VLOOKUP function

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This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the VLOOKUP function in Microsoft Excel.

Description
You can use the VLOOKUP function to search the first column of a range of cells, and then return a
value from any cell on the same row of the range. For example, suppose that you have a list of
employees contained in the range A2:C10. The employees' ID numbers are stored in the first column
of the range, as shown in the following illustration.

If you know the employee's ID number, you can use the VLOOKUP function to return either the
department or the name of that employee. To obtain the name of employee number 38, you can use
the formula =VLOOKUP(38, A2:C10, 3, FALSE). This formula searches for the value 38 in the first
column of the range A2:C10, and then returns the value that is contained in the third column of the
range and on the same row as the lookup value ("Axel Delgado").

The V in VLOOKUP stands for vertical. Use VLOOKUP instead of HLOOKUP when your comparison
values are located in a column to the left of the data that you want to find.

Syntax
VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])

The VLOOKUP function syntax has the following arguments:

lookup_value Required. The value to search in the first column of the table or range. The
lookup_value argument can be a value or a reference. If the value you supply for the
lookup_value argument is smaller than the smallest value in the first column of the
table_array argument, VLOOKUP returns the #N/A error value.
 table_array Required. The range of cells that contains the data. You can use a reference to
a range (for example, A2:D8), or a range name. The values in the first column of table_array
are the values searched by lookup_value. These values can be text, numbers, or logical
values. Uppercase and lowercase text are equivalent.

col_index_num Required. The column number in the table_array argument from which the
matching value must be returned. A col_index_num argument of 1 returns the value in the
first column in table_array; a col_index_num of 2 returns the value in the second column in
table_array, and so on.

If the col_index_num argument is:

Less than 1, VLOOKUP returns the #VALUE! error value.

Greater than the number of columns in table_array, VLOOKUP returns the #REF! error value.

range_lookup Optional. A logical value that specifies whether you want VLOOKUP to find
an exact match or an approximate match:

If range_lookup is either TRUE or is omitted, an exact or approximate match is returned. If

an exact match is not found, the next largest value that is less than lookup_value is
returned.

IMPORTANT If range_lookup is either TRUE or is omitted, the values in the first column of
table_array must be placed in ascending sort order; otherwise, VLOOKUP might not return the
correct value.

For more information, see Sort data in a range or table.

If range_lookup is FALSE, the values in the first column of table_array do not need to be sorted.

If the range_lookup argument is FALSE, VLOOKUP will find only an exact match. If there are
two or more values in the first column of table_array that match the lookup_value, the first
value found is used. If an exact match is not found, the error value #N/A is returned.

Remarks
When searching text values in the first column of table_array, ensure that the data in the first
column of table_array does not contain leading spaces, trailing spaces, inconsistent use of
straight ( ' or " ) and curly ( ‘ or “) quotation marks, or nonprinting characters. In these cases,
VLOOKUP might return an incorrect or unexpected value.

For more information, see CLEAN function and TRIM function.

 When searching number or date values, ensure that the data in the first column of
table_array is not stored as text values. In this case, VLOOKUP might return an incorrect or
unexpected value.

If range_lookup is FALSE and lookup_value is text, you can use the wildcard characters — the
question mark (?) and asterisk (*) — in lookup_value. A question mark matches any single
character; an asterisk matches any sequence of characters. If you want to find an actual
question mark or asterisk, type a tilde (~) preceding the character.

Example
Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For
formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust
the column widths to see all the data.

Density Viscosity Temperature

0.457 3.55 500

0.525 3.25 400

0.606 2.93 300

0.675 2.75 250

0.746 2.57 200

0.835 2.38 150

0.946 2.17 100

1.09 1.95 50

1.29 1.71 0

Formula Description Result

=VLOOKUP(1,A2:C10,2) Using an approximate match, searches for the value 1 in column A, finds the largest value less 2.17
than or equal to 1 in column A which is 0.946, and then returns the value from column B in the
same row.

=VLOOKUP(1,A2:C10,3,TRUE) Using an approximate match, searches for the value 1 in column A, finds the largest value less 100
than or equal to 1 in column A, which is 0.946, and then returns the value from column C in
the same row.

