Change date to American date format in Excel (Easy tutorial)

Working in a multinational corporation often involves dealing with data from various countries, each with its unique date formats. If you're in America and receive spreadsheets formatted with non-American date styles, it's crucial to convert these to formats you're familiar with. This article will guide you through the process of adjusting various international date formats to the American style in Excel, ensuring your data remains consistent and easily understandable across your organization.

Change date formats with the Format Cells feature
Quickly apply any date formats with Kutools for Excel
Change date formats with formula

Change date formats with the Format Cells feature

With the Format Cells feature, you can efficiently convert dates into the American format (typically mm/dd/yyyy), making the data easier to interpret for anyone based in the US or working with American reporting standards. This approach is well suited for datasets where Excel already recognizes the entries as valid dates, and no underlying data corruption or inconsistencies exist.

1. Select the range you want to change date format, then right-click and choose Format Cells from the context menu. See screenshot:

2. In the Format Cells dialog box:

• Select the Number tab.
• Choose Date from the category list.
• Specify which country’s date formats you want to use from Locale (location) drop-down list. To apply the standard US format, select "English (United States)".
• Select the date format from Type list. The mm/dd/yyyy format is the default for the United States.

3. Click OK. It will apply the date format to the range. See screenshots:

Quickly apply any date formats with Kutools for Excel

Managing large datasets or updating date formats across multiple sheets can become tedious using standard Excel features alone. Kutools for Excel introduces batch date format conversion capabilities, allowing users to quickly standardize date presentation throughout the workbook. This tool is especially useful when you frequently handle data from varying sources or work collaboratively with teams in different regions.

1. Select the range you want to change date formats in your worksheet, then click Kutools > Format > Apply Date Formatting. See screenshot:

2. In the Apply Date Formatting dialog box, choose the proper date format you need. Here, you can directly select the American style (mm/dd/yyyy), or define your own custom format for specialized reporting. Then click the OK or Apply button to complete the conversion.

The date format of all selected cells will now be updated as specified.

Kutools also handles conversion of text-based dates or regional formats, streamlining the process even further. If you encounter cells that remain unchanged, it is recommended to use the “Convert to Date” utility as shown below, which specifically addresses text-formatted dates and ambiguous date entries.

Change date formats with formula

For users who want more control or need to automate date reformatting, Excel's formulas provide a flexible alternative to manual formatting. This approach is especially useful for converting date strings, correcting format inconsistencies, or producing results that remain dynamic with source data changes. The formula method is recommended when you need to convert imported text dates or want to retain the original column for reference.

1. In a blank cell, input the formula:

=TEXT(A1,"mm/dd/yyyy")

For example, enter this formula in cell B1 if your date data is in cell A1. This transforms the value in A1 into the mm/dd/yyyy format, even if the original date is recognized in a different style.

2. Press Enter. Next, select cell B1 and drag the fill handle down or across to apply the formula to other necessary cells. This will populate a new column with the dates in American format. See screenshot:

The guide details methods to convert international date formats to American standards in Excel. It introduces Excel's Format Cells feature, formula and the Convert to Date utility from Kutools for Excel. These tools allow users to adapt date formats quickly. If you're interested in exploring more Excel tips and tricks, our website offers thousands of tutorials.

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