# Date

This question type is commonly used for getting a responder's date of birth or their preference for when an event should take place. 

The answer to a date question is stored as [Formsort subtype](/response-data-collection-and-management/variable-schema.md#subtypes) date and are always formatted as [ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601). 

## **Limiting answers to a specific timeframe**

You can force the responder to pick dates in the future or in the past by enabling the **Only allow dates in the past?**  or **Only allow dates in the future?**  options. This way you can ensure that your responder's birthdates are not in the future or they do not accidentally schedule an event in the past.

## **Allowing multiple answers**

Enabling **allow multiple answers** lets the respondent pick more than one date as an answer to a question. 

## Date picker styling options

The date picker menu can either be native to the platform the respondent is using (e.g. using Google’s date picker on Chrome) or can inherit from the [dropdown menu styling](/styling/customizing-appearance/dropdown-menu.md).

In order to change the styling of the date picker, you can go to the style tab with the question selected.

## Setting a date answer with URL parameters

Answers for the date component can be passed in via [URL parameter](/importing-data/url-parameters.md), with the format as `YYYY-MM-DD`. For example, if you want to pass in the `appointment_date` answer "Apr 25 2023", append `?appointment_date=2023-04-25` to the flow URL.<br>


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.formsort.com/adding-questions-and-content/question-reference/date.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.