MS Form has disappeared - can I recover the form and the 80+ completions?

Question

MS Form has disappeared - can I recover the form and the 80+ completions?

Pauline Salomons 0

Hi, we used MS Forms for applications for a development course. We have 80+ applicants already, but on Friday somehow the form disappeared completely. No form for remaining applicants to complete, not database of the applications already received. Can this be reversed?

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

It was set up by someone on the project team several years ago and we have been updating it each year as we liked the format and functionality. That person left the organisation earlier this year, although had moved role and hadn't been involved in the project team for 2 years.

I had access and can still see the tile on my recent and favourited forms, but when I click through (or applicants click the URL we sent them) it says 'form does not exist'. I can't see it in the recycle bin. Several people had access to make amendments and it worked for a few years, until Friday.

BTW is the MS Administrator my colleague or someone from from MS?

Answer 2

Ana Le 1,890 Independent Advisor

Hi,

Sorry to hear that, especially with more than 80 applications already submitted.

If this is a Microsoft Forms for Business form, there are a few possibilities:

Please make sure you’re signed in with the same Microsoft 365 work or school account that originally created the form.
If the form was created as a Group form, check whether you’re still a member of that Microsoft 365 Group or Team.
If someone with edit access deleted the form, or if the owner account was removed, the form and its responses may no longer appear.

Could you let me know:

Was this a personal form or a Group form?
Are you the original owner of the form?
Do you see the form under My forms or Group forms, or is it missing from both?

If the form has been deleted, unfortunately there isn’t a self-service option to restore it from the Forms interface.

Since this is a Microsoft 365 Business environment and the form contains important business data, I recommend contacting your Microsoft 365 administrator as soon as possible. They can open a support request with Microsoft Support to determine whether the form or its responses can be recovered based on your tenant’s backend data.

Please let me know the answers to the questions above, and I’ll be happy to help narrow down the cause.

Pauline Salomons 0 Reputation points

2026-07-27T11:31:59.29+00:00

It was set up by someone on the project team several years ago and we have been updating it each year as we liked the format and functionality. That person left the organisation earlier this year, although had moved role and wasn't involved in our project team.

I had had access and can still see the tile on my recent and favourited forms, but when I click through (or applicant click the user URL) it says 'form does not exsit'. I can't see it in the recycle bin. Several of us had access to the file to make amendments and download the applications etc since she moved on, so it's strange that the issue started on Friday when it had been running fine for a few years.

Will the MS Administrator be a colleague from my company or from MS?
Ana Le 1,890 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-28T07:28:49.5766667+00:00

Thank you for the additional details. That helps clarify the situation.

The Microsoft 365 administrator would be someone within your own organisation (your IT administrator), rather than Microsoft directly.

Since the form was originally created by a former employee and now returns "form does not exist" for both collaborators and applicants, it suggests the form may have been deleted or become unavailable at the service level. Unfortunately, collaborators can't recover a deleted form themselves.

I recommend contacting your Microsoft 365 administrator as soon as possible. They can open a support request with Microsoft on your organization's behalf. Microsoft Support can then investigate whether the form and its responses are still recoverable from the backend.

If you're not sure who your Microsoft 365 administrator is, this Microsoft article explains how to identify the appropriate person in your organization: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin?

Given that the form contained over 80 submissions and only stopped working recently, I'd encourage your administrator to raise the support request as soon as possible, as the chances of recovery are generally better the sooner the issue is investigated.

I hope this helps, and I hope your administrator is able to get the form recovered.