeping its underlying date value.
These steps cover Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2024, with separate directions for the web and mobile apps. The Windows regional settings steps use Windows 11 menus.
The short version
- Fastest option: Select your dates and choose Home > Number Format > Short Date or Long Date.
- Exact appearance: Use Format Cells > Custom on desktop to enter a pattern such as
yyyy-mm-dd. - Browser limitation: Excel for the web offers date presets but requires desktop Excel to create a custom format through the formatting interface.
- Unchanged dates: Convert dates stored as text into recognized date values before applying a date format.
| Method | Use it for | Main catch |
|---|---|---|
| Ribbon date presets | A quick date display | Limited to available presets |
| Date keyboard shortcut | A predefined day-month-year format | Cannot specify a pattern |
| Format Cells | More built-in date formats | Desktop controls |
| Locale (location) | Another region’s date conventions | Does not repair an incorrect date value |
| Custom format | An exact date pattern | Requires a recognized date value |
| Web date-format options | Available formats and locales | No custom-format creation through the formatting interface |
| iPhone and iPad formatting | Available mobile date formats | Choices depend on the interface |
| Android formatting | Available mobile date formats | Choices depend on the interface |
| Format Painter | Matching another cell on Windows | Copies other formatting too |
| Paste formatting | Matching cells without replacing values | Copies other formatting too |
| Windows regional settings | System date defaults | Fixed formats do not follow regional changes |
| Mac regional settings | System date conventions and order | Fixed formats do not follow regional changes |
| Web regional settings | Your personal regional default | Requires Microsoft-hosted files and third-party cookies |
DATEVALUE | Converting recognized date text | Depends on regional interpretation |
| Text to Columns | Parsing a specified date order | You must choose the source order |
| Widen the column | Dates displaying ##### | Helps when width is the cause |
| Apply a date format to serial numbers | Recognized dates displayed as numbers | Changes appearance, not the stored value |
| Chart axis formatting | Dates displayed on a chart axis | Uses separate axis controls |
Choose a short or long date from the ribbon
Select the cell or range containing your dates. On Windows or in Excel for the web, open Home, expand Number Format, then select Short Date or Long Date. On Mac, select the cells and open Home > Number Format, then choose the date format you want from the previews.
Use these presets when you do not need a specific arrangement of days, months, and years. For an exact pattern, use the desktop Custom controls described below.
You can also select the date cells and press Ctrl + Shift + #, which is Ctrl + Shift + 3 on a US keyboard. This applies Excel’s predefined day-month-year format without letting you specify your own pattern. Keyboard layouts can change the physical keys required.
Find more date formats in Format Cells
Select your dates and press Ctrl + 1 on Windows or Command + 1 on Mac. In Format Cells, select the Number tab and choose Date under Category. Select the desired entry under Type, then select OK.
You can reach the same controls with the mouse. On Windows, right-click the selected cells and choose Format Cells…; on Mac, open Home > Format > Format cells. Select Number > Date, choose your format, then select OK.
To use another region’s date conventions for the selected cells, choose the desired language or region under Locale (location). Select a format under Type and choose OK. This changes the selected dates’ display but does not repair an incorrectly interpreted date value.
Create an exact custom date pattern
Desktop Excel lets you specify the order, separators, and detail in a date display. Select the cells, open Format Cells, and select Number > Custom. Enter your format code in Type, then select OK.
Use yyyy-mm-dd for a year-month-day display, dd/mm/yyyy for day-month-year, or mm/dd/yyyy for month-day-year. Each of these patterns displays a four-digit year.
For a more descriptive date, enter dddd, mmmm d, yyyy to include the full weekday and month names. You can use this pattern when you make a calendar in Excel and want readable date labels. Apply it to recognized date values so they remain usable as dates.
A custom display cannot decide what an ambiguous entry originally meant. Changing the format of 03/04/2026 cannot establish whether you intended March 4 or April 3. When the stored date is wrong, correct its interpretation before choosing its appearance.
Change dates in the web and mobile apps
In Excel for the web, select the cells and open Home > Number Format > More number formats.... Under Category, choose Date, select the desired Locale and available date format, then select OK. Use these controls when the ribbon’s short and long date presets do not suit your needs.
Microsoft says you cannot create custom number formats through the web formatting interface. With desktop Excel available, select Open in Excel, select your dates, and open Format Cells. Select Custom, enter the code under Type, select OK, and save the workbook.
