Facebook date format changing on the same leadform

[Map]

Your Workflow URL

https://connect.pabbly.com/workflow/mapping/IjU3NjYwNTY0MDYzMTA0Mzc1MjZjNTUzNTUxMzYi_pc

Your Task History ID

IjU3NjUwNTZhMDYzMzA0M2Q1MjZjNTUzNTUxMzY1MTZhNTQzODBmMzci_pc

Consent to Access & Modify

I authorize Pabbly Support to log in to my account and make changes to the specified workflow for troubleshooting.

Hi,

I am wondering why Facebook sends us leads with different date format for the same FORM ID. Is there something that we can do on our side ?

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @Map,

Could you please share the specific task history IDs where you noticed the date being received in a different format from Meta’s end? Additionally, kindly confirm the exact field in which this date is being captured. If possible, sharing a screenshot would also help us understand the issue better.

 

[Map]

Sure,

Here is a correct task ID : IjU3NjUwNTZhMDYzMDA0Mzc1MjZmNTUzNzUxMzM1MTYzNTQzMTBmMzMi_pc

Exact field :

Res4 Dob

Correct DATE FORMAT received :

01/27/1957

MM-DD-YYYY

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCORRECT TASK ID : IjU3NjUwNTZhMDYzMzA0M2Q1MjZjNTUzNTUxMzY1MTZhNTQzODBmMzci_pc

Res4 Dob

1936-07-08

YYYY-MM-DD I guess.

Both data is received from the same form ID : 2266315310557006

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @Map,

Thank you for sharing the task history details.

Upon checking, the Res4 DOB field appears to be a free-text field on your form. This means the user filling the form can enter the date in any format, which is why you are receiving different formats such as MM/DD/YYYY in one instance and YYYY-MM-DD in another.

To maintain consistency, please update your form by adding a placeholder or help text showing the exact date format users should follow. This will guide respondents and help ensure the same format is submitted every time.

 

[Map]

Hi,

We didn't found that Res4 DOB field appears to be a free-text field on our form. We selected a birthdate parameter in FB lead form creation. Is there any chance to add a rule for those leads which comes with "-" between numbers ? We found that they only come with the same date format : YYYY-MM-DD. We would like to apply a rule like "if the lead contains "-" between days or months or years, format the date into "DD/MM/YYYY"

 

[ArshilAhmad]

You can add this Python code to your workflow, which will automatically convert the date format from YYYY-MM-DD to DD/MM/YYYY. If the date is already in DD/MM/YYYY format, it will return it as it is.

Pabbly

connect.pabbly.com

from datetime import datetime

def convert_date_format(date_str):
    try:
        # Try parsing YYYY-MM-DD
        parsed = datetime.strptime(date_str, "%Y-%m-%d")
        return parsed.strftime("%m/%d/%Y")
    except ValueError:
        pass

    try:
        # Try parsing MM/DD/YYYY — if valid, return as is
        parsed = datetime.strptime(date_str, "%m/%d/%Y")
        return date_str
    except ValueError:
        pass

    # If neither format matches, return as-is or raise an error
    return date_str

# Examples
print(convert_date_format("2025-11-25"))  # → 11/25/2025
print(convert_date_format("11/25/2025"))  # → 11/25/2025

Thanks & Regards,
Arshil Ahmad
Customer Support Associate
Pabbly.com
Rate your support

 

[Map]

Ok thanks, very interesting. Could you check on this task history ID please ? IjU3NjUwNTZhMDYzZTA0MzQ1MjZjNTUzNjUxMzU1MTYzNTQzNjBmMzki_pc It did not work.

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @Map,

We have made some adjustments to the code, and it seems to be working fine now. Please map its response in the required step and let us know how it goes.

 

[Map]

It works great ! Thank you Arhsil and Preeti

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @Map,

Glad to know that!

As your issue has been resolved, we’d appreciate it if you could share quick feedback on the support received:
https://forms.gle/GAjS4wdPYKuhnEYV9

Thank you for your time.

PS: We are closing this thread as the issue is resolved. Please feel free to reach out to us if you face any issues in the future.