ERROR.TYPE Function in Excel: Which Error Is It?

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⏱ 2 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

InformationLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article

Syntax
Examples
Example 1
ERROR.TYPE in practice
Where you will use it
Worked example
Mistakes people make
Related functions
Continue learning

ERROR.TYPE returns a number for each error (1 #NULL!, 2 #DIV/0!, 3 #VALUE!, 4 #REF!, 5 #NAME?, 6 #NUM!, 7 #N/A) so you can react differently to each.

Syntax

=ERROR.TYPE(error_val)

Argument	What it means
`error_val`	A formula that may error.

Examples

Example 1

=IFERROR(C2, CHOOSE(ERROR.TYPE(C2), "", "No sales", "Bad data", "Broken link", "Typo", "Too big", "Not found"))

Friendly messages per error type.

ERROR.TYPE in practice

Where you will use it

Different messages for different errors
Debug a model
Error reports

Worked example

Error	Formula	Result
#DIV/0!	`=ERROR.TYPE(A2)`	2
#N/A	`=ERROR.TYPE(A3)`	7
#VALUE!	`=ERROR.TYPE(A4)`	3

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

Mistake	What to do instead
No error	Returns #N/A
Remembering codes	2 = #DIV/0!, 3 = #VALUE!, 7 = #N/A

IFERROR · ISERR

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