=VLOOKUP(0.7,A2:C10,3,FALSE) Using an exact match, searches for the value 0.7 in column A. Because there is no exact match #N/A
in column A, an error is returned.
 =VLOOKUP(0.1,A2:C10,2,TRUE) Using an approximate match, searches for the value 0.1 in column A. Because 0.1 is less than #N/A
the smallest value in column A, an error is returned.

=VLOOKUP(2,A2:C10,2,TRUE) Using an approximate match, searches for the value 2 in column A, finds the largest value less 1.71
than or equal to 2 in column A, which is 1.29, and then returns the value from column B in the
same row.

EXAMPLE 2

Item-ID Item Cost Markup

ST-340 Stroller $145.67 30%

BI-567 Bib $3.56 40%

DI-328 Diapers $21.45 35%

WI-989 Wipes $5.12 40%

AS-469 Aspirator $2.56 45%

Formula Description Result

= VLOOKUP("DI-328", A2:D6, 3, FALSE) * (1 + VLOOKUP("DI- Calculates the retail price of diapers by adding the $28.96
328", A2:D6, 4, FALSE)) markup percentage to the cost.

= (VLOOKUP("WI-989", A2:D6, 3, FALSE) * (1 + Calculates the sale price of wipes by subtracting a $5.73
VLOOKUP("WI-989", A2:D6, 4, FALSE))) * (1 - 20%) specified discount from the retail price.

= IF(VLOOKUP(A2, A2:D6, 3, FALSE) >= 20, "Markup is " & If the cost of an item is greater than or equal to $20.00, Markup is
100 * VLOOKUP(A2, A2:D6, 4, FALSE) &"%", "Cost is under displays the string "Markup is nn%"; otherwise, displays 30%
$20.00") the string "Cost is under $20.00"

= IF(VLOOKUP(A3, A2:D6, 3, FALSE) >= 20, "Markup is: " & If the cost of an item is greater than or equal to $20.00, Cost is
100 * VLOOKUP(A3, A2:D6, 4, FALSE) &"%", "Cost is $" & displays the string Markup is nn%"; otherwise, displays $3.56
VLOOKUP(A3, A2:D6, 3, FALSE)) the string "Cost is $n.nn"

EXAMPLE 3

Birth
ID Last name First name Title date

1 Davis Sara Sales 12/8/1968

Rep.

2 Fontana Olivier V.P. of 2/19/1952

Sales
 3 Leal Karina Sales 8/30/1963
Rep.

4 Patten Michael Sales 9/19/1958

Rep.

5 Burke Brian Sales 3/4/1955

Mgr.

6 Sousa Luis Sales 7/2/1963

Rep.

Formula Description Result

=INT(YEARFRAC(DATE(2004,6,30), For the fiscal year 2004, finds the age of the 49
VLOOKUP(5,A2:E7,5, FALSE), 1)) employee with ID of 5. Uses the YEARFRAC
function to subtract the birth date from the fiscal
year end date and displays the result as an integer
using the INT function.

=IF(ISNA(VLOOKUP(5,A2:E7,2,FALSE)) = TRUE, If there is an employee with an ID of 5, displays the Burke

"Employee not found", VLOOKUP(5,A2:E7,2,FALSE)) employee's last name; otherwise, displays the
message "Employee not found".

The ISNA function returns a TRUE value when the

VLOOKUP function returns the #N/A error value.

=IF(ISNA(VLOOKUP(15,A3:E8,2,FALSE)) = TRUE, If there is an employee with an ID of 15, displays Employee

"Employee not found", the employee's last name; otherwise, displays the not found
VLOOKUP(15,A3:E8,2,FALSE)) message "Employee not found".

The ISNA function returns a TRUE value when the

VLOOKUP function returns the #N/A error value.

=VLOOKUP(4,A2:E7,3,FALSE) & " " & For the employee with an ID of 4, concatenates Michael
VLOOKUP(4,A2:E7,2,FALSE) & " is a " & (combines) the values of three cells into a complete Patten is a
VLOOKUP(4,A2:E7,4,FALSE) sentence. Sales Rep.

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See Also

Lookup and reference functions (reference)