On iPhone or iPad, select the cell, show the ribbon when it is collapsed, and open Home > Number Format to choose a date format. On Android, select the cell, open More options if necessary, then choose Home > Number Format and select a date format. Your available date choices depend on the mobile interface.
Match a date format already in your workbook
When another cell already looks right, you can copy its formatting. On Windows, select that cell, choose Home > Format Painter, then select or drag across the destination dates. Double-click Format Painter for multiple selections and press Esc when finished.
For a paste-based method on Windows, copy the correctly formatted cell and select the destination dates. Choose Home > Paste > Formatting, or press Ctrl + Alt + V, select Formats, then select OK. The destination values stay in place.
On Mac, select the source cell and choose Home > Copy, then select the destination cells and choose Home > Paste > Formatting. In the web app, copy the source cell, select the destination cells, and use Home > Paste > Paste Formatting. These methods copy other cell formatting too, so use them when the surrounding appearance should match.
Change the regional date defaults
Change regional settings when you want different default date conventions. Desktop date formats marked with an asterisk respond to regional changes. Fixed formats do not, so an existing custom pattern may stay the same after you change your region.
On Windows 11, press Windows + I to open Settings, then select Time & language > Language & region. Choose the desired Regional format. To adjust the available date patterns, expand Regional format and select Change formats.
On Mac, open the Apple menu > System Settings > General > Language & Region. Choose Region for regional conventions, or use Date format to choose the date order. Excel uses the Mac’s system regional defaults.
In Excel for the web, open File > Options > Regional Settings, choose a region, and select Change. The browser session refreshes, and the preference affects your view rather than other people’s views. This setting requires a file stored on Microsoft hosts and third-party cookies enabled.
Convert text dates when formatting does nothing
A date stored as text needs conversion before a date number format can change its appearance. On Windows, enter the following formula in an empty cell formatted as General, replacing A2 with the original date cell.
=DATEVALUE(A2)Press Enter, fill the formula down for additional dates, and apply your desired date format to the results. Conversion depends on Excel recognizing the input and interpreting its regional order correctly, so check that the converted dates are right first. To replace the originals, copy the converted results, select the original text-date cells, and choose Home > Paste > Paste Special > Values, then apply the date format.
For text in a different date order, use the desktop Text to Columns wizard. Select the text-date column and choose Data > Text to Columns > Next > Next. Under Column data format, select Date, choose the order matching the original text, and select Finish.
The order you choose in that wizard describes the input, not the final display. After conversion, apply the date format you want through Number Format or Format Cells.
Fix dates that still look wrong
If your cell shows #####, widen the column and check the displayed date again. You do not need to change the date format when column width is the only issue.
If your cell displays a date serial number, apply a date format through Home > Number Format. Choosing General can expose the serial number behind a recognized date, which is separate from its formatted appearance. Do not switch the workbook’s 1900 or 1904 date system to change how dates look, because that changes date interpretation.
Chart labels have their own number-format controls. When you make a graph in Excel, select its date axis and choose Format > Format Selection, then expand Number and choose the desired Category and date format. Select Linked to source when the axis should follow the worksheet’s formatting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you turn an Excel date into formatted text?
Enter =TEXT(A2,"yyyy-mm-dd") in another cell and press Enter, replacing A2 and the format code as needed. Fill the formula down for additional dates. The result is text, so keep the original date when you still need it for date calculations.
How do you stop Excel from changing an entry into a date?
Before entering the value, select the cells and choose Home > Number Format > Text. Alternatively, prefix an individual entry with an apostrophe, such as '2026-10-16. Existing entries may need to be retyped, and the resulting values are text rather than calculable dates.
Can Excel for Mac preserve four-digit years when you enter dates?
Open Excel > Preferences... > Edit, then under Date Options, select Preserve display of dates entered with four-digit years. This controls the display of newly entered dates with four-digit years.
How do you change the date format in a PivotTable value field?
On Windows, right-click a value in the relevant PivotTable field and select Value Field Settings > Number Format. In Format Cells, select Number, choose Date or Custom, set the pattern, then select OK twice. This applies to a date-valued summary such as Min or Max; grouped row labels are a different case.
Can you save a date format for repeated use?
In desktop Excel, select Home > Cell Styles > New Cell Style. Enter a Style name, select Format, choose the date number format, and select OK twice. Select the destination cells and apply the saved style through Home > Cell Styles.