FIND Function in Excel: Position of Text (Case-Sensitive)

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

TextLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. Common errors and fixes
  6. Related functions

FIND returns where one text starts inside another. It is case-sensitive and does not allow wildcards — use SEARCH for that.

Syntax

=FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])
Argument What it means
start_num Where to start looking (1 if omitted).

Examples

Example 1

=FIND("@", A2)

Position of @ in an email.

Example 2

=FIND(" ", A2, FIND(" ", A2)+1)

Position of the second space.

Common errors and fixes

You see Why, and the fix
#VALUE! Text not found, or different case. Use SEARCH, and wrap with IFERROR.

SEARCH · MID · LEFT

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