Restore a deleted Microsoft Form or recover lost responses

If a Microsoft Form or its responses are missing, the quickest fixes are to check the Forms home (My forms) and the OneDrive/SharePoint Recycle Bin for the linked workbook and restore from there. If the form owner’s account was deleted or the file isn’t in recycle bins, contact your Microsoft 365 admin quickly because some restores require tenant actions and are time-limited.

My form or responses are gone — what exact symptom am I seeing?

Entire form no longer appears in My forms or a shared group.

When this happens: the form object itself was likely deleted or its owner account was removed.

Form still listed but response count is zero or responses you expect are missing.

When this happens: the form exists but responses weren't saved to the linked workbook or the linked workbook was changed or deleted.

You can open the form but the "Open in Excel" file is gone or the Excel file in OneDrive/SharePoint was deleted.

When this happens: the Forms service may still have responses, but the persistent Excel copy was removed; the Excel file follows OneDrive or SharePoint recycle bin rules.

The form belonged to a colleague who no longer exists in Azure AD.

When this happens: forms owned by deleted users are harder to recover; an admin may need to restore the user or recover files from tenant backup or second-stage recycle bins.

Why this matters: each scenario uses a different storage and recovery system—Forms UI, OneDrive/SharePoint Recycle Bin, or tenant admin restores—so identify the exact symptom to follow the right recovery path.

Does this recovery method apply to me?

Product and versions: applies to Microsoft Forms for personal Microsoft accounts and Microsoft 365 work or school accounts. Storage and recovery behavior differs between them.

Privileges needed:

• Personal Forms: you act as the account owner and can only use your personal OneDrive recycle bin.
• Work/school Forms: the form owner can restore some items; tenant admins can perform user restores, access second-stage recycle bins, or apply retention and backup tools.

Restart or backup involved: no restart is required for the steps below. Backup or tenant-level retention may be required if files or accounts are permanently deleted.

Safe checks to run first:

• Confirm you are signed into the correct account in Forms (top-right avatar).
• Check Forms home (My forms) and any Team or Group where the form lived.
• Search OneDrive/SharePoint Recycle Bin for the Excel workbook name.

How account type changes options:

• Work/school accounts: you can often self-restore forms and linked files via SharePoint/OneDrive recycle bins; tenant admins can restore deleted users or use retention tools.
• Personal accounts: recovery is limited to the personal OneDrive Recycle Bin; Microsoft support usually cannot restore deleted personal Forms themselves.

If you are not the owner, ask the owner to restore or contact your Microsoft 365 admin.

If you deleted the whole form: step-by-step restore options

Start with the least disruptive actions and escalate to admin actions only if needed.

1. Check Forms home (My forms).

Open https://forms.office.com and click "My forms" then look for "Recently deleted" if visible.

Expected result: deleted forms may appear under Recently deleted; use Restore. If you don’t see it, continue to the next step.

2. Check the Microsoft 365 Group, Team, or SharePoint site where the form was created.

• If the form belonged to a Team or Group, open the Team’s Forms tab or the Group’s SharePoint site and check for group-owned forms.

Expected result: group forms show in the Group or Team. If not present, continue.

3. If a linked Excel workbook was deleted, restore it from OneDrive or SharePoint Recycle Bin.

In OneDrive or the SharePoint site: Recycle bin (left nav) → select file → Restore

Expected result: the workbook is restored to its original location and the linked responses reappear in the workbook. If the workbook is permanently deleted, you will need admin support or backups.

4. Admin restore for a deleted user's forms (admin only).

Tenant admin actions affect user accounts and should follow your IT policy.

Restore-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName user@domain.com

Expected result: restoring the user account may restore ownership links so the admin can export or transfer forms. If the user is beyond the directory recycle period, recovery may require tenant backups or may not be possible.

If none of the above works, ask your Microsoft 365 admin to check retention, litigation hold, second-stage recycle bins, or tenant backups. Personal accounts without a suitable file in OneDrive rarely have additional restore options.

If responses or the linked Excel file are missing: what to do

If the form exists but responses are missing or the Excel file was deleted, follow these steps.

