Excel Error Codes Cheat Sheet
Every Excel error value, what actually causes it, and the fix — including the two that are not errors at all.
| Error | What it means | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ##### | Not an error at all | The column is narrower than the formatted number | Widen the column, or double-click the column border to autofit |
| #DIV/0! | Division by zero | The divisor is 0 or an empty cell | Wrap it: =IFERROR(A1/B1,"") or test first with =IF(B1=0,"",A1/B1) |
| #N/A | No value is available | A lookup found nothing — usually VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP with no match | Check for stray spaces and mismatched types; use XLOOKUP's if_not_found argument |
| #NAME? | Excel does not recognise a name | A misspelled function, a deleted named range, or text without quotes | Check the spelling; put text arguments in double quotes |
| #NULL! | Two ranges do not intersect | A space was used between references where a comma was meant | Replace the space with a comma: =SUM(A1:A5,C1:C5) |
| #NUM! | A number is invalid or out of range | An impossible argument (a negative SQRT) or a result too large to show | Check the argument; SQRT and LOG reject negatives |
| #REF! | A reference no longer exists | The cell, row, column or sheet the formula pointed at was deleted | Undo the deletion, or repoint the reference. #REF! cannot be recovered by widening anything |
| #VALUE! | The wrong type of argument | Text where a number is expected, often an invisible space or a number stored as text | Clean with TRIM and VALUE; check for a leading apostrophe |
| #SPILL! | A dynamic array cannot spill | Something already occupies the cells the result needs (Excel 365) | Clear the blocking cells — Excel highlights the spill range |
| #CALC! | The engine cannot finish the calculation | An empty array, or an unsupported nested array (Excel 365) | Return something for the empty case, e.g. FILTER's if_empty argument |
| #GETTING_DATA | Not an error — a status | A large or external calculation is still running | Wait for it to finish |
About this sheet
Error values are diagnostic, not decorative: each one narrows the problem to a specific mistake, and knowing which is which turns a broken sheet into a two-minute fix. Two entries here are not errors at all — ##### is a column-width problem and #GETTING_DATA is a status — and mistaking either for a formula bug is a common way to waste an afternoon.
Free to use, share and republish — including commercially. Attribution isn't required, but it's what keeps these free to make, and there's one ready to paste below.
Questions
Is this cheat sheet free?
Yes, and there is no email gate. The whole table is on this page, and the download is built in your browser when you click it.
Can I print it?
Yes — the print layout drops the navigation and page furniture and keeps the tables, so it comes out as a clean reference rather than a screenshot of a web page.
What formats can I download?
Excel (.xlsx) and CSV. Both hold exactly the rows shown on this page.
Is this reference complete?
It covers the entries people actually look up. A reference you can read in one sitting beats an exhaustive dump you scroll past — the same reason the shortcuts sheet is curated rather than a 350-row export.