Spreadsheet Practice

How to format phone numbers in Excel

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

="("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4)

Cut the 10 digits into parts and join them with the punctuation: ="("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4) gives (612) 555-0142.

Result on the example
one result per row in B2, filled down to B6
Works in
Every current version
Google Sheets
Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in B2, filled down to B6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

LEFT takes the 3-digit area code, MID the next 3 digits starting at position 4, and RIGHT the last 4. The brackets, space and dash are joined in between. It works whether the digits are stored as text or as a number.

="("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4)

Result"(612) 555-0142"

  1. A2"6125550142"

    The value in A2.

  2. LEFT(A2,3)"612"

    LEFT: Characters from the start of text.

    • textA2"6125550142"
    • num_chars3
  3. "("&LEFT(A2,3)"(612"

    The & operator joins as text.

  4. "("&LEFT(A2,3)&") ""(612) "

    The & operator joins as text.

  5. MID(A2,4,3)"555"

    MID: Characters from the middle of text.

    • textA2"6125550142"
    • start_num4
    • num_chars3
  6. "("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)"(612) 555"

    The & operator joins as text.

  7. "("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-""(612) 555-"

    The & operator joins as text.

  8. RIGHT(A2,4)"0142"

    RIGHT: Characters from the end of text.

    • textA2"6125550142"
    • num_chars4
  9. "("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4)"(612) 555-0142"

    The & operator joins as text.

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: ="("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
="("&REPLACE(REPLACE(A2,7,0,"-"),4,0,") ")(612) 555-0142, (651) 555-0187, (763) 555-0021…Inserts the punctuation with REPLACE instead, working from the end so the positions don't shift.

Common mistakes

  • Numbers that already have dashes or brackets need cleaning first: SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"-",""),"(",""), and so on.
  • 11-digit numbers with a leading country code 1 are shifted by one. Take the last 10 digits first: RIGHT(A2,10).
  • If the number is stored as a number and you only want to change how it looks, use the custom number format (000) 000-0000 instead.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Format phone numbers

In B2, format the 10-digit phone number as (612) 555-0142 and fill down to B6.

Questions

Can I use TEXT instead?

Yes, when the phone number is stored as a number: =TEXT(A2,"(000) 000-0000").

How do I format it as 612-555-0142?

Use =LEFT(A2,3)&"-"&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4).

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.