MONTH
Extracts the month from a date (1-12).
=MONTH(serial_number)This static page keeps the function indexed for search, while the spreadsheet app handles interactive exploration and saved formulas.
What the function does
Overview
Extracts the month from a date (1-12).
The MONTH function extracts the month component from a date, returning an integer ranging from 1 (January) to 12 (December). It operates on Excel's date serial number system, where January 1, 1900, is represented as 1. A critical technical detail is that if a cell reference is empty, the function returns 1, as a value of 0 is interpreted as the beginning of the 1900 date system. Best practices include nesting MONTH within CHOOSE to return month names or using it to group data for seasonal analysis. To ensure accuracy, the input should be a valid date serial or a reference to a cell formatted as a date; providing text strings can lead to regional interpretation issues.
Quick reference
Syntax
=MONTH(serial_number)Inputs
Arguments
Example: A2
Formula patterns
Examples
Extract month number from a date
=MONTH(A2)Calculate fiscal quarter from date
=ROUNDUP(MONTH(B2)/3, 0)Check if a date falls in a specific season
=IF(OR(MONTH(C2)=12, MONTH(C2)<=2), "Winter", "Other")Avoid these issues
Common Errors
#VALUE!
Cause: The input value is a text string that Excel cannot interpret as a valid date.
Fix: Ensure the cell reference contains a valid Excel date or use DATEVALUE to convert text to a serial number.
#NUM!
Cause: The provided serial number is a negative value or too large for Excel's date system.
Fix: Verify that the date is between January 1, 1900, and December 31, 9999.
Platform support
Compatibility
Source: Microsoft Support
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Extracts the month from a date (1-12).
umber: The date to extract from
#VALUE!: Ensure the cell reference contains a valid Excel date or use DATEVALUE to convert text to a serial number. #NUM!: Verify that the date is between January 1, 1900, and December 31, 9999.