# How to format phone numbers in Excel

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.

**Excel:** `="("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4)` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B |
| --- | --- |
| Phone (digits) | Formatted |
| 6125550142 |  |
| 6515550187 |  |
| 7635550021 |  |
| 9525550199 |  |
| 2185550110 |  |

Formula in B2, filled to B6: `="("&LEFT(A2,3)&") "&MID(A2,4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,4)`

Result: (612) 555-0142; (651) 555-0187; (763) 555-0021; (952) 555-0199; (218) 555-0110

## 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.

## Other ways

- `="("&REPLACE(REPLACE(A2,7,0,"-"),4,0,") ")`: 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.

## 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)`.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/format-phone-numbers