# Accessing move\_in\_date field within form causes KeyError

**URL:** <https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/accessing-move-in-date-field-within-form-causes-keyerror/45939>\
**Category:** Mystery Errors\
**Created:** [September 8, 2026, 9:14am UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/accessing-move-in-date-field-within-form-causes-keyerror/45939 "2026-09-08T09:14:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![IgorArnaut](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/igorarnaut/32/26771_2.png) [@IgorArnaut](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/IgorArnaut)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 9:14am UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/accessing-move-in-date-field-within-form-causes-keyerror/45939/1 "2026-09-08T09:14:47Z")

</div>

Model `Terms` has a field named `move_in_date`.  
`listings/models.py`:

```auto
class Terms(models.Model):
    move_in_date = models.DateField(auto_now_add=True)
    deposit = models.BooleanField()
    for_students = models.BooleanField()
    for_workers = models.BooleanField()
    smoking_allowed = models.BooleanField()
    pets_allowed = models.BooleanField()

    class Meta:
        app_label = "listings"
        db_table = "terms"

    def format_move_in_date(self):
        return self.move_in_date.strftime("%d.%m.%Y")

```

I created a form for the model.  
`listings/forms.py`:

```auto
class TermsForm(forms.ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        model = Terms
        fields = " __all__"
        error_messages = {"move_in_date": {"invalid": _("field.date").format(field=__("move_in_date"))}}
        widgets = {"move_in_date": forms.DateInput(attrs={"class": "form-control", "type": "date"})}

    def __init__ (self, *args, **kwargs):
        super(). __init__ (*args, **kwargs)
        checkboxes = [field for field in self.fields if type(self.fields[field]) is forms.BooleanField]
        print(self.fields.keys())

        for field in checkboxes:
            self.fields[field].widget.attrs["class"] = "form-check-input"

        # 2 Input validation & sanitization
       self.fields["move_in_date"].validators.append(AfterOrEqualValidator(_("move_in_date.after_or_equal"))) # KeyError

```

I want to append a custom validator to the `move_in_date`. But accessing `move_in_field` within the form causes `KeyError`, despite all fields being enabled.

```auto
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "D:\Documents\_Dokumenti\Projekti\_Master\Real Estate App\Django\secure\venv\Lib\site-packages\django\core\handlers\exception.py", line 55, in inner
    response = get_response(request)
               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "D:\Documents\_Dokumenti\Projekti\_Master\Real Estate App\Django\secure\venv\Lib\site-packages\django\core\handlers\base.py", line 198, in _get_response
    response = wrapped_callback(request, *callback_args, **callback_kwargs)
               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "D:\Documents\_Dokumenti\Projekti\_Master\Real Estate App\Django\secure\realestate\listings\views.py", line 64, in create
    return create_post(request, template) if request.method == "POST" else create_get(request, template)
                                                                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "D:\Documents\_Dokumenti\Projekti\_Master\Real Estate App\Django\secure\realestate\listings\views.py", line 34, in create_get
    terms_form = TermsForm()
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "D:\Documents\_Dokumenti\Projekti\_Master\Real Estate App\Django\secure\realestate\listings\forms.py", line 26, in __init__
    self.fields["move_in_date"].validators.append(AfterOrEqualValidator(_("move_in_date.after_or_equal")))
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Exception Type: KeyError at /oglasi/postavka
Exception Value: 'move_in_date'

```

`listings/views.py`:

```auto
def create_get(request: HttpRequest, template: str):
    terms_form = TermsForm()
    listing_form = ListingForm()

    context = form_context(terms_form, listing_form)
    return render(request, template, context)

```

I printed the field names to the console and `move_in_date` was missing.

```auto
dict_keys(['deposit', 'for_students', 'for_workers', 'smoking_allowed', 'pets_allowed'])

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![benbacardi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/benbacardi/32/19739_2.png) [@benbacardi](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/benbacardi)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 9:47am UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/accessing-move-in-date-field-within-form-causes-keyerror/45939/2 "2026-09-08T09:47:40Z")

</div>

It’s because that field has `auto_now_add=True`. From [the docs](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/ref/models/fields/#django.db.models.DateField.auto_now_add):

> **DateField.auto\_now\_add[¶](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/ref/models/fields/#django.db.models.DateField.auto_now_add "Link to this definition")**
> 
> Automatically set the field to now when the object is first created. Useful for creation of timestamps. Note that the current date is _always_ used; it’s not just a default value that you can override. So even if you set a value for this field when creating the object, it will be ignored.

The ModelForm won’t add that field, as it’s effectively not an editable field.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![IgorArnaut](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/igorarnaut/32/26771_2.png) [@IgorArnaut](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/IgorArnaut)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 9:59am UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/accessing-move-in-date-field-within-form-causes-keyerror/45939/3 "2026-09-08T09:59:31Z")

</div>

How can I make it editable and still have default feed?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![benbacardi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/benbacardi/32/19739_2.png) [@benbacardi](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/benbacardi)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 10:04am UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/accessing-move-in-date-field-within-form-causes-keyerror/45939/4 "2026-09-08T10:04:26Z")

</div>

The docs I linked to tell you exactly how, in the paragraph beneath the one I quoted.

> If you want to be able to modify this field, set the following instead of **`auto_now_add=True`** :
> 
> - For **[`DateField`](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/ref/models/fields/#django.db.models.DateField "django.db.models.DateField")**: **`default=date.today`** - from **[`datetime.date.today()`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#datetime.date.today "(in Python v3.14)")**

Reading the docs that people link you to will help you greatly in figuring these issues out 👍