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DATEVALUE function in Excel

Converts a date in the form of text to a serial number

=DATEVALUE(date_text)

DATEVALUE syntax and parameters

One argument, one required.

  • date_textstringRequired

    Text that represents a date in an Excel date format, or a reference to a cell that contains text that represents a date in an Excel date format. For example, "1/30/2008" or "30-Jan-2008" are text strings within quotation marks that represent dates. Using the default date system in Microsoft Excel for Windows, the date_text argument must represent a date between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 9999. The DATEVALUE function returns the #VALUE! error value if the value of the date_text argument falls outside of this range. If the year portion of the date_text argument is omitted, the DATEVALUE function uses the current year from your computer's built-in clock. Time information in the date_text argument is ignored.

DATEVALUE examples

Formulas you'll actually reuse.

  1. A text date turned into a date serial — days since 30 Dec 1899, which is why subtracting dates gives days:

    =DATEVALUE("2026-08-14")

    Result46248

  2. Due date from an invoice date that arrived as text (format the cell as a date):

    =DATEVALUE(A2) + 30

    Result2026-09-13

DATEVALUE in Google Sheets

Same name — your formula ports as-is.

Try DATEVALUE in the playground

Edit the example — nothing to install.

Preloaded with the DATEVALUE formula from Example 1 — change anything and watch it respond.

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DATEVALUE errors

What they mean — and the fixes.

  • #VALUE!

    The text isn't a date the locale recognises — 14/08/2026 fails in a US-locale file; use ISO yyyy-mm-dd text or DATE().

Related functions

More ways Excel gets this done.