Forum Discussion
SharePoint List dates (UK format) being misinterpreted in Power BI
Issue: SharePoint List dates (UK format) being misinterpreted in Power BI
I am based in the UK and using a SharePoint Online list with a Date/Time column formatted as dd/MM/yyyy (e.g. 25/02/2025 = 25th February 2025).
I initially used the “Export to Power BI” option, which created a semantic model in OneLake. When connecting to this model in Power BI Desktop, I noticed that the dates were being flipped to US format (MM/dd/yyyy), causing incorrect values and errors when the day is greater than 12. E.g. 02/25/2025 which causes the error
To resolve this, I switched to connecting directly via:
Get Data → SharePoint Online List
However, the issue still persists:
- Dates such as 25/02/2025 are being interpreted as 02/25/2025
- Dates where the day is above 12 (e.g. 13/02/2025) either error or become invalid
I attempted the following:
- Changing column type using “Using Locale → English (United Kingdom)”
- Forcing the column to Text first, then converting back to Date using UK locale
- Disabling automatic type detection in Power BI
Despite this, the dates appear to already be incorrectly interpreted before transformation steps are applied.
Question:
Where in the SharePoint → Power BI ingestion pipeline is the date format being enforced or misinterpreted, and how can I ensure UK date formats are preserved correctly when importing SharePoint list data into Power BI?
Any guidance would be appreciated.
Answer: The problem arises when Power BI ingests the data: Power Query applies type detection based on the regional settings of your operating system (or the Power BI Service environment). If that defaults to US English, dates get misinterpreted as MM/dd/yyyy even if SharePoint shows them as dd/MM/yyyy.
Resolution Steps:
Set your OS regional settings to UK (dd/MM/yyyy) so Power Query inherits the correct locale.
Remove auto “Changed Type” steps in Power Query, as they often lock in US format.
Explicitly convert using locale: in Power Query, use Change Type → Using Locale → Date → English (United Kingdom) as the first applied step.
Check Power BI Service regional settings (workspace → Settings → Regional Settings) to ensure they match UK format, otherwise refreshes may revert to US defaults.
Documentation Link for Reference:Set a locale or region for data (Power Query) - Microsoft Support
4 Replies
This usually happens because Power BI is interpreting the dates using a different locale (US instead of UK), especially when the data comes from SharePoint.
Even if SharePoint shows dd/mm/yyyy, Power BI can read it as mm/dd/yyyy if the column is treated as text or auto-converted incorrectly.
What worked for me:
Go to Power Query
Select the date column
Change Type → Using Locale
Choose Date + English (United Kingdom)That forces Power BI to interpret the dates correctly.
Also worth checking:
If the column is coming as text instead of date
If there’s an automatic “Changed Type” step early in the query (this can lock the wrong format)In short: it’s not a SharePoint issue — it’s how Power BI parses the dates. Forcing the correct locale fixes it.
Answer: The problem arises when Power BI ingests the data: Power Query applies type detection based on the regional settings of your operating system (or the Power BI Service environment). If that defaults to US English, dates get misinterpreted as MM/dd/yyyy even if SharePoint shows them as dd/MM/yyyy.
Resolution Steps:
Set your OS regional settings to UK (dd/MM/yyyy) so Power Query inherits the correct locale.
Remove auto “Changed Type” steps in Power Query, as they often lock in US format.
Explicitly convert using locale: in Power Query, use Change Type → Using Locale → Date → English (United Kingdom) as the first applied step.
Check Power BI Service regional settings (workspace → Settings → Regional Settings) to ensure they match UK format, otherwise refreshes may revert to US defaults.
Documentation Link for Reference:Set a locale or region for data (Power Query) - Microsoft Support
Hi StarsandDents ,
Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.Just wanted to check if the response provided by Juan-Power-bi was helpful. If further assistance is needed, please reach out.
Thank you.Hi StarsandDents ,
We wanted to kindly follow up regarding your query. If you need any further assistance, please reach out.
Thank you.
