In this article, we’re going to show you 5 methods of how to use formula to change date format in Excel. Our sample dataset contains data of 6 people. It has 3 columns: Name, DOB, and Format. Our aim is to change the format using the Excel formula.
How to Use Formula to Change Date Format in Excel: 5 Methods
1. Change Date Format in Excel Using the TEXT Function
In this method, we’ll use the TEXT function to format date in Excel. We’re going to format each cell in a unique format. Let’s jump into the action.
Steps:
- Type the following formula in cell D5.
=TEXT(C5,"mm/dd/yyyy")
Here, we’re converting the date value into a text value using the TEXT function. For the format, we’re providing the “mm/dd/yyyy” part. That is, two-digit for months, dates, and four-digit for years.
- Press ENTER.
Our date will convert to our predefined format.
Now, we can format the cells in other ways too. The formula is shown on the right side for each of the date formats.
Read More: How to Convert Date to Text YYYYMMDD
2. Applying Combined Functions to Change Date Format in Excel
We’re going to use DATE, LEFT, MID, and RIGHT functions to change the date format in Excel in this method. Notice, that our first two values are in number format (right alignment) and the other four values are in text format (left alignment).
At first, we’re going to change the date format for the first two values.
Steps:
- Type the following formula in cell D5.
=DATE(LEFT(C5,4),MID(C5,5,2),RIGHT(C5,2))
- Then, press ENTER.
The LEFT, MID, and RIGHT functions extract data from a cell. Our initial cell value was 19820321. Outputs will be like these:
- LEFT(C5,4) >>> 1982 [First 4 values from left side].
- MID(C5,5,2) >>> 03 [First 2 values from position 5].
- RIGHT(C5,2) >>> 21 [First 2 values from right side].
Then, our formula will become, DATE(1982,03,21). The format is DATE(YEAR,MONTH,DAY). Thus, we have changed our date into another format.
- Use Fill Handle to AutoFill the formula into cell D6.
Now, we’ll format the next 4 cells.
- First, type the formula from below to cell D7.
=DATE(RIGHT(C7,4),MID(C7,4,2),LEFT(C7,2))
- Press ENTER.
Our, formula is slightly changed in this case. Notice the original date format, “dd.mm.yyyy”. If you didn’t understand, this formula was explained above, please go through it again.
- Finally, use the Fill Handle to AutoFill the formula down.
In conclusion, we’ve changed the date formats using a formula. This is what the final step should look like.
Related Content: How to Convert Date to Number in Excel
3. Utilizing the SUBSTITUTE and DATE Functions to Change Date Format in Excel
A combination of SUBSTITUTE and DATE functions will be used here to change the date format. Our dates are in text format.
Steps:
- Type the following formula in cell D5.
=DATE(YEAR(SUBSTITUTE(C5,".","-")),MONTH(SUBSTITUTE(C5,".","-")),DAY(SUBSTITUTE(C5,".","-")))
Notice, we’ve SUBSTITUTE(C5,”.”,”-“) three times in our formula. This replaces the dot “.” with a dash “–”, in order to make the text format into a date format. The DATE function will convert it into the date format. Otherwise, we may get serial numbers instead.
- Press ENTER.
- Finally, use the Fill Handle to apply the formula to other cells.
Thus, we change the date format using the SUBSTITUTE and DATE functions.
Similar Readings:
- How to Convert Date to Julian Date in Excel
- How to Convert Date to Month in Excel
- How to Convert Date to Year in Excel
- How to Convert Date to Week Number of Month in Excel
4. Change Date Format in Excel by Applying the CONCATENATE and DAY Functions
We’re going to use CONCATENATE, DAY, MONTH, and YEAR functions to change the date format. Let’s start.
Steps:
- First, type the formula from below in cell D5.
=CONCATENATE(DAY(C5),"/",MONTH(C5),"/",YEAR(C5))
In this case, we’re taking the day, month, and year values from cell C5 and attaching them with a forward slash “/” to change our date format.
- Then, press ENTER.
Our date will be changed to “dd/mm/yyyy” format.
- Finally, use Fill Handle to use that formula up to cell D10.
So, we’ve used the CONCATENATE function to change the date formats.
Read More: How to Convert Date to Month and Year in Excel
5. Using the Ampersand and DAY Function to Change Date Format in Excel
In this case, we’re going to use the Ampersand and the DAY, MONTH, YEAR functions to change the date format in Excel. Notice, this time, we’ve our dates in serial number format.
Steps:
- First, type the following formula in cell D5.
=MONTH(C5)&"."&DAY(C5)&"."&YEAR(C5)
We’re joining the cells with a dot (“.”) using the Ampersand. Moreover, we’ve chosen to keep the date format in “m.d.yyyy” as a text format (left alignment).
- Press ENTER.
- Finally, use the Fill Handle to use the formula in the below cells.
Our goal of changing the date format using a formula is complete.
Read More: How to Convert Date to Day of Week in Excel
Practice Section
We’ve provided a practice dataset for your convenience in the Excel file. You can try out those and follow along with our step-by-step guide.
Download Practice Workbook
Conclusion
We’ve shown you 5 methods to change the date format in Excel using formula. If you face any problems regarding this article, feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading, keep excelling!
Hi,
Need Help Here Pls
I have different date format as below in same column,
Need formula to change as DD MMM YYYY
Query Need result as
02/09/2010 02 Sep 2010
11/03/2023 11 Mar 2023
16/03/2023 16 Mar 2023
40423 04 Apr 2023
4042023 04 Apr 2023
20230404 04 Apr 2023
Thanks, LOKESH for your query. In Excel, if you want to convert different date formats into a specific date format with a single formula, the formula will be rather long and complicated. However, you can create a custom function using the following VBA code to do your task.

Code Syntax:
Here, I have created a Custom Function named FormatDate. Then, I apply the function to different date formats that you provided. Here is the result.

Hopefully, it will solve your problem. If you face problems anymore, feel free to post them on our Exceldemy Forum.
Regards
Aniruddah