How to change the date format in Google Sheets

You can watch a video tutorial here.

In Google Sheets, you will frequently get to work with dates. Whether you are creating or editing a Google Sheet, you can format the date to be displayed in a style of your choosing. You can either choose one of the preset formats or define your own.

Option 1 – Use a preset format

Step 1 – Choose the date format

• Select the dates to be formatted
• Go to Format > Number
• Choose one of the preset date formats

Step 2 – Check the result

• Check that the date has been formatted correctly and increase the column width, if needed, by dragging the column divider

Option 2 – Create a custom format

Step 1 – Open the Custom date and time formats window

• Select the dates to be formatted
• Go to Format > Number
• Choose Custom date and time

Step 2 – Define the date format

• Change the format for the Month to the short name and delete the Day by placing the cursor after the hyphen following the Day and pressing Backspace on the keyboard twice (to delete the hyphen as well)
• Change the hyphen between Month and Year to a forward slash (/)
• Click Apply

Step 3 – Check the result

• Check that the date has been formatted correctly and increase the column width, if needed, by dragging the column divider