The quickest way to change how dates look

To change a date format in Excel, select the cells holding the dates, right-click, choose Format Cells, click the Number tab, select Date from the Category list on the left, then pick the format you want from the list on the right. Click OK. The dates themselves don't change — only how they display on your screen.

This works whether your dates are already formatted as dates or whether Excel is treating them as text. The method is the same across Excel on Windows, Mac, and the web version.

Key Takeaways

  • Select your date cells, right-click, and choose Format Cells to open the formatting dialog where all date options live.
  • The Date category in the Number tab shows dozens of preset formats, from 1/15/2024 to January 15, 2024 to 2024-01-15.
  • You can create a custom format using codes like YYYY for four-digit year, MM for month, and DD for day if none of the presets match what you need.
  • Changing the format does not change the actual date value stored in the cell, only how it appears when you look at the spreadsheet.
  • If dates appear as numbers like 45000, they are stored correctly but formatted as numbers instead of dates — the Format Cells method fixes this.

Step-by-step: using the Format Cells dialog

Start by clicking on any cell that holds a date. Then hold Shift and click on the last date cell you want to change — this selects the whole range at once. If your dates are scattered, hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each cell individually.

Right-click anywhere in your selection. A menu appears. Click Format Cells — it's usually near the bottom. The Format Cells dialog opens. Make sure you're on the Number tab (it's the first one). On the left side under Category, click Date.

The middle column now shows a list of date formats. Scroll through and click the one you want. The preview at the bottom shows how your dates will look. Once you find it, click OK. Your dates now display in that format.

Common date formats and when to use them

Excel offers formats for nearly every way people write dates. M/D/YYYY (like 1/15/2024) is the US standard. D/M/YYYY (like 15/1/2024) is standard in the UK, Australia, and most of Europe. YYYY-MM-DD (like 2024-01-15) is used in databases and international contexts because it sorts correctly alphabetically.

If you want the month spelled out, formats like January 15, 2024 or 15 January 2024 are available. Some formats include the day of the week: Monday, January 15, 2024. Others show only the month and year: January 2024. Scroll the list to see all options — there are usually 15 to 20 presets for each language setting.

The format you choose should match how your audience expects to read dates. If you're sending a spreadsheet to someone in another country, check what format they use before you send it.

Creating a custom date format

If none of the preset formats match what you need, you can build your own. In the Format Cells dialog, after clicking Date in the Category list, look at the bottom of the dialog for a field labeled Type. This shows the code for the currently selected format — something like m/d/yyyy.

Click in that field and edit it. Use these codes: YYYY or YY for the year (four digits or two), MM for the month as a number, MMM for the month as a three-letter abbreviation (Jan, Feb), MMMM for the full month name, DD for the day, and DDDD for the full day name. Separate them with slashes, hyphens, spaces, or any character you want.

For example, DD-MMM-YYYY produces 15-Jan-2024. MMMM D, YYYY produces January 15, 2024. Type your custom code and click OK. Excel applies it to your selected cells. If you make a mistake, the dialog tells you the format is invalid — just fix it and try again.

Why dates sometimes show as numbers

If your dates appear as long numbers like 45000 or 45287, Excel is storing them correctly but displaying them as numbers instead of dates. This usually happens when you paste dates from another program or when a column is too narrow to show the full date.

First, try widening the column. Double-click the border between two column headers to auto-fit the width. If that doesn't fix it, the cells are genuinely formatted as numbers. Select them, right-click, choose Format Cells, click Date in the Category list, pick a format, and click OK. The numbers convert to readable dates.

If the dates still show as numbers after you format them as dates, the original data may have been text that looks like a number. Copy the cells, use Paste Special (Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows, Cmd+Shift+V on Mac), and choose Values. Then format them as dates again.

Formatting dates in Excel Online

Excel Online (the web version you access through Microsoft 365) uses the same method. Select your date cells, right-click, and choose Format Cells. The dialog looks slightly different but works the same way: click the Number tab, choose Date from the Category list, pick your format, and click OK.

One difference: Excel Online has fewer custom format options than the desktop version. If you need a very specific format, you may need to use the desktop app. But for standard formats — US dates, European dates, ISO dates, spelled-out months — the web version has everything you need.

Dates that won't change format

Sometimes you select cells, explore a date format, and nothing changes. This usually means the cells contain text that looks like a date, not an actual date value. Excel stores real dates as numbers (the number of days since January 1, 1900). Text that looks like a date is just text.

To fix this, you need to convert the text to real dates first. Select the cells, go to the Data tab at the top, and look for Text to Columns. Click it. A wizard opens. Click Next twice to get to the third step, make sure Date is selected in the Column data format section, and click Finish. Excel converts the text to dates. Now you can format them normally.

Alternatively, create a helper column with a formula like =DATEVALUE(A1) in cell B1, where A1 holds your text date. Copy the formula down, then copy the results and paste them back into column A as values. Delete the helper column. This converts text dates to real dates that you can format.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing the date format change the actual date in the cell?

No. The date value stays the same. Only the display changes. If a cell holds January 15, 2024, and you format it as 01/15/2024, the underlying date is still January 15, 2024. If you change the format to 2024-01-15, the date hasn't moved — it just looks different.

Can I explore one format to some dates and a different format to other dates in the same spreadsheet?

Yes. Select only the cells you want to change, then format them. Other cells keep their original format. You can have one column showing 1/15/2024 and another showing January 15, 2024 in the same sheet.

What if I want dates to show the time as well?

In the Format Cells dialog, look for a category called Date Time or Time depending on your Excel version. These categories include formats that show both the date and the time, like 1/15/2024 2:30 PM. Pick the one you want and click OK.

How do I format dates that are in different columns differently?

Select the first column of dates, format it, then select the second column and format it separately. You can also select multiple non-adjacent columns by holding Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and clicking each column header, but they will all receive the same format. To use different formats, format each column one at a time.

Why does my date format look different when I print the spreadsheet?

Check your print settings. Some printers or print drivers override cell formatting. Before printing, go to File > Print Preview to see how the dates will look on paper. If they're wrong, cancel the print, reformat the cells, and try again. You can also adjust the print format separately from the screen format using Page Setup options.