1. Open the form and check Responses in Forms.

Forms home → open your form → Responses tab → check response count

Expected result: the Responses tab shows how many responses Forms has. If the count is non-zero but Excel is empty, go to step 2.

2. Use "Open in Excel" to get the latest response export.

Responses tab → button "Open in Excel"

Expected result: for personal accounts this downloads an Excel file; for work/school accounts it opens or creates a workbook in OneDrive or the SharePoint document library connected to the form.

3. If the Excel workbook was deleted, restore it from the correct Recycle Bin.

OneDrive (or SharePoint site) → Recycle bin → find workbook → Restore

Expected result: workbook returns to its original folder and shows collected responses. If it’s not in the user’s recycle bin, an admin can check the site collection (second-stage) recycle bin or tenant backups.

4. Alternative when Excel cannot be recovered:

• From the Responses tab, use the built-in export to download current responses or copy/paste the response table into a new workbook.
• Ask collaborators for any shared copies of the workbook.

The live response count in Forms may differ from a previously downloaded workbook; use "Open in Excel" from Responses to get the current export.

How to confirm you’ve successfully recovered the form or responses

1. Check the form list and ownership.

Forms home → My forms → confirm the form appears and the Owner column or avatar is correct

Expected result: the form appears under My forms or the correct Group and shows the intended owner.

2. Confirm response counts in the Responses tab.

Open form → Responses → verify response count matches expected number

Expected result: the count equals what you expect. If counts differ, open the Excel file and compare row totals.

3. Open the restored Excel and check modification timestamps and row counts.

Open workbook in Excel Online or desktop → File > Info for last modified and row totals

Expected result: timestamps reflect the restore or last modification and rows match the response count.

4. Test sharing and permissions.

• Open the form via the original share link and submit a test response if appropriate.
• Verify collaborators can access the form and the linked workbook.

If any check fails, the restore may be incomplete or you may be viewing a different copy; repeat the appropriate restore step or involve your admin.

How to avoid this happening again

Practical steps you can take immediately and what admins can configure.

• Assign co-owners: add at least one trusted colleague as co-owner so the form isn’t lost if an account is deleted.
• Store response workbooks on a shared OneDrive or SharePoint location rather than a single user’s personal OneDrive.
• Regular exports: periodically export responses to a timestamped Excel copy and store copies in a shared folder or backup location.
• Use group ownership for department or class forms instead of personal ownership.

What admins can do:

• Configure retention or backup policies that include OneDrive/SharePoint content and deleted users.
• Use user-deletion workflows that transfer ownership of important content before removing accounts.
• Educate staff on Forms ownership and shared storage practices.

These steps reduce single points of failure and speed recovery when mistakes happen.

Conclusion

If you can sign into the form owner account, check Forms and the correct OneDrive/SharePoint Recycle Bin first. If the owner account was deleted or files aren’t in recycle bins, contact your Microsoft 365 admin quickly—tenant restores, second-stage recycle bins, or backups may be required and are time-limited. After recovery, add co-owners and move response files to shared storage to prevent future loss.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do deleted forms or files stay recoverable?

Retention windows vary: OneDrive and SharePoint Recycle Bins typically keep deleted files for a limited period, and Azure AD retains deleted users for a configurable period before permanent removal. Exact time limits depend on your tenant settings; check with your Microsoft 365 admin if you’re unsure.

Can Microsoft support restore a deleted personal Form?

Microsoft support generally cannot restore a deleted form itself for personal accounts beyond what's available in your personal OneDrive Recycle Bin. For work/school accounts, tenant admins have more recovery options and can escalate to Microsoft support with tenant details.

What if the form belonged to a teacher who left and their account was deleted?

Contact your Microsoft 365 admin immediately. The admin can try to restore the deleted user account (directory recycle) or recover files from the SharePoint second-stage recycle bin or tenant backups. If the deletion is already permanent, recovery may require backups or may not be possible.

Why do my Forms and Excel response counts sometimes differ?

Forms keeps a live count; the linked Excel file is a persisted export. If responses were received after the last export or if the Excel file was replaced, counts can differ. Use "Open in Excel" from the Responses tab to get the current export.